Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Fun Summer Recipes

At random I will post some recipes that are just too good not to share.   Enjoy!

Freezer Corn
This family loves corn, so like any good mom I made my kids get on the porch and shuck some...builds character.
Corn Vader or is it Dr. Jones (notice the purple strap)
 This is what 36 ears of corn look like..
Here's the recipe:

36 ears of corn
1 pint of half & half
1 lb of butter

Cut corn off the cob ( hint:  use an angel food cake pan to cut corn in)
Put it in a large roaster pan or a large stock pot ( I used 2 pots).
Stir in half & half and butter ( if you use the pots divide up ingredients by half). 
Put in the over at 325 for 1 hours, stir every 15-20 minutes OR get pot to a good boil, then simmer for 1 hour.  Either way it has to be cooked! 
Once cooled divide up into Ziploc freezer bags.  36 ears make 26 cups of corn.  I put 2 cups per Ziploc, which made 13 bags...Super delicious!

Strawberry Sorbet

This is  a quick and easy summer treat....

1 lb of strawberries, washed and hulled
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp of cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp of water
3 Tbsp of lemon juice

Puree berries in food processor or blender and then stir in sugar
Cook over medium heat, then simmer for 1-2 minutes
Stir in cornstarch and water, then add lemon juice
Cool in the refrigerator
When cooled or ready to use, pour into ice cream maker and follow the makers instructions.
* I have a Cuisinart and it only take about 20-25 minutes.

And now for the grand finale.....Homemade Brownie Mix
This is just like the boxes in the store.  I am so excited because Brownies are my absolute FAVORITE, right next to coconut cream pie...I can't resist a good brownie, its my love language!

1 cup, plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp of nonfat powdered milk
3/4 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cups of chopped nuts (optional)

Mix all together and store in an air tight container.  When you are ready to use here is the recipe for Fudgy Brownies

1 brownie mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8 inch baking pan
Dump Brownie mix into a bowl.
Add the oil, water, vanilla and egg.  Stir to blend
Pour into pan...Bake for 20-25 minutes, do the toothpick test to check

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

One Day!

One day my kids will ask, "Mom you remember that ice pack you put in our lunch kits.  It was the best, right size for a lunch kit, kept everything super cold, what was the name of it."

I will have to tell them it wasn't igloo, or some other store brand.

No, it is a German brand,  let me help you with the spelling:  M-E-D-E-L-A

And they will google it, or whatever seach engine they have in the future to locate this great ice pack.  And then they will never speak to me again, well at least until they get hungry....

Monday, May 23, 2011

Please explain...

Questions for my kids. Because the fact that I love them more than sunshine or egg rolls or a good red wine, I don't understand them at all. And I made them.


So let's begin...

What happens to my scotch tape?

Seriously, where does it go? Because every single time I go to Target I am forced to buy a new three-pack. What do you do with it? I remember that time you tried to create a toddler size spider web in your closet. Or the time you made yourself a mummy. But lately, I'm starting to think that one of you has some sort of hoarding compulsion

Why do you wait until we've left the house to tell me that you're hungry/thirsty/need to pee?

You see my darlings, once we're in the car it's pretty hard for me to make you a sandwich. . So prior to leaving the house, when there's still a chance you can get what you want - that's the time to ask. Because once we're in the car, its too bad.

The Toys in the Hall

Why is it that the only toys that end up in the hallway outside your bedroom are ones that seem placed there to cause me serious physical injury? When I discover their presence at 3 am in the dark, a matchbox car or Barbie shoe either punctures my foot or leads to the type of fall where I end up with a broken hip and one of those Medic-Alert necklaces that allows seniors to live independently. The most recent culprit was from a Happy Meal. It was a miniature Star Wars skateboard. My kids (and every other kid I know) thought they were coolest things ever. I have no idea why. I think they may have been designed by Ronald McDonald and Al Qaeda because they’re clearly meant for one purpose and that’s to kill parents who accidentally step on them in the dark.

Sheets and your Bed

What happens to your sheets while you sleep? You are tucked into a neat and tidy bed every night. When I check on you in the morning, it looks like an alligator has gotten in there and spun a hundred death rolls with your sheets and blankets. The fitted sheet has popped off all the corners. The stuffed animals are thrown around the room. The blankets are wadded up in the corner. What happens to you?

Toothpaste is For Teeth, Right?

Why does toothpaste seem to get the best of you every single time? Is toothpaste your nemesis? Why does it end up everywhere except the one place that it’s supposed to be? In the past week, I have found toothpaste smeared on my refrigerator, in streaks on my sofa’s throw pillow, in your hair, on my shoulder and all over one of my potholders. I’m not a forensics expert or anything, but I wonder why something like toothpaste is such a, sticky, minty fresh presence in our home? And why is it never, ever found on your toothbrushes or teeth?

Is there a reason that you can’t just go in the house?

