Chicken Fettuccine from Barb

Fettuccine noodles

1/2 pound boneless cubed chicken breast
1 cup skim milk or half and half or whipping cream or a combination of those
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook noodles and chicken seperately.  Add fettuccine, milk and butter.  Stir in cheese, garlic and pepper.  (make earlier for later meal)

*add steamed broccoli or cauliflower. 

Holding on Lightly

I heard a sermon this weekend about loving God above all else, even your spouse and children.  It made me think of how I love my foster babies.  I love them all I can while they are with me, but all the time with the knowing that they may soon leave my care.  They are not mine to keep.  God knows the plans that He has for those foster babies just as well as he knows the plans for my own spouse and children, yet, I hold them tighter.  They are MINE!  All MINE!  ;)  They are really God's all God's, he has sent them into my life for a season (which might be our whole, full, long lifetimes, maybe not), just like those foster babies.  I need to be willing to let them go too.

Reflecting on "Who is Number One in Your Life?"

Sermon notes - Luke 14:25-35:
You cannot be a disciple if you don't:
~ Love Jesus more than anyone else (25-26)
      Matt. 10:35
~ Give up your priorities to follow Him (27)
      take up your cross daily
      His approval
      honor Him first
      willing to change goals if show I should
~ Renounce all that you have (28-33)
~ Stay focused and stay salty (34-35)

What do you value most in life?

Pear Jam

Used: PickYourOwn.org for basics.


They weren't too specific about amounts, so, this is what I used:

7 cups pear sauce
4 1/2 cups sugar (could use less, I think...)
1 (1.75 oz) Sure Jell (low/no sugar)

Head back to the PickYourOwn site for directions!

School

My girls with their stylish flair!  This is there belated "first day of school pictures.  We were holding out for the new school shoes from Grandma, right!? 

"K" is for Kindergarten

Unit 1: Sun.  

Memory:  Jesus said, "I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."  John 8:12

 

Grandma was here on an activity day.  We danced to the Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky.  We played with Cuisenaire Rods to make "S"s and things that start with "S".  There was also documenting how are grapes to raisens process is going and drawing a picture of something that starts with "s".  There may also be chalk art to come and other outdoor activities and reading.

DIY Maternity - Green

This isn't the fabric that I had originally picked out, but at the time I had to sew, the desired material was still in the van headed out of town.  So, here is a practice shirt.  I found the pattern in Sew What You Love.  I made several alterations to make it fit me a little better, and am still figuring out how to tweak it.  If you try this pattern, I wouldn't go up a size if you make it maternity. 

DIY Maternity - Pink Flowers

Before: 

Took a shirt I had set aside for sewing...because it wasn't very flattering and a bit large a few months ago.  I added some elastic in the front and back to make it maternity-like!  I had to redo it a few times but finally got it right.  Ok, so there is a blemish in the stitching, but I couldn't do it again!

After:

"Subway" Banana Peppers

After trying to raise peppers a few years in a row without success, I tried banana peppers this summer and they are actually thriving.   The other day, I found a recipe at this site.  I didn't follow the recipe completely, but here is what I did...

• 4 whole garlic cloves
• enough banana peppers sliced to fill a quart jar
• 4 tsp. salt
• 4 cups white vinegar*
• 4 cups water*

*I could have used a bit less, but I had made some pickles earlier and didn't have enough juices to fully cover the cucumbers, so I used the extra for that.

1. Wash whole banana peppers to remove any dirt. Remove tops from peppers and cut peppers into rings. You can cut them as thick or thin as you want. Also, de-seed if you choose to de-seed your banana peppers.
2. In a large pot, combine water and white vinegar. Heat on high until boiling.
3. Add 4 cloves of garlic to empty jar, then pack banana pepper rings tightly into the jar. Add 4 tsp. salt to the peppers. Pour hot vinegar-water mixture over the peppers. Immediately put on lid and ring.
4. I then placed my jar in the fridge and it sealed enough to store in the fridge for several months.  I won't take it out to shelve it until opened...but it will keep a while that way. 
5. Think I'll wait and try them next week.  That's what they said to do for the refrigerator pickle recipe that I used, so I'll go with that.

