Author: Jeanette

Product Review~ Batter Blasters

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This morning I decided to try out my Batter Blasters. This is a product I wouldn’t normally buy due to my large family. But I saw a buy one get one (BOGO) deal plus had coupons making it a dirt cheap deal. So I thought “why not, sounds like fun.”

For those of you who don’t know what Batter Blasters are, they are pancake or waffle batter in a Redi-Whip type spray can. The price for one can is about $3.99. With my BOGO deal and coupons, I was able to get 2 cans for $1.99. But was it worth it?

The directions on the can state to shake can, turn upside down and push nozzle to spray batter on hot griddle or skillet.

I did this but the can didn’t state how much to put on the griddle so in my opinion the pancakes turned out a little small compared to what I usually make.

Another thing, the batter didn’t bubble up the pancake batter usually does, telling you it is time to turn so the first batch came out a little too dark for most of my family. Thank God for Bri who likes them dark!

I have 7 people in the house to feed breakfast too. So I didn’t think 1 can would be enough with the pancakes being smaller.  SO I got out the second can.

Half way through the second can, disaster struck! The spout wouldn’t quit spraying out batter and then it started sputtering and then it burped and then died. The spout wouldn’t do anything. I lost half a can of batter because of a packaging default.

The good news is while the can was uncontrollably spewing batter I moved the batter along the griddle enough to make my lil man a hummingbird pancake. He was thrilled!

In the end, the pancakes tasted good but the batter was very sticky and hard to flip over. The cans were fun until the volcano erupted then disappointing because my money went in the garbage. The pancakes came out significant smaller causing my large family to eat more and the leftovers were much less than if I made my homemade pancakes.

For my family this deal was not worth it. Maybe if I had younger kids, but I have 1 teenager and 2 preteens that eat like horses. So batter blasters is one item I won’t be buying again.

Family traditions

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I didn’t realize how many little things had become family traditions to me and my children until this year. With the family drama and the absence of Grandpa, there was no way it was going to be a normal holiday season. And I knew other family members wouldn’t attempt to play nice for the sake of my children because they are much to selfish for that. So it was all up to me to make the most of the holidays for my children. I knew they were still going to notice the differences, but I didn’t want it to be depressing.

A typical holiday season for us started in October with a huge haunted house for Halloween. But this that was out of the question considering it was held at my mom’s husband’s house. We would then have Thanksgiving and Christmas at my house with the whole family coming over and celebrating.

But this year for Halloween the kids stayed home from school or had no home school work and we made crafts and did some cooking before going over to my Aunt’s house for trick or treating. One thing we did make this year that has and will become a family tradition was Caramel Apples. Let’s just say people are still asking for them. I used the recipe from The Pioneer Woman (my hero) and was a little nervous because I will be honest, I have never made, let alone tasted a Caramel Apple in my life!!!! GASP!! I know I have been sheltered. But everyone loved them so much that I had to try one and let me tell you I hate caramel but I ate that whole apple!

Don’t they look delicious!?!

Another standing tradition is carving a pumpkin! We always go to our local church pumpkin patch and have the kids pick out a big pumpkin and each of them gets a small personal one. This year we let Dakota pick what the face looks like on the pumpkin and this is what we ended up with….

Thanksgiving has all the usual foods: turkey, green beans, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, pies, pies and more pies! YUM! And then we go right into our Christmas traditions. Which I never saw as traditions until this year when I said I am not putting this up or doing that and my family flipped out! The kids gasped in horror and hubby whined! My family has relied on me to keep the holidays fun and joyful.

So this year we put up the tree while watching the tree lighting in Rockafellar Center on TV, with freshly baked cookies as a snack.

I set up my Christmas village on the bookcases by the fireplace.

My hubby bought new lights and decorated the yard and house.

The kids and I made about a million cookies.

And in the end a year that felt empty and sad; felt blessed and normal again.

Au revoir 2011

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Needless to say 2011 was the year from hell for me and my family. It started off bright and cheerful. Business was great for us which was a huge blessing. Then in March my grandfather who is like a father to me, got very ill and ended up in a nursing home almost 30 minutes away. With 4 kids it was impossible to get there to see him as much as I liked. On May 27th he left this world to be peaceful and healthy again. It was very sudden because my Aunt was just there that morning and said he was doing extremely well. So shocked would be an accurate description of how I was feeling and alone since my husband had to leave and go out of town the next day. I stayed strong and soldier through for everyone.

