Another One of THOSE Nights...

Here at our house...chaos often reigns. I ride roughshod with my handy dandy color coded calendar, a cell phone, and my plethora of cookbooks.

Tonight was another of THOSE nights... the ones where everyone is in a different direction. Tim was coaching volleyball in one town, Ashley was playing volleyball in another town, and I, being Supermom, had to coordinate everyone' schedule, get the kids home ~ fed ~ bathed, dinner for us, Tim off to his school board meeting (yep, after coaching and bringing Stephan home), and try to find time to blog and unwind.

I'm attempting to downsize my cookbooks, because Isaiah has taken to pulling them off of the shelf and scattering them to every corner of the house. So - I already had a plan for a new recipe tonight... remember the color coded calendar?... The recipe that I used was so easy and simple that it is ridiculous. You should all try it. The one I made for breakfast was pretty awesome too. I'll post that at the end.

I'm scattered all over my blog ~ do you see the bits and pieces of my ADHD mind? (Thus, the reason for a color coded calendar. Organization is key to not losing my mind.)

OK - first cookbooks. My goal is to go through every single recipe and try it. If I like - I highlight it and note any changes I want to make. If I don't like it - I put a big black X on it. Easy, right? Then, when I'm done with the book or magazine, I go through and type each recipe. The recipe is then neatly printed onto an index card and filed. Very simple, and it helps me stay organized. The added benefit is I get rid of a lot of my recipe book/magazine/clippings/cards mess. The shelves are full, the box on top is filled with recipes shoved in there, I have a drawer with more recipes shoved in there, and a file box that I just found 20 minutes ago under a cabinet with recipe magazines. Yikes. This adventure might take a few months ~ or years.

Next, the reason I mentioned my crazy day is to show you that I don't sit around eating bon-bons all day...Thanks, Larry. The next two recipes were done with four kids in the house and on a time limit. The first one uses ground beef. We are seldom without ground beef. (Not because it is cheap, but because we raise our own beef and always have too much ground.) I'm always trying new ways to make ground beef better... I'm still trying, but this recipe was so quick/easy/good that it didn't matter.

MEAL IN ONE CASSEROLE

1 lb ground beef

3 med. unpeeled potatoes, thinly sliced

1 med. onion, sliced and separated into rings

1 cup frozen peas

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a skillet over medium heat, cook beef until no longer pink; drain (I highly suggest rinsing your beef as well). Place potatoes in a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Top with beef and onion. Place peas in the center; arrange mushrooms around the peas. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and sesame seeds; drizzle with butter. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

I didn't have canned mushrooms so I used fresh (because that was what was in the fridge!) and fresh is better anyway!

I couldn't find the sesame seeds until after I baked the dish - but we didn't miss them.

Overall, I really liked the flavor of this dish. It isn't one I would make for company, but I will make it again on a quick night. Please note - it takes an hour to bake. Just the perfect time for giving two nine month old babies their baths and bottles!

This next recipe is a favorite of mine (for now)...

Banana Split Muffins

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour (We use King Arthur's Whole Wheat flour)

1 cup sugar (or slightly less)

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (or slightly more)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (not sure if they were walnuts, but they were chopped and in the freezer)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup mayonnaise

6 maraschino cherries, halved (I didn't use these - didn't have them in the house - don't like them)

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, chocolate chips, walnuts, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine bananas and mayonnaise. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done. Press a cherry half, cut side down, into the top of each muffin. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

First of all, this was so easy to make. When the boys woke me up at 5:30 this morning I decided to start baking. It took no time at all to whip these up. The clean up is minimal and I'm still eating the muffins. Stephan and I each had 2 for breakfast, and I had one for dessert. I love them! I will never have a banana thrown away again. They will be used in this muffin!

Both of these recipes came from the Taste of Home's Quick Cooking magazine. This was the Nov/Dec 1999 issue...

Stephan ...

Just a quick snapshot of Stephan eating his chicken/artichoke/pesto pizza. This is for you three doubting toms that emailed and said I was lying! Some kids really do like artichoke hearts. Silly you...