On a Roll

I am on a roll.  Making new recipes that are bad!!  (to me and the girls and Kevin)

I made Almond Milk.  Much better bought in the store with additives.  It was too bland.
I made Refrigerator Pickles (can't remember which recipe I used...).  The recipe called for sugar and since I had never made them before I just assumed that this would be correct.  They were too sweet.  Oh, Kevin and the girls did like this one.
I made Chocolate Pudding Popsicles.  They were dairy free and more natural.  They needed sugar.  So, the question is, since they haven't made it to the popsicle stage...do I add sugar??  And how much??  Maybe powdered sugar...  I'll just turn it into Paleo Plus Chocolate Frosting.  haha

Pickles and Pancakes

I made some refrigerator pickles this last week.  Yesterday, I tested them and ...  I didn't really like them.  Thankfully, Kevin and the girls did.  I think it was the sugar the recipe told me to add.  I think I'll skip that if I try it again.  Well, also, being pregnant, my taste buds/preferences have gotten very particular!

My last grocery shopping trip was a little incomplete.  I had everything I needed on the list (except the eggs...they never seem to make the list), but a part of each recipe for the week was missing when I returned home!  The pitas weren't in the usual spot so schwarmas got switched to Thursday, pudding was just missed, so no pudding pops were made, eggs were, as I said, not even on the list, so I couldn't make zucchini pancakes.  Thursday, we finally got back to the store to get the missing ingredients.

Today at lunch we tried the pancakes.  My initial taste was bad!  But I hadn't put anything on them and the recipe had 4 eggs and only a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar...so a very eggy taste.  But with some peanut butter and rhubarb strawberry sauce and honey...yumm!  I did end up adding a couple more spoonfuls of sugar to the rest of the batch, but just adding toppings was delicious!

PS. I also started soaking the almonds for homemade almond milk...we'll see if my blender can handle it.

Rest Time

It's our after lunch rest time.  Mainly the girls go into their room and listen to music or a story and play quietly and look at books.  Sometimes L naps, but usually not anymore.  Ahh...  Now, should I be doing all my bits or relaxing myself?  I haven't gotten any calls to show the house today so we're keeping it clean but not doing extras.  Laundry though had been piling up.  Almost done with that for the week.

Day 8 of kindergarten today.  They finished making their days of creation books last week, and today they sewed them together to hold them in book form.  Aunt R would be so proud!  I started helping L and told Kj that I would help her in a minute.  When I looked over, she was doing it beautifully all on her own.  :) 

Our routine for the morning went like this:

Breakfast - all the kids slept in this morning and didn't even see Kevin!  Which meant he could also leave a few minutes early for his 9 mile bike ride to work.  "Can we do school now?"

Clean up - Kj did dishes (MWF, L-TTh), cleared table, read devotional, brushed teeth, got dressed, brushed hair.  "Can we have school yet?"

Quiet reading - The girls picked out a few books and sat on the recliner and couch and looked at them while Mama got ready!  "Is it time for school now?"

School - Day 8 - My Father's World - We'll try to do 5 days this week.  3 from curriculum and the numbers 11 and 12, so we can finish their coloring workbooks that we found at Once Upon a Child.  I was wondering why it went to 12 and then realized that it got kids ready for clock reading.  Nice.

Snack

Laundry - girls sorting, me folding

Lunch and Pickle Making - Mmm...Kevin's mom was making some refrigerator dill pickles last week and when I brought her some extra cucumbers she added them to the jar.  I asked her how to make them and it sounded easy enough.  So, I found a recipe online and tried it out.  And we had some tasty mac and cheese.  Maybe we'll start a Mac and Cheese Monday tradition!  :)

Rest time!!  Well, I sat down now to write these bits, so now, I think I'll go get some more laundry done and then to the couch with a book for a while.  G's talking, he didn't take a nap all morning and then cried and cried and cried.  I am trying to get him to nap on the crib (instead of the chair), but that and the fact that we lost our working pacifier...no good!  Lots of tears.  The pacifier is somewhere in the house...  Hmm... 

Bits and Pieces...

~  Kevin's birthday cake...I want to remember was based off of this recipe.  Yumm!!  Rich.  Lasted many weeks in the freezer, only taking bits out at a time.

~  Hobo Tin Foil Meals:  Onion soup mix is a great way to season them.  I made a homemade no MSG, no gluten version from here.  I substituted vegetable broth bullion for beef in the recipe to suit vegetarians in the family!  Great!

~  I was gone for a week from my regular laundry duties.  The first load I did when I came back...no soap.  Oops...didn't realize this until I had already started the dryer.  Yes, I used the dryer on a beautiful summer day.  I didn't know if I could handle hanging things out.

~  Oh, big news.  Baby on the way.  Haha.  I have all-day morning sickness this round.  I've never experienced this before.  It's awful!  But I did have some great help last week as I stayed at my parents house with the three kids.  Kevin had to go home to work, and missed us, but had fun anyways, I think.  Baby G missed Kevin too, I think.  He's been waking up in the night every night since Kevin's been around.  Otherwise, he's been sleeping through the night for at least a month.  We might have to go camping again if this keeps up.  Just to get him back to the all night sleeping.

