blended family

Sunday dinner with the girls….and Lil’ Man

/ Jeanette / Leave a comment

My husband is all about “man food” meaning anything that is heavy. Meat, potatoes and if there is pasta there better be some heavy sauce with bread on the side.

So when Hubby went to the Buccaneers opening day game and left me with the kids and Grandma, I decided to make sure girly food. I knew my girls would love it because of the accidental veggie tacos from the week before. It showed me that my girls don’t care if there is meat on the plate or not. And with Hubby gone it was the perfect day for a meatless meal.

We had Buttery Lemon pasta with steamed broccoli and a side of fresh organic fruit topped with homemade whipped cinnamon cream.

YUM!!

Butter Lemon Pasta~

Cook your pasta according to package and drain.

In a skillet melt 5 TBS. butter in a skillet. Add pasta to the skillet. Stir. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and the juice of 1 lemon. Add lemon zest, as much as you prefer. Stir and serve.

I then added some steamed broccoli on top with some shaved parmesan.

Enjoy!

 

Mommy’s little helper

/ Jeanette / Leave a comment

I spent most of the weekend cleaning and entertaining and cooking.

HA what’s different between this past weekend and everyday of my life? Well we had more adults than kids for a change.

But I also had a little helper…..

This was Sunday morning. He loves to be a cooker as he calls it. We were making waffles. We were the only ones awake and it was so nice. Being the 4th he doesn’t get as much one on one time. But I love how he finds ways to get his Mommy and me time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like sweeping the floor. Everything I asked his sisters to do he would come yelling I do it.

 

 

 

 

Then it was time for the fun. Our friends brought their 4 wheeler and I was talking to my mother in law when I looked out the window and there was Dakota zooming past with our friend, Dave. Luckily he wasn’t going as fast as my hubby was when I looked up and barely recognized the streak of man that was my husband.

Don’t worry I checked, the life insurance is paid up.

 

Then it was pool time! Let me tell you after this weekend of crazy fun, he was so tired.

Pinterest

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Have you heard of the new addiction? Pinterest.

It’s a fun website where you can keep all these ideas that you find on the internet into one organized site. It’s a M~ADD mom’s memory. At least for me it is.

But has the thought~ Does that really work? ever crossed your mind.

ME TOO!

Which is why I am putting some of the things I see to the test.

So here are things that have worked!

 

Growing your own celery using the bottom of the celery that you usually throw away. This did work as you can see here I stuck mine in a cup of water and within a few hours it started growing. My mistake was getting so busy that I didn’t get around to replanting it in a pot. So don’t make that mistake.

 

 

 

Putting a wooden spoon over a pot really does keep it from boiling over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making my own vanilla with Vanilla beans and a (free, thanks to one of hubby’s customers) bottle of Vodka.

 

 

 

 

 

More will it work projects coming soon. Until then you can follow me on Pinterest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOT Back to School week 1

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As homeschoolers we have the luxury of doing what we want, when we want.

With my oldest heading off to school this week, I decided to give my homeschoolers a couple of fun weeks. Yes they are filled with learning experiences but my kids wouldn’t know it. They think it is all about hands on activities.

Take a look at our week in pictures….

He was cold so he had to wear Mommy’s jacket. Getting up early is hard to do, you know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

School time or so he thought. He wasn’t thrilled that there was no school and that I was also taking his picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First day picnic lunch. Because of rain we had to do this indoors with a movie.

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting for our homemade bouncy balls to be ready.  The kids thought it was fun how I could capture them in movement with the Sport setting on the camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy kids! I am convinced they get it from their father.

 

 

 

 

 

I honestly love this picture. They are so happy and carefree and young. Gosh how I miss that.

 

 

 

 

 

By the way the bouncy balls were a dud for us. Instead of bouncing they went THUD.

Cheeseburger Pizza

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With my homemade pizza dough, I made this cheeseburger pizza. I was a little unsure of how my family would react to it. But it is definitely a keeper.

Start with your rolled out pizza dough. I spray my pan and sprinkle some cornmeal so the crust doesn’t stick.

Next add the sauce, which in this case is Ketchup and Mustard. I used more ketchup than mustard but it’s whatever you prefer.

Now your ready for the toppings.

Sprinkle a little bit of cheese. I used shredded Cheddar. This just helps to stick the toppings to the crust. Then I piled on the hamburger that I cooked in a skillet.

Now comes the fun part. Stop and think about what you love on a cheeseburger. Is it pickles, onions, or tomatoes? Great now get those items out. Chop them up and sprinkle on top.

My family is a little picky and were skeptical of the idea of pickles on pizza, so I just used pickles this time.  Next time I am gonna add some tomatoes and maybe sprinkle some lettuce after the pizza has cooked.

Then finish with some more cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. If you prefer you can add some extra ketchup or mustard on top but my family didn’t request any.

YUMMY!

First Day of High School

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Well it has officially happened. Yes I knew it was coming all summer long. But it was still a bit sad.

My oldest started her freshman year of high school  on Tuesday.

How depressing!

