Category Archives: Mom

Happy Homemaker Monday 03/16

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HHMLinking-up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

 

Hope everyone is doing well, and looking forward to warmer weather, I know I am definitely getting Spring Fever!!

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
Beautiful!!  Today the thermometer actually reads 73!!  The 50’s and 60s’s have been nice, looks like it might go back down to the 40’s in the next couple of days.  It’s been weird for me to enjoy this warm weather, as we check in with our mushers everyday in Alaska, where it has been –20 and –30 degrees.  Today it made it up to 1 for them.  Hope to do an update on their progress in the next couple of days.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:37343f7b2d17a10e0d42258f89803b9b
Coffee, of course, with my Sweet Cream Creamer, and some delicious Jam Puffs my mom made over the weekend!!   I have traded my snowflake mug, for just my spring green mug, I really would like one like this though:

AS I LOOK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW:
The yard looks so drab, the grass is just kinda yucky.  We definitely need some rain to make everything nice and green!!

ON TODAY’S TO DO LIST:
Really not much, cleaned house yesterday, home school lessons of course, I might bake something once I’m done with this post.  Shhhh…the laundry is done.  But I have a feeling there’s a pair of socks somewhere trying to rally the other garments in protest to this abomination.  The socks around here are bold like that, and would do it all out in the open too, since they usually hang out wherever they are dropped…Anniehow….

CURRENTLY READING:

The Sweetness of Honey by Alison Kent.  This is book 3 in the Hope Springs series I have been reading.  First two were very good.

But what I just finished reading….Oh. My. G!!  The Dead Key by D.M. Pulley.  The story takes place in 1978 and 1998 and switches back and forth.  It tells the story about the secretaries at the First Bank of Cleveland in 1978, and then in 1998, when the bank is abandoned, and a female engineer is assigned to work in it to draw up the actual floor plans, so that a buyer can decide if it can be renovated.  The twists and turns in the book are so good!!  Half way through the book, the author linked the past with the present with one character.  Brilliantly written.

ON THE TV TODAY:
The Voice, which I will actually watch with the kids.  I have one other episode of The Good Wife to watch, I just love the character, Marissa, she just makes me laugh, how she just speaks her mind!!  This show just has good casting overall.  I have some catching up to do on Castle as well.

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
BBQ Breaded Pork Chops, Rice, Corn on the Cob and Grands biscuits
Teriyaki Chicken with rice and veggies, Hawaiian Bread
Chicken Parmigiana, Fettuccine noodles, Green Beans, Italian Herb and Cheese Bread
Turkey Club Sandwiches
Swiss Steak Supper, Crescent Rolls

NEW RECIPE I TRIED OR WANT TO TRY THIS WEEK:
Last week I did try the Easy Pork Fajitas from Carrie, and these were absolutely delicious!!  I did not serve mine with guacamole though, but they were very good, and easy to make.

What I am trying this week is Teriyaki Chicken.  I think someone posted it on FB, and it looked so good, going to give it a go.  So many times I see these recipes and I add them to my bookmarks, and think, that looks good, I’ll have to try it, and I never did.  I am so glad that in the last month or so, I have made it a point to try these recipes, and so far everything has been good.  I would love to be one of those people who can just “throw things together” and make a meal, my sister can do that, I need a recipe, which then I can alter it if need be.

Here is the recipe for the Teriyaki Chicken:

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients

1 1/2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon molasses
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon fresh black pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons chicken stock

Directions

In the slow cooker, mix together soy sauce, molasses, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and pepper.

Place the chicken in the slow cooker and turn a few times to coat well in the soy sauce mixture.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours, turning the chicken about every hour to ensure even cooking.

Once cooked, remove the chicken from the slow cooker, cut up into bite sized pieces, and set aside.

Pour the liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and chicken stock until combined.  Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the boiling liquid and reduce to a simmer.
Allow the sauce to thicken for 2-3 minutes, then add the chicken to the pan.
Toss to coat the chicken with the sauce, and let heat through.
Serve over rice with vegetables.
Enjoy!

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA:
Definitely thinking spring and warm weather now that I have lost an hour (curse you Daylight Savings Time!!), and the days are longer!!

These first two pics are for my dear friend Carrie, who has been longing for spring for some time now, and would like to see some green, and loves flowers.

© 2015

 

© 2015

This is my daughter’s twin brother skateboarding…he’s 6′ 2″ and she’s like 5′ 5″…but I love how they still spend so much time together even as they are getting older.

© 2015

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES (PRAYERS OR DEVOTIONALS):

Dancing With The Stars

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I was looking so forward to the new season.  Last season, I watched almost every show, with the moans and groans of my children every Monday and Tuesday night, as I gained control of the TV and the remote.  I must say, I was very disappointed last night, and I don’t think I will be watching the rest of the season.  I just didn’t find anyone worth watching for the next 10 weeks.  I was a little excited to see Susan Lucci, I was a big All My Children fan back in the day.  But she was not very graceful, she has an excellent body, very petite, but not much of a dancer.  The model, Brooke Burke, seems to have some potential.  I guess I’m not too familiar with most of the cast, maybe that’s why I’m not that excited about it.  But even last season had people I was not familiar with, or even heard of like Cristian de la Fuente, Mario, Marissa Jaret Winokur, or Jason Taylor, but they really added to the show with their personalities.  Of course the main people I watched last season were Kristi Yamaguchi, and Priscilla Presley. Then there was Marlee Matlin, Monica Selles, Shannon Elizabeth who were also names I think most people are familiar with.   I just didn’t see any personality worth watching week after week.  I think last season was just a fluke, because everyone did so well even on the first show.  We also saw that with Sabrina Bryan, and Mel B.  So what does anyone else think?  Will you be watching this season?  Also, who is one star you would like to see compete for the Mirror Ball Trophy? I would like to see Sandra Bullock.  I think it would be interesting if they ever did a show with all A-List stars, but I guess they are all too busy for such a show like this.