Why for the love of all things, why does it take forever to get from the car to the house? It’s really easy.
Here’s how it should it work, step-by-step:

1. Wait for the car to stop and then you unbuckle yourself. Do not unbuckle the baby without telling me or she will escape and feed spare change into the cd player.
2. Collect your things. If you’ve done something asinine like take off your shoes and socks for the three-minute ride home, please put them back on.
3. Exit the vehicle in an orderly fashion based on where you are sitting because contrary to what I've heard you shout at each other, the first child out of the car has not actually defeated anyone.
4. Walk calmly to the front door, taking no detours to climb trees, jump in puddles or piles of leaves, as if determined to get as wet and dirty as possible and then track it all into my house.
5. Also refrain from having a frantic race with your siblings while also shoving them and screaming.
6. Wait patiently for the ten seconds it will take for me to unlock the front door, i.e., without kicking it or throwing your weight against it as if you were a DEA agent and our family home was a meth lab.
7. Please for the love of all that’s holy can you close the car door? Because Mommy will get snappish if she has to do it again as she is wrestling with a toddler while trying to carry six bags and find her keys. Thank you.



Will there come a time when you realize that there are certain things you should not do while taking a poop?
For example:

• Eat a sandwich
• Read a library book while you are also wiping yourself
• Scream at your brother that you need privacy while insisting that the door must remain open
• Attempt to karate kick the shampoo bottle on the edge of the tub
• Practice your curveball
• Say “MOMMM! YOU’VE GOTTA SEE THIS.”
• See how hard you can pull the shower curtain before it rips or crashes down on your head along with the bar that it was hanging it from
• Ask anyone in this family to keep you company while you “squeeze it out” because you’re lonely or scared

Seriously, what do you do with them?

I hate to beat a dead horse with this, but WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS TO YOUR UNDERPANTS?

The boy's underpants disappear to the degree that we have had to add a " Underwear" item to the family budget. Meanwhile, my daughter's underpants seem to multiply in the wash (do they reproduce when they get wet - like Gremlins?)

More questions to come later, without a doubt!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Song Bird


For my daughter, life is one big Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. At any moment, she will burst into song about what is going on RIGHT THEN.

But these are not the trite songs of preschool-hood--oh, no. She has "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "The Wheels On the Bus" in her repertoire, but Katie's songs are original. She is an artist, by gosh, and she must create.

When she plays with her dolls, she sings a song about a dolls. When we're in the car, she songs about the car. When she sees my cell phone, she sings a song about a chicken.

I have no idea, either.

Yesterday, she was playing in the bath while I got ready, and the moment was just right for another song burst. "Jesus wuvs me and Momma is hungwy," she sang, mastering two important eternal truths in one fell swoop.

The one that has me puzzled, though, is a song in which she sings over and over in an aching voice, "When I was safe..."

When she was safe? I love the way fellow grocery patrons look at me when she sings that one. I mean, it's very tortured and Les-Miserable-esque of her, but she is, after all, only three years old.


Evidently all the unconditional love and nurturing has pushed our girl to the very brink of despair.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

I will Survive!

Hello again! 

1.. Baseball is o-v-e-r, which is always a bittersweet moment for us.  Love the game, the rest is a bit chaotic.
   a.  getting to the game
   b.  washing white uniform pants (only a guy would pick) a thousand times a week, then watching your kiddo slide into home and dirty them up because you can't have clean white pants on the field.  Not cool!
   c. getting snacks for the game, players and siblings. Its only fair since my kids raid everyone else's cooler.
   d. gear for the game.  Bats, Balls, Gloves, Helmets, Hats and Water times 2, thank goodness for bags!
   e. parking for the game, LOTS of games and kids= LOTS of people
   f. trips to the porto potty for the game, during the game and after the game...
  g.  2 ball players, 2 different fields at 2 different times...cloning is a great idea!

I do LOVE their sports, but I am ready for a break! and a drink or 2...



These white pants won't last long mom!

  2.  Holy Hannah we finished the 2nd grade!   And we finished by writing a full paragraph, by himself!  Big, Great, Awesome News, especially for a kid that has MRELD's.  We are so proud of all the hard work Clayton put in for the year and how far he has come from last year!  Homeschool rocks!


3.  My middle child has phased out of his Darth Vader roll and is now phasing into his Indiana Jones roll.  All would be fine....except Indiana Jones carries a satchel, Caden carries a purple billfold/purse.  I went to Goodwill to find a "manly" satchel and I did, he refuses to put it on.  He prefers the long handles so he can wrap it around everything.  And before you ask, No- he has not seen the movie.  Lego's has a World Adventure series that features Dr. Jones.  I'll keep working on it, it will be my summer project I'm sure!

MOM use the force to get my breakfast!

4.  Muddy Buddies!  It rained last week, we haven't seen mud in months, therefore for some reason my children decided to strip off their clothes and roll in it.  Did I mention they were in the front yard...Thank you Lord for great neighbors who don't call CPS on me...

What a bath, never heard of it....

5.  Lucky 13!  Our anniversary is coming up and we are ditching the kids and taking a vacation...Time to reflect on our family, our goals and our wedding day (and for those that personally tried to ruin it, we honor you with the double bird salute)...How blessed we are!
Hey, I have an idea, let's have kids and enjoy a bowl full of crazy.  Sounds great to me!


6.  Last but not least, my theme song...Feel free to bust a move or two! 
    Ready or not here comes SUMMER!

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Our Posse