What the Heck Happened to the Bathroom...

I was searching for my blowdryer this morning when I realized that it must be in Ashley's bathroom. I didn't think anything of it ~ until I walked into her bathroom! What the Heck?!!! First of all, we call it "her" bathroom because it used to be hers. Now, it belongs to Ashley, all the boys, and the guests. (We don't have very many guests anymore ~ the twins scare them away.)

Note the ELECTRICAL CORD in the sink.

Do horses like to bathe? (OK - yep, in our house anything plastic goes into the tub, but so do our real equine animals ~ like to bathe ~ not necessarily in the sink...)

Clothes on the floor...towels on the floor...towels sitting on the countertop that should hav been put away 2 days ago...drawers left open (what's up with that?)...I didn't look, but I hope the toilet was flushed (you never know when you have a 2 year old if he flushes or not!)... the chaos and madness was overwhelming.

Let me remind you ~ I'm not a neat freak, but the sight of this bathroom this morning about had me seeing red. Tim definately needs to get going on this remodel project. The kids need their own bathrooms so I can have a decent looking guest bathroom.

Uugghhh.....men!

Most of you know that our daughter does not attend school in our town. She goes to high school in a nearby town ~ about 30 miles down the highway. Each afternoon I have to go to the school to pick her up after volleyball practice (30 minutes one way). On my way home, I get the phone call. The one from my husband that goes, "um...I have an Ag. Advisory Board meeting tonight. I have to leave in 45 minutes." Yeah - OK. It's not like the school is 10 minutes up the road!!!! By the time I get home, I'm rushing to get dinner made. Thankfully, my frustrating husband is not afraid of "women's work." He had fed and bathed both of the twins. Great. One chore down... I quickly decided what to make for dinner. I came up with my own standby for quick nights: Chicken/Artichoke/Pesto Pizza. This is literally the easiest dinner in the world to make. It is good and healthy. (Well, if you go easy on the cheese ~ which we don't.)

What is needed:

Pesto sauce. Mine is purchased already prepared.

Boboli pizza crust.

Mozzarella cheese

Shredded (or chopped) Chicken (The photo has chopped chicken, but we used shredded chicken tonight and it was better ~plus we got to use up leftover chicken!)

Artichoke hearts (yep, I keep those in my cupboard as well)

Heat the oven. Spread the pesto sauce on the crust. Sprinkle on the cheese, chicken, and artichoke hearts. Bake for 10 minutes. While the pizza is baking, chop some veggies for a salad an voila. You have an easy, quick meal.

The next dilemma I thought I would have was getting Stephan (our 2 year old) to eat the pizza. I didn't exactly tell him what was on it. Just that it was pizza. I also thought I picked all the artichoke hearts off his slice. Oops - when he bit into one he declared, "I no like this pizza." Ironically, he opted to finish the pizza versus the pb&j backup for those who choose not to eat what mom makes for dinner.

Wow - dad is off at his meeting, all the kids are bathed, they are now in slumber land, and I'm off for a hot bubble bath.

We Go Out Walking...

They say it takes a village to raise a child. What does it take when you have four children?

Ashley riding Summer, Aiden in the wagon, Grammy walking in the green shirt, Tim pushing Isaiah in the stroller, and Stephan riding his monster truck. Check out his video below.

Last Thursday evening, we found that our entire family was home at the same time. We took full advantage and went for a walk. Ashley immediatly proclaimed that she was riding her horse, she was not going to walk with us. Stephan quickly laid claim to his monster truck. That left Tim and I and the twins. Ashley quickly made that decision for us - they would ride in the wagon and she would pull them. May I remind you that she is riding her horse. While I was in franticlly searching for my shoes, Ashley found a piece of bailing twine, tied it to the wagon, and loaded up Isaiah. Tim already had Aiden in the stroller. When I finally ran out the door to catch my family, the sight that I saw had me laughing. Check out our walk. (Tim's mom joined us too!)
Both of these videos are funny. The first is Ashley pulling Isaiah in the wagon, and the second is Stephan riding his monster truck.

