Baby Shower

The other night the girls and I went to a baby shower for a baby who was born about a month ago.  Neither of them had been to a shower and excitedly talked about it throughout the day, often asking me what people do at showers.

I told them we would play some games, and someone might read something for the mom and baby.  Then we would watch the mom open gifts, and finally, have a snack.  If they were lucky, they might even get to hold the baby.

However, Maiden expected something more logical.  About half way through the games, she whispered to me, "When do we get to watch the baby take a shower?

Image Credit

Chicken Challenge Correction

Remember my Chicken Challenge post?  I was wanting a cyber pat on the back from my blogging audience because my bestest friend in the whole wide world, Rapunzel (the one with all the hair), didn't seem impressed with my results.

I stand corrected.  Here is an email message that was buried in my inbox.  It is from Rapunzel:

I was very impressed !!!  I was just impressed earlier than you thought I'd

be.  I couldn't get over the size of the chicken before you got to the rest

about boiling the bones after you had already cooked the chicken because

the marrow makes really good broth.  And then making chicken enchilada

casserole without rolling up the tortillas - a layer of tortillas, a layer

of "slop" - as you called it, a layer of cheese...  And you used green

pepper because Jouster had purchased 4 green peppers instead of green

onions before Christmas.  Your family loved it (and I'm sure mine will too

on Saturday night when I make enchiladas the easy way!!!).  You also make

your cream soup from a home made mix, remember, we calculated how much it costs and it's a good deal, you were going to send me the recipe.....   Nexttime if you don't think I'm impressed, ask me.  I must have been impressed to remember all of those details, don't you think?

You are my bestest friend too and when I get to talk to you sometimes we go

too fast from subject to subject so I don't get to tell you how great you

really are!!!!

I'd have put this all into a comment on your blog, so everyone can see how

truly impressive you are to me, but either I can't comment from here, or

you have changed your settings.   Feel free to paste my rebuttal into your

blog if you so choose.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Rapunzel

I should have known better.  In the 14 years we've been friends she has always been impressed (or pretended to be, anyway) with everything I excitedly share with her.  This particular day I couldn't shut my mouth long enough to hear her giving me an 'atta girl' through the telephone line.   Isn't she a great friend?  Everyone needs a Rapunzel in their lives.  Some day I will tell you the story of how our friendship almost never came to be.

In reading her message, you'll see I don't buy cream soup in a can anymore.  It takes a little more forethought in preparing meals, but now that I've done it for a while, I don't even notice.   In case you are interested, here is the recipe (It originated from my my Sister-in-Love, The Queen of Spring Lake.):

Cream Soup Mix

2 c. powdered milk

3/4 c. cornstarch

1/4 c. chicken bouillon

2 T. dried onion flakes

1 t. dried thyme

1 t. dried basil

Combine all ingredients.  Mix well and store in an air tight container.

Yields:  4c. of mix  (12 cans of soup)

To replace one can of condensed cream soup:

Combine 1/3 c. dry mix with 1 1/4 cup water in saucepan.  Heat and stir until thickened.

It is slightly 'soupier' than the canned stuff when it's hot...so you may have to adjust recipes that call for milk.

I think I will add cheese to it when recipes call for cheese soup.  I chopped up a couple of mushrooms one day when I needed a can of cream of mushroom soup to top an egg bake--it turned out good.  I think you could replace the chicken bouillon with beef bouillon and it would look more like cream of mushroom soup.  This is a little yellower than mushroom soup would be.  Not noticeable in recipes though!  And oh, so  much more cost effective!  (Mine is MSG free since I use Frontier Chicken Broth Powder--if using Frontier, you'll need to adjust the recipe.  Regular bouillon requires 1 tsp per cup of water and Frontier requires 4 tsp.)

1/3 cup of dry mix is 95 calories

1 can of soup is 330 calories

 

 

Make Up

Maiden and Duchess this past summer after fixing each other's hair.

The girls and I were getting ready to leave the house when Duchess noticed that Maiden had an alarming amount of eyeshadow applied to her eyes.

Duchess:  (In a very disciplinary and accusing tone.)  "Are you wearing mom's make up?"

Maiden:  (Quietly and meekly.)  "I wanted to look pretty."

Duchess:  (This time much gentler and more understanding.)  "You don't need make up.  You are already pretty.  Only mom needs make up."