 

Fast forward 1 month; the day before my grandpa’s funeral I hadn’t lost it. I was the strong one in the family. And then it happened. I sent a simple text to my mother. I got a smart comment back. I sent another simple text. I got another smart comment back. I got a little ticked off at this point because our relationship has always been me fighting to have that relationship and trying not to make her mad. I decided to drop the subject and go about my business. Then the name came up on my caller id… mom’s new husband. I didn’t answer. But I did call my brother who lives with them to see what was going on. When I got home my phone was ringing off the wall from the new hubby. I decide to answer… he had been drinking….and he decided that the day before I lay my grandfather to rest was a good day for him to call me and talk to me like I was an immature spoiled child who always had to get her way. And then it happened…. he also thought it was a good day to insult my grandfather! I finally lost it.

We haven’t spoken since. I have seen him but he hasn’t apologized and thinks he is right in what he did. I also found out that he has been saying rude comments about my husband. My mom hasn’t apologized for her part which was misinterpreting a simple text message. They also haven’t apologized for lying to my entire family about what happened and turning them against me. I finally lost it again (twice in a year; must be a record) and told my mom how I have not forgotten and brushing it under the rug is not the way to solve problems. But her answer is we were all wrong. My response no I was not. That is where we left it. And that is how I said good-bye to 2011. I got my feelings out. Which in my family I have always been known as the peace keeper unless you threaten my husband or children. I always had a saying ” Say what you want about me but don’t mess with my family”. I couldn’t hold my tongue anymore and the stress that I felt lift off my shoulders was unbelievable.

I rang in 2012 with peace in my heart and a lot of good memories with my family! Because in the end it was my teenage daughter, who is usually on opposite ends of the rope with me that stood on the same side, that made me see how much I am loved. And my husband, making more time for us during the holidays and going out of his way even when he was working 7 days a week to make it feel normal again, that made me stronger. My 2 youngest daughters helping with the shopping, cleaning, anything I needed, that showed me I wasn’t alone. And my son who said thank you before even opening the present and the look of excitement and joy on his face with every present, that made me smile.

Welcome 2012! The year I turn 30! The year I live my life for me and not to play referee. The year I bask in the sunshine of happiness. This year is going to be amazing!

Homeschooling with a toddler part 2

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Part 1 talks about getting a schedule set for your older child that way you and her aren’t always wondering what’s next. And this also allows more time for you to play and be hands on with your toddler. With my toddler I have a toddler/preschool curriculum I bought (very cheap I might add) and I also use preschoolpalace.org and preschoolexpress.com to supplement.

At the beginning of the month I like to pick my themes and color for the month.

beginning of the month

I then go on the websites and through my own curriculum and pick out the activities that would interest Dakota.  Then take a blank monthly calendar and list one activity on each blank spot. I do not fill in the dates because that is not relevant to me. Basically I say these are the things I want to accomplish this month. Every morning I look at the calendar and say ok I have everything for this or I can fit this activity in between errands. As we do an activity I highlight it so I know what we have and haven’t done. Very simple and yet organizing. As you know life with a toddler is day to day. Today they could be sweet as pie and tomorrow their evil twin might show up. So with this kind of relaxing scheduling you can accommodate anything that life throws at you. Some days it is as simple as reading a specific story. Those are good on days when your toddler isn’t feeling well.

Also at the beginning of the month I like to hang up our theme posters on Dakota’s bulletin board. That shows Dakota pictures of what we are learning along with our color poster for the color of the month. Throughout the month as we do an activity I like to hang some of them on his board so everyone can see and he can show everyone. Sometimes it spills over onto the refrigerator because what Mom doesn’t have a refrigerator full of art.

Dakota’s board

By the end of the month our board is full and we take it all down saving some things of course and getting it ready for the next month.