Tim with Aiden, Stephan, and Grammy.

Can you believe this horse is allowing a wagon to be pulled behind her? Summer is the best mare. Yep, for those of you wondering, Ashley is bareback with shorts on. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Persnickity

Ashley began her 4H adventures at the ripe age of 5. She bought a $50 goat from a ranch in a nearby town. Not knowing what to do with it - we brought it home in my dad's motor home (the goat ran around), left it in the backyard (where else?), and played with it like it was a dog. In fact, it acted like one of the dogs. Ashley named her new goat, Shadow. He is a black agute. Shadow proved to be a great show goat. Ashley won the Booster Showmanship Award and many blue ribbons that year. Sadly, Shadow didn't like being away from home. He didn't drink or eat. We finally started bringing water from home to the show barn to keep him hydrated. When we finally got to bring him home, we decided he would be allowed to retire and roam the property at his leisure. (Yep, the ripe age of 1 year old. We should all be so lucky.)

Shadow has a lot of property that he roams throughout the day now. Tim's parents live next door, and Shadow has decided that Gramps has better grain than we do, but he isn't too picky. He also spends time out with the roping steers and still finds time in his busy day to visit our horses and cows. Occasionally, he will wander to other nearby houses and eat their weeds or trees, whichever he is hungry for.

Lately though, he has been acting weird. Now before you wonder how a goat can act weird, let me remind you that he lived in my back yard for a time. He has a definite personality. So, acting weird...the last few days he has been snorting at the cows and steers and head butting them into a confrontation with him. (I forgot to mention that he has NO FEAR! I once saw him head butt a coyote and chase him off the property!) All day long he walks around with his fur puffed up and snorting at the cows.

Is it the change in weather that is making him ornery, or is he afflicted?

No worries - this steer is not dead. He is sleeping, but will very quickly be awakened by the snorting, head butting goat. Poor little baby just wanted a nap.

Ashley Has A New Baby...

"Texas Holdem", "Tex" for short, arrived at our house on Saturday afternoon. I don't know much about him. He is gentle, kind, black, and cuddly. Tex is a Maine Angou steer. Oh golly, I should have consulted with Ashley on his exact heritage. (She usually prefers Maine cows - but now that I think of it her current fav heiffer is a Cimontal, I think.) Whatever ~ it is a black steer people. That is what is important. And he is soooooo cute! You should come see him.

Tex is just one of the many steers that Ashley has raised over the years. To date, she names her steers from cards. Since she has run out of cards, she chose her favorite card game, Texas Holdem. Welcome to the family, Tex.

Little Blessings...

Today was crazy. I showered last night, thank goodness because I haven't a clue where the time went today.

First of all, I'm going to have to make a confession. I have a lady and her husband come and clean my home every other week. They are very nice, very affordable, incredibly understanding about my constant mess, but most of all ~ they love my children. So, here I am in my pj's running around trying to get the boys fed and the house cleaned before G&A arrive.

I've already changed diapers, got all three of the boys dressed and taken Ashley to the restaurant where she gets picked up for the remainder of her commute to school. I'm wondering how my house gets so cluttered and messy? What the heck? We just had Bible Group at our house last night and it was straightened then? Do little gnomes come in during the night? What is the deal?

Searching for the next home to mess up!

And yet I digress.. Moving along. So, the boys and I head off to the park with our gear in tow: wagon, monster truck, diaper bag, blankie, water bottles (that I had to stop and buy because I left ours at home!), stroller, lunch box, kick ball, and baby toys.

As we pull into the local quick stop place for our h2o hydration, it dawns on me that I haven't washed the truck in about 2 months. Hmm... let's do it now. With a freshly, yet poorly washed truck (the dirt was seriously caked on) we finally made it to the park. We played and played. Grandpa, Grandma Betty, Katie, and Gage were able to stop by for a little while as well.