Mom:  (Confused and thinking to herself.)  "Why do I suddenly feel like crying?"

Prayer Request

Friends of ours could really use your prayers.  Their two year old son recently had surgery to remove a brain tumor.  They have been told it is malignant.  Today he will have tests to see if it has spread to his spinal fluid.  

Will you join me in praying for "Prince Charlee"?

Thanks.  I pray you have a blessed day!  

Blog Reader Requests

First of all, I am going to share a recipe with you.  (Debra this is for you!)  Every time I serve this, I get requests for the recipe. 

French Dip

serves 8

3# beef chuck roast  (we have use lamb roasts and had great results)

¾ cup soy sauce

3 cups water

1 ½ tsp. dried rosemary

1 ½ tsp. dried thyme

1 ½ tsp. garlic powder

1 bay leaf

5 whole peppercorns

Place contents in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours or until beef is tender.  Remove bay leaf and discard.  Strain broth to remove remaining spices.  (I tie the spices all up into a piece of cheesecloth or a spice bag, so I don't have to strain it.) Shred beef.  Skim fat, if needed.  Use broth for dipping and add some to the shredded beef to keep it moist.  Serve on hard rolls.

Debra, I will make this for you if you will come...just give me about 6 hours advance notice :-)

Secondly...My cousin Chris has been wanting to see photos of our finished basement.  Here they are:  

From my kitchen you will see this opening.  This leads you to the basement stairs.  I repainted my kitchen a green color called cavern moss.

If you look to the right, this is where The King made me a little kitchen office.  It is here I do my menu planning and make my grocery lists.  I love my little nook.  It used to be a pantry but we framed a larger pantry into the kitchen when we were framing the basement.  This paint color is called pizza pie .  I get hungry every time I look at it.

When you turn to the left, you go down four stairs and then turn right onto a landing.  There is a door at this landing that goes to the outside.  We plan to build a deck or screened in porch out this door one day.  Do you like my curtain rod?  I have fabric to sew a curtain...I just haven't gotten to it yet.  I'm telling myself that fabric, like fine wine, is better with age.

Then we head down the stairs to the basement.  These stairs used to be very steep but The King's brothers helped him plan and cut out some of the original landing to make the stairs perfect!  I painted this stairwell a brown color called patches.  I was hoping it would cover up dirty little fingerprints.  It does that job well.  What is does not cover up is permanent marker.  Trust me, I know.

 
Now we are at the bottom of the stairs.  Here is the main living area.  It is a tan color called spiced vinegar. 

Standing in the main living area.  Behind the sofa are the doors leading to the laundry room, the bathroom and the utility room.

Another view of the main area.  My treadmill is behind the sofa.  I removed the clothing for this photo shoot, but my treadmill doubles as a clothesline since it is so close to the laundry room.   Okay, I lied.  My treadmill does not double as a clothesline.  It is a clothesline.

Still standing in the main living area, but looking down to the end.  This is where we keep the toys.  The love seat gets pulled into the main living area on family movie night so (mostly) everyone has a place to sit.

Here is the bathroom.  I love the fixtures.  Actually, I love everything about the bathroom.  I still need to find the perfect towel bars for this room.  One of these days I'll make that a priority.

The walls are a little darker shade than the main area.  This color is jute.  I chose red as my accent color.  I have more fabric ready to be made into a shower curtain.  I'm letting it age as well.  There is a linen closet to the left and the shower is on the right.  We put in floor heat throughout the entire basement so this tile floor is cozy warm.

Next is the laundry room.  This is a shade lighter than the main area and it is called sand fossil.  Don't you wish you could name paint colors?  I do.  That's what I want to do when I grow up.

Just keeping it real for you.  Those other photos were all staged to make it look like I have a perfectly clean house.  I don't.  This is the real me.  Actually this is laundry on a good day.  Some days you can't even see the floor!

Hope you enjoyed the tour.  And Chris, it looks so much better in real life...come and check it out.  

Chicken Challenge

Last week I gave myself a challenge:

To take one of our home grown, organically fed 6# chickens and make as many meals out of it as I possibly could.

Over the phone, I proudly told my friend Rapunzel what I had done, and how many meals I had made.  Her first reaction (thinking she would praise me...because she's my bestest friend in the whole wide world) was, "Six pounds?  That's the size of a turkey!"