Free Jewelry

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Believe it or not, I bought this pendant for $6.99. The website is Silver Jewelry Club (link below). The jewelry is FREE, you only pay shipping. They offer certain items at certain times, but when you order it, everything is $6.99. They do have a whole catalogue where you can actually purchase some of their other things. The things I saw for “Free” were really nice, and they are just as nice once you receive them. You also have the opportunity to buy necklaces to go with the pendants when you order the free jewelry.  I was impressed with the jewelry because it is unique looking, and they have many different colored gems to choose from.  The only thing I didn’t like was how long I had to wait to receive it in the mail. (About 7-10 days).  It could of been because of the holiday that it took so long, but it was worth the wait once I received it.  Any of this jewelry would make a great gift, and the receiver would never know that you only paid $6.99. 

If you want to check out their jewelry, click on the link below, or the link in my helpful links section at the right.

End of Summer

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Well, it’s official.  This was the last day of summer for us.  Tomorrow we go back to school.  Today, we just relaxed, and I prepared my lesson plans for tomorrow.  Yesterday, we had a cook-out with our friends, and we had a really good time.  I Barbequed all afternoon, hamburgers, hot dogs, polish, and chicken.  I also made my signature cole slaw.  I had put all the food out, and forgot the cole slaw in the fridge.  But then our friends started looking for it, and asked my husband if I had made any.  I had gotten the recipe from www.topsecretrecipes.com, it tastes just like Kentucky Fried Chicken’s.  I have tweaked it a little bit, to make it my own.  Cole slaw does seem to be a summer treat, but if you want to impress anyone with a sweet tasting cole slaw, the recipe is as follows:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 bag Dole cole slaw mix (or 8 cups finely chopped cabbage 1/4 cup shredded carrots)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced onion.

 

Combine the mayonnaise, sugar, milk, buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and beat until smooth.

Add the cole slaw mix (or cabbage and carrots) and onion, and mix well.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

I also made my famous Oreo Surpise Dessert.  I had planned on making some for the first day back to school, so tomorrow I will share that recipe with you, and let you know how our first day went.

I’m Back

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This weekend was my “Me Time Extravaganza.”  Well…it wasn’t that grand, but I had a whole weekend to myself.  I was house-sitting and did absolutely nothing and it was wonderful!!  I didn’t have to cook, clean, answer any questions, or talk to anybody, I didn’t even talk to myself!!  I went to my favorite hot dog joint for dinner one night, went to my favorite bakery and bought sprinkle cookies, which I didn’t have to share, and a chocolate chip coffee cake that was delicious, which I ended up sharing, because I forgot to bring it home with me.  I know my house-sitting hosts are enjoying it.  I watched TV, mostly home design shows, I love Flip This House.  I watched one of my favorite movies, Head Over Heals with Freddie Prince, Jr., it’s one of those movies that it’s just silly and far fetched but funny.  I also actually worked on a cross-stitch project that I started over three years ago.  I love to cross-stitch, it’s very relaxing to me.  The reason I know I started it over three years ago, is because it’s a baby blanket for my baby who just turned 3!!  I did this for all my kids.  When I found out I was pregnant with each of them, I started a blanket.  Believe it or not, I actually finished the twins’ blanket before they were born.  But I did have help on the second one, which was a joint effort with my mom and niece.  I did finish one all by myself.  For Elijah’s, my middle guy, that one was done shortly after he was born.  So the big joke is that Benji will have his done in time for his Kindergarten graduation.  I hope not.  My daughter showed it to him one day, and he just hugged it and didn’t want to put it away.  So then he began to pressure me to get it done.  Anniehow… I did get some work done on it.  It was so nice not to have to do anything, and I didn’t worry or feel guilty that I wasn’t doing anything.  I realized I need to do this more often.  When I came home, the house was clean, and everyone was exited to have me back.  My husband looked even more attractive to me, I did miss them all.

Now I’m trying to get back to life.  We have a couple of weeks left before we start school, and we are trying to have as much fun as we can.  My sister-in-law and her husband were in town from California, so we visited with them.  Today, the twins have their friends over, so that makes a total of 7 kids.  You think it would be chaos around here, but it’s not, the girls are in their room and the boys are in the boys’ room.  These friends are their “homeschool friends” since they are homeschooled too.  We try to get together as much as we can with them, last year we did a couple of field trips.  When we all get together there is a total of 9 kids, so it’s like a little class.

It’s nice to have a couple more days left to plan some fun.  My husband and I would like to take the kids miniature golfing and also take a trip downtown to see the fountain.  Something to look forward to before we have to hit the books again.