Breakfast for Dinner

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Some days are absolutely crazy in a large family.  Some days I am trying to get so much done that I forget about dinner, or to read the recipe and make sure I have all the ingredients and also how much time it takes to cook. This is me scatter brained (but what’s new).

I hate when I get home from my bus run (some days 3:45pm and some days 4:15pm) and listen to the question what’s for dinner! When I am in a pinch like this I try (and fail) not to do the whole fast food thing. Well this past week I ran into one of those days. And what did I do? Take a look at the picture……

 

I made breakfast. Homemade pancakes which only take a few minutes. And defrosted some bacon and fried it up! Yum Breakfast for dinner is Heaven! By the way I make 30 pancakes with the hopes of having some left over for another breakfast for my 2 youngest kids. This day I walked away with 7 left over. THAT’S ENOUGH FOR 3 KIDS!

Homeschooling with a toddler part 1

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Homeschooling a middle schooler while having a toddler at home can be VERY challenging. My son would very happy watching Toy Story 2 (has to be 2) or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse all day long but it makes me feel guilty! So I decided that there has to be some kind of compromise on homeschooling my older child while homeschooling my youngest. I needed to be organized, not my strongest area. But it was the only way to quiet my guilt and make me feel like a supermom.

First was getting my daughter on a set schedule. This way she knew what to expect and I knew what was coming next. I sat down wrote out all the subjects and then wrote out our timeline. Because we do have 2 other kids in Public School we have to finish by the time I go on my afternoon bus run. Now this is our second schedule, I had to some tweeking. I originally had math as our first subject because this is one she struggles with and I thought that if it was the first subject of the day she would feel refreshed and understand it better. But after many weeks of stressing because our schedule was being thrown off I moved it to our last subject of the day. This gives her the whole rest of the day to work on it ( if need be) and I am not stressing her out saying we need to move on.

At first we had Mondays off but my hubby didn’t like that. Another long story…..

One these days I promise I will tell all my long stories.

Okay back to Mondays. So on Mondays we do a review of what we learned the week before. Which makes sense to me more than Friday reviews because chances are they are going to forget over the weekend not from Monday to Friday when you have been working on for 5 days straight. Plus my youngest daughter gets out an hour early from public school.

Tuesday and Wednesday we wrap up everything as far as me teaching by 2:30 pm. I go for my bus run and my daughter stays working on math if need be.

Thursday and Friday, my youngest has tutoring so I don’t have to leave until 3 pm to get my oldest. That gives us and extra 1/2 hour so we try to fit in Music, Art and Clickschooling.

Then I factored in when my son would take a nap and also when lunch would be so I could schedule the more hands on lessons during that time. I also put a more hands off subject the hour before lunch which would give me time to make a healthy lunch (no sandwiches here, well maybe once in a while).

Yes I still have to stop and give the assignment and possibly teach a lesson or two but I am not sitting here dumbfounded going UMMMMMM when asked what’s next. We both had the schedule right in front of us and could easily look ahead of time and prep.

Part 1 accomplished!

Are you just having one of those days?

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Well I am having one of those days my entire life! My mom’s side of the family (long story) sees these as moments for them to make me the butt of the joke. But I look at as living my life. What if I did everything exactly as everyone else. Wouldn’t I be boring then? So I say it is what makes me unique or special.

Like the time I decided to pop popcorn in a pot instead of buying microwave. I decided that it would be neat for my kids to watch the popcorn pop. Now just for a moment take in the word POPcorn. Well there was a mess everywhere, but the kids got a great laugh and my cocker spaniel had a yummy treat.

Then there is the time where I was wearing a necklace with my grandpa’s ashes in it. Sitting in the car, waiting for hubby to get done pumping gas, when I felt something land in my lap. My first thought was that he threw something at me and was getting ready to yell at him, but decided to look down. HMMM what’s all this white stuff on my black shirt? Then saw the locket in my lap. I freaked at first and then I stopped and laughed and said very funny Grandpa because this is something he would have done.

OR the time I decided to walk back to my pond to feed the fish and turtle. Just walked up to the pond (this was when we first moved out to country from the city) when I hear rustling in the grass and up the tree. Look over to my right and a huge green iguana is sitting in a tree! I mean who has an iguana living in her back 40? That would be me! Though I think I scared him to death because he has never been seen again.