So, since she was not impressed (only because she buys 2# chickens from the grocer), maybe my vast blogger viewing audience will be in awe and give me a cyber pat on the back.  This is what I made:

Chicken pot pie--enough for TWO meals, or two 9x13 size pans.  

Chicken Quesadillas--one meal.

Chicken noodle soup--one full evening meal with enough left over for lunch the next day (served with sandwiches).

Sour Cream Enchiladas--one evening meal plus lunch for Jouster the next day.

Six pounds of  uncooked chicken gave me a total of eight cups of cooked meat, which resulted in a total of FIVE meals for our family of nine--SIX if you count the left over soup for lunch.   The bonus of my challenge is that I have one of those chicken pot pie meals waiting in the freezer.  Gotta love that.  I was feeling like a Proverbs 31 woman.  

Anyone else up for a challenge?  Leave me a comment and tell me how frugal you can be with a chicken...any size...using any recipes.  I'd love to hear what you can do.

Blessings,

Back Yard Ice Rink

Today it is a sunny 18° and Great White is not stuck in the snow.  Quite a change from last week when it was -34° and Great White couldn't move.  Not being able to go anywhere for four days wasn't so bad.  It brought out the innovative side of Squire.  

One morning when he was out doing chores, he decided he needed to make a skating rink for Duchess since we weren't able to go to town and use the ice arena.  How would she ever keep up on her skating skills if she didn't have adequate practice time?  

 

He was a big ice cube when he came in the house.

He was grinning from ear to ear when he told Duchess what he had done for her.  She was so excited and couldn't wait to try out her very own ice skating rink.

He even helped her lace up her skates.  As he sent her out the door he told her,  "Be careful, it might be a little lumpy...the water kept freezing before I could smooth it out."

But she didn't seem to mind...the lumpy ice or the -34° wind chill.  She skated until she couldn't feel her nose or cheeks. 

 Then she came in to warm up just long enough to go out and skate some more.  To say she was thrilled with his gift to her would be an understatement.  She couldn't thank him enough.  Way to go Squire!  You are the big brother of every little girl's dreams.

Benefits of a Home Office

Yesterday I saw this beautiful sight.  The King was on the phone doing business with Duchess and Prince Charming in his arms.  (Psst...honey, could you turn around?)

I'd say this is multitasking at it's best.

Or is it mixing business with pleasure? 

Great White is Free!

The Great White Royal Chariot has been stuck in this position since Monday.  Jouster, Jester and I tried everything we could think of to set her free.  Remember, The King has been in California all week.  He was not much help over the phone. 

Maybe I'm too proud, but I refused to ask anyone for help.  Except Wednesday night when I finally asked God, "Lord, I'm not going to call anyone for help.  Could you just send someone?"

Sure enough, he did!  Yesterday I heard some noise in my driveway and looked out to see my neighbor plowing our snow.  He came in the house to tell me he'd seen Great White sitting in that same spot all week, and figured something was wrong, so he thought he'd come and give me a hand.

When he found out The King was in California, he raised one eyebrow and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't even talk to him if he calls home."  (Everyone around here is a little jealous of The King missing out on our cold spell.)  He even offered to pick up any supplies I might need in town, because that's where he was headed next.  Now that's a good neighbor.

He pushed all the snow away from behind Great White and then Jouster and Jester pushed her from behind with the mini van.  All she needed was a little kick in the pants to break free.

The men who saved the day, Jester on the left and Jouster on the right.  The timing couldn't have been better.  The King flies home today, and I'm on my way to bring him home.  

 

Slurping Soup

In Japan and Hong Kong slurping soup is sign of approval and appreciation of the cooking.  I think the same holds true here in Fairy Tale Land.

I Never Sleep Alone

First I need to share with you our temperature today.  It is -7ºbut with the wind, feels like -25º.  Always the optimist (can you hear the sarcasm?) I am thankful for our heat wave.  In International Falls, MN the temperature this morning was -35º but with the wind it feels like -52º.  What have I got to complain about?  A stuck van?  No way.  No more complaining here.  (Except I am still jealous that my husband is in California.)  

Now for the important stuff:

The other night I went to bed alone, but I woke the next morning with guests: 

Maiden, Ariel the Little Mermaid, Gracie the Pink Poodle and Caitlin the Snuggly Doll joined me sometime during the night.  Maiden had her little hand holding mine.  No wonder I had such sweet dreams.  