That means I am getting old.

And that also means that in 4 years she will graduate and go to college, become an adult and start living her adult life without her Mommy there all the time.

So sad, yet bittersweet to know you had a hand in creating someone amazing for the whole world to see.

Homemade Pizza Dough

/ Jeanette / 1 Comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few days ago I tried my hand at something I have dying to make. Homemade Pizza Dough. I see it ready made at the stores and have always wondered can I make it at home cheaper. And the answer to that is YES!!!!

I have this wonderful machine called a bread machine. A lot of people have complained about theirs but I love mine. I have had it about 10 years and have never had a problem with it. And it makes homemade yummy bread easy.

I used a recipe for a 2 pound pizza dough. And this was enough for 2 pizzas for my family of 7.

The dough process takes about 1 1/2 hours.

Ingredients:

3/4 tsp salt

4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp active dry yeast

1 3/4 cups water (it called for 1 3/8 and I don’t have a measuring cup with that measurement. LOL so I used 1 3/4 cup and it was fine)

3 Tbs oil, olive or vegetable

I put liquid ingredients in first.

Then comes all the dry ingredients except the yeast.

I then make a little hole in the center of the flour and put the yeast in there.

Put the machine on Dough setting. And go about your life until it beeps.

I then flour my cutting board or countertop.

Knead the dough a little.

Cut in half and roll out half of it until it somewhat resembles a pizza.

Now at this point you can use both halves to make 2 pizzas or you can freeze the other half for another day.

Don’t fret if it’s not perfect it will still taste good.

I spray my pizza pan with cooking spray and sprinkle some cornmeal to keep the crust from sticking.

Not add toppings and bake at 400 degrees for 15- 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

M.ADD~ Mom’s Attention Deficit Disorder

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Everyone has heard of Mommy Brain or Pregnancy brain. This is the common excuse for forgetfulness.

But by a certain point you really can’t use that excuse.

Like if you kid is 15, you can blame your forgetfulness on Mommy Brain or Pregnancy Brain because IT”S BEEN 15 YEARS.

But what you can blame it on is M.ADD~ Mom’s Attention Deficit Disorder. This is when we have so much going on and our to do list is as long as The Nile River that we begin to forget things.

Like let’s say your on Facebook and you see it’s your Uncle’s birthday. You think to yourself that Oh I need to wish him a Happy Birthday. BUT then the kids wake up and the phone rings and the dogs need to go out and the kids want breakfast and then there is a dirty diaper to change and your girls are pulling each other’s hair out over the bathroom. And then it is 3am and your in your quiet comfy bed when you sit straight up and realize you never went back to the computer to say Happy birthday.

I would have to say that every Mom suffers from this and it has come a time to put a name on it other than Mommy Brain.

M. ADD  just sounds perfect to me.

By the way the story told in this post was not exaggerated or made up by me but happens daily in the chaos of my life with 4 kids, 3 dogs, 2 old ladies (a cat & a Grandma) and 1 hubby (thank god, could you imagine me with 2?!?) SOOOOO…..

Happy Birthday Uncle Gary! LOL

Holidays have begun for us!

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We usually start the holidays much earlier than everyone else. We usually start in July. Why? Well let me give you the break down.

July~4th of July party, Cailin’s Birthday and then Dakota’s Birthday

August~ Beginning of school

September~ Homeschool begins and Dad’s Birthday

October~ Alissa’s Birthday and Halloween

November~Thanksgiving and Mom’s Birthday

December~Brianna’s Birthday, Christmas, New Year’s

Beginning of January~ Grandma’s Birthday and finally my birthday

So as you can see in my family most of the birthday’s fall right in the major holiday time. And that is why I say my holiday season starts in July because I have to hit the ground running and keep going until I crash on my birthday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy birthday to my big 13 year old!

 

And Happy 3rd Birthday to my lil man!

 

Lazy Cat Days of Summer

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Summer is here and so our the long lazy days. Or at least I had hoped. But as usual life has thrown me a curve ball and I had a slew of unexpected events that hampered everything I wanted to do with my kids.

The only one who got to relax was the cat!

 

 

 

 

See she is too lazy to even stand to get a drink!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here…well I’m not sure but I thought it was funny and strange.

 

 

But I don’t know if its the weather, but I have felt like doing nothing all summer.

The heat has been unbearable. Or we have very high chances of severe storms.

Everytime I tell myself we are getting back on track something happens:

My dad came to stay for almost a month.

Then I was planning 4th of July, then the kids and I all got sick, then I went into planning birthday parties and throw in another round of unexpected houseguest.

And I am still fighting whatever this is that I got, but also wondering if it’s my body saying SLOW DOWN AND RELAX!

I now am preparing for oldest to start high school. And at the last minute Hubby wants her in braces before school starts. Plus my youngest daughter has started Speech Therapy so that is a standing appointment every week.

Then Hubby decides he wants to go to his class reunion in the middle of all this chaos.

UGH…. This momma needs a vacation!

I can’t wait for school to start so we can have a routine again.

Jeanette