~  So tired.  Better get to bed.

Bread Machine

I found a bread machine at my friend's rummage sale for $5 and it included the instruction manual with recipes!!  As I walked up to it (after it was pointed out to me), I thought to myself, "I'd take it for $5, otherwise..."  YES!  Just right.  

First attempt (1 lb. loaf):

I used old...gluten free flour and tried to substitute for the plain white bread recipe.  I still need to throw out the rest of the flour. Kj and I sampled the bit that didn't seem like a solid brick.  Just a tiny nibble...she kept asking for more and then all of the sudden it hit her.  "That doesn't taste very good."  Yeah!  Saved the brick to show off to Kevin as our first attempt.

Well, good thing I didn't give up after one try! 

Second attempt (2 lb. loaf):

Pretty and delicious white bread.  Ok, we'll go from here.  It was so easy!  Kevin says I can do this as often as I want!  Haha.  Oh, we tried some warm with butter...I should have gotten out the strawberry rhubarb jam!!  Tomorrow!  My goal is to make a sourdough starter and bake sourdough bread in the machine! 

Rhubarb Strawberry Jam

I started with a recipe from cooks.com, but really didn't use it...  Here is my approximate recipe:

8 cups rhubarb
9 cups strawberry
a jar full of powdered sugar (didn't have granular sugar)

Brought to a boil for 4 minutes.  Removed from heat and added a few more cups of powdered sugar.  Returned to a boil for 4 minutes.  Pour into sterilized jars and "processed" for 10 minutes.  Extra was put in freezer jars. 

It filled:  4 pints and 6 halfpints

Horseradish Jelly

How to Prepare Horseradish
Horseradish Jelly

I didn't actually puree the horseradish.  I chopped it really fine, but when I was making the jelly the chunks stayed hard, so I boiled for longer.  I'm not sure if it will turn out!  I was cleaning the funnel and the pan afterwards and the drips of excess jelly were hard!  We'll see what the verdict is when dad tries some.  No, I probably won't try it... 

Maybe next year I'll try it with pureed horseradish and a full batch...

Testing: Homemade Deodorant

Here is the recipe from the White House Black Shutters blog.

Ingredients:

4 T baking soda
4 T arrowroot powder
6-8 T organic extra virgin coconut oil

L just cannot figure out what I am making...Is it for daddy's birthday?  Are you going to bake it?  Does it need to be cooked?  What is it for?  What is it?

 Reviews:

Kevin (bikes 7 miles to work):  thumbs up
Anna (stay at home mom of 3 under 5 years):  Yes!
Curl Grandma:  thumbs up

(more testers to come!)

"It's compost."

I have a new composting method.  It was mentioned to me by a friend who took a gardening class and I decided to try it. 

Blend it!

Yep, put all your compost in your blender, add plenty of water or juice or steamer liquid, and blend.  I had one very green blender-ful of compost going today and Kevin asked what kind it was.  "It's compost." says L.  Haha...no green smoothies today.  My blender is on it's last bit of energy anyways, so I figured I send it out purposefully. 

My rummage sale earnings this summer are going to a new high quality, durable blender.  I am already $60 into that goal.  We'll see what I can get as the summer goes on.  So, let me know if you are having a rummage sale and I'll add a few things to it!!  I've already been a part of 4 sales!

Hmmm....life...

It's been rather hectic around here lately. We have a baby in the house again, so things don't always get done in a timely manner and we (I) kind of expect to get nothing done during the day. That way, I can be pleasantly surprised if it does. We added Vacation Bible School to the mix this past week and we were worn out! Below is a picture of my friend's second grade class.

 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:11

Also, I was previewing what I had written and the post title...oh, VBS was life this week.  We didn't do much else.  No laundry, no cleaning, just dishes and minimal cooking.  Ok, so more about the life lately thing.

The girls this week have taken turns washing the breakfast dishes.  It's been nice because VBS started at 9 and with them doing the dishes, I could get everything else together.  Pack a bag for the baby, figure out what I needed, pack lunches for a couple picnics, make sure the girls were wearing weather-appropriate clothing (I really didn't do too well convincing them of the need for long sleeves, even when L went outside to check the weather and came back saying, "I'm cold."), brush my teeth, make sure my hair was combed, etc.  I am going to try to keep them in the habit of doing the morning dishes!  I like that routine.