Seasons

Before Christmas The King and I were looking to buy a new vehicle.  Not brand new.  That's not our style.  New to us is something made within the past decade that we can pay for without having to take out a loan.

 
We drive a 15 passenger van and The King thought it was time to downsize to a Suburban.  Our van is a little big now that our two older boys are driving on their own.  After looking around and test driving various Suburbans, we decided to wait and make our final decision after the new year.  During the wait, I decided it may be in our best interest to keep driving The Great White Royal Chariot.

I told The King, "There's nothing wrong with the van, it runs good, the air works, it pulls our camper without a single complaint.  If we would put a little money into her, she could be almost as nice as a Suburban.  We could put in a new stereo system, fix the things that are broken, and replace our remote starter.  Then we could take the money we save to help us move closer to some of those investment opportunities we've been discussing.  Or, better yet, we could adopt another baby"  The King agreed (not to the baby) and we decided we would keep the van and save our money.

Yesterday I changed my mind.  See the white lines?  I couldn't either.  See the yellow lines?  Neither could I.  The only time I knew for sure I was close to being in my lane was when Great White's right tires would hit the chatter bumps on the side of the road.  I know a Suburban wouldn't help me see better, but locking it into four wheel drive would have made me feel better.  As hard as Great White tried to keep it all together, she occassionally got the jitters, lost her cool and fishtailed on the road.  I thought we were home free when we finally left the tar and turned onto gravel. 

That's when Great White stopped dead in her tracks.  The fresh snow made the road look twice as wide as it actually was.  Great White was afraid she would drive off of the road and land in the ditch.  She knew The King was gone for a week.  Great White had bad memories of the last time she sat in the ditch and waited an entire day for The King to rescue her...the Deputy Sheriff searched her without permission.   One sloppy day she lost her footing and slid into the ditch just across the road from our house.  From our front window we saw the Deputy drive up, climb in and examine her every nook and cranny.  She told me later that she felt so violated.  It took a lot of therapeutic oil changes and car washes to help her overcome feeling like Great White Trash. I promised her I'd keep her out of the ditch this time, and if I couldn't, I'd lock her up.  I wouldn't allow the Deputy to defile her ever again.

When we got to our second gravel road, I heard Great White breathe a sigh of relief.  There were fresh tracks she could follow.  She only had to make it to the trees on the right side of the road.

  
But when we pulled into the driveway Great White said to me, "Queen Michelle, I really wish I were a Suburban right now.  I know I can make it in, but I'm pretty sure I won't make it out.  The odds of my being trapped in the driveway until The King's return increase with every inch of snow that falls."  I caressed her dash and told her I didn't care if we sat here for a week.  We were safe and that's all that mattered.  I didn't have the heart to tell her that for the entire trip I'd been wishing she were a Suburban too.

Sure enough, Great White is now stuck in the driveway.   This is the second spot she got stuck in last night.  I know it looks like I could drive right out, but she spun her back tires through the snow and now they just go round and round.  If she had front wheel drive, this wouldn't be an issue.  If she were a Suburban, this definitely wouldn't be an issue!

Ecclesiates talks about there being a season for every activity under heaven.  Little did we know that King Solomon was talking about The Great White Royal Chariot.  She has proven that her season is definitely not winter.

A Night Away

The King and I early this morning.  We accidently packed matching clothes like to match so people know we are a couple.

We are short one vehicle this week.  The King's car is at the body shop due to a little run in with a tree branch.  He had to catch a flight to California and asked me if I would be able to drive him to the airport early this morning...we'd only have to get up at 5:00 a.m.   After throwing a fit much protesting on my part, he decided it would be better to get a hotel room the night before so I wouldn't be inconvenienced.

Much to my surprise he devised a plan to include me.   Time alone (other than our two hour Friday night dates) is a foreign concept to us.  We were trying to remember the last time we had an overnight alone and figured it was a trip to Orlando nearly six years ago.  No wonder we were out of practice.  It didn't take us long to find something to do.  First we went to Target to buy socks and underwear took a leisurely stroll through the mall focusing on jewelry stores because The King wanted to get some ideas for a Valentines Day gift for me.  Then we ate at my favorite restaurant and decided to spend the rest of the evening relaxing in the quiet of our hotel room.