By the time we made it home ~ we were all exhausted. All three of the boys slept at the same time. This has only happened twice before. There wasn't a single child crying, whining, pouting, or shouting. It felt so calm and peaceful. Then I looked at the clock and thought - yikes! I need to leave now to make it to Ashley's volleyball game on time. (She played out of town again today.) But... the house was peaceful, and the angels were singing, and the boys were all asleep at the same time! What is a mom to do? Well, this mom sat down and opened a book. What the heck - they were worn out and needed to sleep.

Don't worry - I did go to Ashley's game. Through a comedy of errors (I was lost) ~ I paid my $ and walked in the door to find both teams shaking hands. Our girls had won both volleyball games in 34 minutes. What the heck did I pay my money for? No reason to whine ~ laugh it off and go eat! Ironically, all three boys, Ashley, and I had a great dinner ~ and we were not eating at home! Monumental. Eating out with 9 month old twins, and a 2 year old is always a challenge. Usually one I don't want to deal with. I would rather go home and cook. That way no one can comment on what messy eaters the twins are. Do all babies make such a mess on the floor? I wish we could take a dog with us. That way the floor stays clean ~ works that way in our house...

I love their orange chicken.

After dinner, Ashley wanted to run into the Christian bookstore. Why not? We don't get to town very often and she has never been to this store. She spent FOREVER wandering the isles. I was ready to shoot her. But then... she took the babies to load them into the truck and I paid for her purchases. I didn't question anything she got - in fact, I didn't even look. I just told the lady that I was here to pay for the items that the princess left. (I'm the peon.)

I got into the truck with 2 screaming babies and a stressed out 14 year old. That always is a fun thing to do - try it. I'll loan you mine. The 2 year old was remarkably good. (Could be because he not only ate his Panda Express Kids Meal, but he ate what the babies didn't eat, and mine! Oh SNAP! That means a growing spurt is coming on. Hello new wardrobe.) Anyway, Ashley turns to me and says, "Did you see the shirt I got?" "No," I replied. "I just paid for them, I didn't look at the stuff." "Well good," said Ashley. "I bought something for you for Christmas." (cha-ching! Is my girl good or what?) Then, she melted my heart. She told me that she bought the shirt for Stephan. Wow!! She was thinking of her 2 year old little brother that she usually tries to ignore. AAHH... big sigh of relief. All of the stress of the day suddenly dropped from my shoulders. Thank you Lord.

It's Official...

I have fallen off the wagon. This summer I declared that I would not drink another Starbuck's coffee due to the inflated calorie content. I still haunted the grocery isles aimlessly while enjoying the time in town and catching up on the local gossip ~ but I was drinking the Tazo passion fruit tea. Less money, fewer calories, and I could still enjoy the exotic aroma of Starbuck's coffee. I could sit at the drive through window of a Starbuck's all day long simply enjoying the wafting scent of coffee. However, life has thrown me a loop and I choose COFFEE! I've decided to work my way through the menu. I have some definate likes and dislikes. Fortunately, the Starbuck's crew know me by name (not hard in a town like this one), and they are always up to the challenge of creating an even better drink for me ~ they even tell me what I won't like, and laugh when they make something hideous and I make funny faces. Silly Starbuck's crew - it just makes me want to come back all that more often...

Today's choice was:

White Chocolate Mocha

The verdict:

Never order again.

What is it about sitting outside amid the garden flowers enjoying hot tea or steaming coffee? It is peaceful and deliberate.

By the way, I believe I was enjoying a Caramel Macciato the morning that I took the photo. I have the vanilla left in (duh~it's always the men who ask if I want it left out), and add 2 pumps of mocha. Okay - I don't personally add the extra pumps, I pay the Starbuck's people to do it for me. Once a Princess...

Wow...

Yeah! I figured out the video thing. The video itself is not very good. I don't usually use the video function on my camera, but overall I think it is ok. Next time, obviously I will need to zoom in first. I couldn't get the zoom to work while I was filming. Maybe I should read the instruction booklet...

Roping Arena Play Time ~ In Color

I thought this was so cute - the kids were watching the guys in the header's box.

Isaiah
Grammy and Gramps with the twins.
Stephan ~ waiting to get out of the playyard.

Roping Arena Play Time

Just some photos from today... Enjoy!