Then there was that time that hubby and I were clearing our property. This was my first encounter with country life. We were trying to get it ready for building. And I was clip trees while he was cutting grass. I went up to the banana tree started clipping, had a bad feeling, stopped clipping, looked up at the tree and saw the whole thing shaking!!! Lets just say I out ran my hubby who was on the riding mower and that tree was immediately removed from the property.

The latest it could only happen to me moment was when my oldest was assigned her bus stop for the new school year. Hubby and I drove by and saw that it was in front of a very bad neighborhood. Hubby went up to the school demanded a new stop. We went by the new stop and hubby says “this is much better”. I just look at him and say “really?!” It’s in a cemetery! So everyday I enjoy reading tombstones, wondering who these people were in their lives, oh yeah, and listening to my youngest daughter panic that they are going to reach up and get her.

The trials, tribulations and hysterical laugh fest I have living my life. Bet those family members don’t have as much fun living as I do. Who’s laughing now? OH yeah I am, uh huh I am! (crazy dork dance happening right now)

Jeanette

City Girl living a Country life

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I have been a city girl my entire life until I was 24. That year, Hubby and I decided we needed to move to a bigger house with a bigger property. 2.9 acres to be exact.  Now we are living the country life. But some things need some getting use too. Like remembering to buy softener salt for the well and Rid X for the septic because we don’t want that problem. But the things that take the most getting use to is things like this!

Yup right through Hubby’s workshop. This rat snake decided to pay him a visit and check out the cabinets he was working on. Hubby about had a heart attack. Needless to say I had an anxiety attack! Especially since snakes are my phobia. Now in the city, yes we have snakes (I guess) but we don’t see them very often if at all. But here in the country they are everywhere. Never did it cross my mind  that I would have to deal with snakes.

What is even better is the night before I was telling Hubby we should get chickens. I was begging him to let me get some chickens. Well these snakes are also known as chicken snakes! Guess what we ARE not getting?

Instant Grow~ Large Family

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ABOUT ME~

 

I did not acquire a large family the traditional way. First I had a child in my teens. Then I fell in love and married in my 20’s a man who had 2 kids. We adopted each other’s kids to make it legal. 6 years later we were pregnant with our first child together. 2 years later my grandmother moved because my grandfather had went into a nursing home.  So this is my Instant Grow Large Family. The kids ages range from 2-13. And we are raising all of them on a shoestring budget that my hubby brings in being self-employed. I am homeschooling 1 of my daughters and the other two choose to go to public school. And my little man is gearing up for his first year of toddler school as he will be homeschooled as well.

 

 

ABOUT THIS BLOG~

What do I hope you will find on this blog? A little bit of everything. Recipes, frugal tips, life learning lessons because we are all still learning, funny stories about our life as a large family, homeschooling activities and household management. So please have patience with me as I am new to this whole blogging thing.

Raising my kids…..

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Sometimes being around my kids can be very trying. I am not gonna lie. There are days when I am like that’s it; I have lost all sanity; why did I have all these kids? Okay most days are like that. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I have a boy who is a toddler just hitting terrible twos and testing the waters with his parents. I have an 11-year-old daughter who is special needs with ODD, ADHD, language and speech delays and sometimes acts worse than my 2-year-old. I have a 12-year-old daughter who is a peacemaker and honestly an emotional wreck. Say the wrong thing and the tears flow. Then I have a teen, my 13 almost 14-year-old daughter, who prefers to lock herself in her room with her TV than spend time with the family.

But like I said I wouldn’t have it any other way. AND the crazy part is I would like to have one more. We aren’t perfect like the Duggars with the best kids in the world. But they are MY kids and with all their quirks and craziness; I love them with all my heart!

Even the weeks where I feel like I can’t catch my breath, it’s 9pm and just realized there is no milk in the house and my kids are running around acting like I fed them sugar for dinner. Even when my sanity is gone, my patience is tried and at the end of my rope. I wouldn’t change a thing! And to those who say I don’t know how you do it? I say I don’t know how not to do it.

This is me….. This is my life….. and the rollercoaster ride that comes with it…….Hang on and Enjoy the ride!

Jeanette