I quickly changed into my most comfortable pair of flannel pajamas sexiest negligee.  After calling home to check in on the children, we ejoyed a snack of Doritos and beer chocolate covered strawberries and fine champagne.  Finally, we called the children to say goodnight, turned on the TV and fell asleep watching a cheesy movie on the Hallmark channel the lights down low, gazed lovingly into each other's eyes and.......

The next morning we barely tolerated the continetal breakfast hardly noticed the cold French toast sticks and dried out pastries the hotel offered us for breakfast while he worked on his computer and I watched the morning news and metro traffic update we interlocked pinkies and whispered sweet nothings into one another's ears.

Snow was headed our way, so The King prompted me to leave a little earlier than previously planned.  I was thankful he had thought ahead and parked my 15 passenger van cute little sports car in the hotel's heated garage so I could hop right in and go.  The weather report on the radio warned of blizzard conditions and temperatures not rising above zero, along with the threat of 35 below windchills throughout the rest of the week.  I was seething with envy that my husband would be spending the week in Southern California while we would be freezing our butts off here in Minnesota so thankful that my sweet King would be spared the average coldest week of winter in Minnesota, while I begrudgingly willingly stayed behind to keep the home fires burning.  Hurry home My King, we could really use your help plowing out the driveway are really missing you!

Spoons

It's citrus season!  As a fundraiser, a local private school sells cases of various types of citrus from November through March.  We purchase a case each of grapefruit and oranges every month.  My kids love grapefruit and eat it for breakfast, snacks and dessert.  This is a problem because we only own four grapefruit spoons.  Do the math:  4 grapefruit spoons divided by seven children equals chaos.  Needless to say, those grapefruit spoons are in high demand and constantly being pulled from the dishwasher and hand washed throughout the day.

The other morning as the girls were eating their grapefruit, Duchess, in a very dramatic voice, said to Maiden:  "Last night (long pause--I'm sure to add drama) I had to eat my grapefruit (another long pause to take a bite of grapefruit) with a Cheerios spoon."

Maiden (with disbelief and shock in her voice):  "Really?"

Sewing Day

My friend Rapunzel and I get together from time to time to work on sewing projects.  Now that Duchess has her own sewing machine, she thinks she should be a part of our sewing fun.  I told her as soon as I thought she was old enough to handle an entire day of sewing without getting bored, she could join us.

That day finally came for her right after Christmas.  She had been looking forward to joining us for months (maybe closer to a year).  All she could talk about was a sewing day at Mrs. Rapunzel's house.  Every time she saw or talked to Rapunzel on the phone, she would ask when we could have a sewing day.

I was getting ready to leave the house on our special day and Duchess was no where to be found. I was a little irritated especially since she was the one who couldn't wait for this day to come.  I finally found her.  Buckled up in the cold car with all her sewing supplies next to her on the seat.  (Yes, I felt like a horrible mother for being irritated.)  When we arrived at Rapunzel's, I didn't even have the keys out of the ignition before Duchess flew out of the car with all her supplies and was ringing the doorbell.

She wasted no time getting set up to sew.  I had not helped her with any of her packing, and she had not forgotten a single item.

We got to eat lots of Christmas goodies, and even got to drink pop--something that our littles don't get very often.

She had a productive day finishing the top of a doll quilt she's been working on.  She's becoming quite a self sufficient little sewer.

Rapunzel and I were chatting about Christmas and other small talk, when Duchess piped in, "Aren't we supposed to talk about sewing?"  I guess from a 6 year old's point of view if you have a sewing day, you should eat, drink, breathe, and talk sewing.

Rapunzel finished the binding on one of her quilts and started to bind another.

I couldn't sew until I had finished my Christmas cards.  Then I got to have some fun. I machine quilted this baby quilt for my newest niece.  It was a pretty full day and Duchess did get a little bored, but these two helped:

Their faithful old dog Bear....
and their new Christmas puppy, Nelli.  

Then I took Duchess out to eat.  Just the two of us.  I thought that was the best part of the day, one on one time chatting with her about our fun day together.

When I asked what the best part of the day had been for her, Duchess said it was when she got to watch Rapunzel's husband train Nelli when he came home from work.  After all those months of anticipating a sewing day, her most memorable moment was a puppy training session!

Note to self:  Puppies will always out rank special sewing days, drinking pop, and eating out alone with mom.