(abrupt end to post) 

Living Room Update

I know this is a little late and there is no final picture...but I have some time tonight to show off what we did in our living room. It all started with a little peeling of paint and wallpaper covered paneling. And as with all projects turned out to be much bigger than that. We decided to check out what was under the panel and found that we could tear it off, but...the people who had put it up had used some tar-like glue to put it on and therefore we couldn't just scrape and paint we had to sheetrock. :) Our realtor was very impressed, even told Kevin he could do sheetrocking as a side job if he wanted. So, here is the progression:

Living/Dining Room

In the process of painting our living room we moved our couch into the dining room.  It has stayed there ever since (umm...maybe 2 weeks since the painting was finished).  We rather enjoy it!  We finish a meal and go hang out on the couch, reading books, snoozing, contemplating what's next...  It is so nice! 

Now, since we like it so much and we like the openness of the living room, we are deciding what we should permanently do.  Currently there is one chair in the living room, and whatever toys land there throughout the day!  Haha.  Do we buy something new for the living room?  Do we just move it back to the way it was?  Do we bring the pew upstairs to put where the couch is in the dining room?  If we did that, do we recover the pew to at least coordinate a little bit with the rest of the place (it's currently red with dark wood)?  Also, we've been looking for used short wall cabinets to put along that wall to put a bench with storage and cushions in that spot...  I also found an oak buffet!  Oh, so nice, but...  a little more expensive than hoped!

What do you think of the arrangement?  Most people who come and try it, say it should stay!  :)  A fifth+ person at the table would make it a bit crowded, but...  Leave your comments! 

*Reminder:  If you leave first names of children in your comment, it will be deleted.  Thanks!

Silly Supper

It had been a long day/weekend/etc. when we made this silly supper.  I decided to do it with some flair.  Crinkle cutting carrots (or anything) is sure to make them disappear faster.  And elephant cut bread, might as well!

Produce Washing

I've seen a lot about washing berries in vinegar and water.  This, I've been told helps them last longer and helps them not to mold and gets all the chemicals off.  It was something like 1 part vinegar, 10 parts water...well, I came across something easier.  Fill your sink with water and add a cup of vinegar, submerge and gently stir all your produce and leave for 10 minutes.  Then take it all out.  It really does make my sink sparkle!  Oh, and cleans all those fruits and veggies. 

(Sorry about the sideways picture) 

New Bed for the Girls

This is the girls before we decided to get them a new bed.  L had possibly become scared of sleeping in her bed alone and so we tried switching the girls.  On the first night Kj said, "My bed is softer!"  But they did well for a few nights in "opposite" beds.  Well, one night Kj woke up crying that she wanted to sleep in her bed.  She was inconsolable and so we made room on the twin bed and put her at the foot of the bed...or the second head.  In the below picture, they had started out the night with heads at either end, and realizing they didn't mind sharing a bed, we decided to try for something bigger.

Here are the girls taking apart their old bed with me.  They were very helpful.  :)  They played in, on, around, under all the parts.  I believe the drawer section was a boat or a bus. 

 

Kevin and I went to IKEA to buy some dressers.  We got the idea from a website called IKEA Hackers.  Very fun site to go through!

  

Here are Kevin and his dad starting the bed frame.  We spent a Saturday afternoon doing the frame and positioning the dressers to make the bed.  The girls were with their Nana.

We got the bed into the bedroom and I wanted to see how spacious the "fort" would be.  

Here the girls are helping with the finishing touches.  We realized we needed to put a spacer in each side of the bed so the rungs wouldn't shift and fall through!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, playing on the bed.  Yeah, we decided rails were necessary...but didn't make plans for them, so the first night (and ever since) we put an old set of crib rails up.  They are removable when changing sheets is the order of the day or big hugs, or quickly getting sick children down from the bed...nice, but hope to think of something soon to do the same thing, but that matches.

 

Steps to the top: stool, dresser, bed.

Sale!

I have a few Blessings Unlimited items that I have decided to sell from my "consultant stash".  I'm hoping someone will want these!  I added links to my friend's website with the original descriptions of the items.  Enjoy!

Grace Pillow:  "God's sweet grace is in this place."  Orig. $44, now $25.

Grateful Hearts Wood Pedestal:  "Home so sweet, blessed by God, gather together with grateful hearts.  Now is the time of God's favor.  II Corinthians 6:2 NIV"  11 3/4" Wx 8" H  Orig. $56, now $30.

Heirloom White Trivet:  Orig. in a set of 3 for $30, now $8.

Vintage Block Set:  (multiple messages) Orig. $42, now $20.

God's Light in Me for girls: Orig. $16, now $8.