A Much Delayed Update...

Why would you start a blog but not post in so long? I just don't understand!

Well, there are a few reasons:

1)

This was a few weeks ago...I'm much, much larger than that now.

I'm 28 weeks this week! And get to take the amazing *gag* glucose test tomorrow.

2)

In summation: We bought a house, we renovated and painted the house, and we moved into the house. It doesn't look as bad as that now............buuuut not much better. I will post a full house blog later :)

BUT, today I'm procrastinating pick up...see, blogs are useful, right?

Between those two things, and a myriad of other things, I have been really busy and just really burned out.

And even though my kids are fighting (no really...physically fighting) right now, I still love them.

That is all...new posting goal: once a week, at least. Sorry :/

A Crazy, Lazy Life

I don't even know when I last wrote something.

It's not that I haven't wanted to write, or that I couldn't find anything to write...I just literally did not want to sit down during the only time of the day where I have a brief moment to myself and dedicate it to a blog post. I did something even more mundane...I planted my tush in the nearest seat and went brain dead until the first munchkin dared to cross the nap time threshold. Sometimes I napped...but usually I just wasted away a couple hours watching (recorded) TV shows. I didn't even have a good excuse like "I'll watch these while being productive and folding laundry!" Nope...in fact, my mom and my sister folded almost three weeks worth of laundry for me while I was at a Dr. appointment.

I like to think that this (current) lazy streak is because of my pregnancy. I am always soooo lethargic during the first trimester. But I don't know if it would be fair placing all the blame on the baby.

I haven't even been on Pinterest since last week. No, really. And I am starting to think that I don't want to be on it again (except to review some of my old pins for house/organizing/cleaning/meal ideas).

Today is the first day that I finally did some cleaning and I stopped before I got everything finished (ooops!) I got the kids rooms cleaned all the way, but now I need to focus on getting the kitchen and living room cleaned all the way. They are both started!

Then I stare into the living room and chicken out. That's right...I'm an ostrich with her head in the sand, hiding for all the work I should have been keeping up on this entire time. Now, molehill mountain is threatening to topple over on top of me. Yes, that's a reference to my laundry pile that is cleaned and folded (thank you, Mom and Des) and STILL needs to be put away. "But I have another load in the dryer that needs to be folded and then I will put everything away!" she said to herself, unconvincingly.

...that pile of clothes has been in the dryer since Monday before lunch...

...we went to play at the mall to avoid it...

My mind is a fizzy bottle of soda that got shaken too hard and exploded. I'm knee deep in a sticky mess and I just need to find an outlet for all the filthy liquid hard at work ruining my pristine deplorably average mind. Forgetting is a good one...but somehow it all soaks back up again, eventually. Calling on God? Yes, that's a good godly answer, but I find myself failing at that too many times (to my shame.) And perhaps that IS the best outlet (okay, I know it is, but I'm writing this blog, not you.)

Average? I think not. I fail sooo miserably. With my house, with my kids, with my hunk...it's a mess. I'm not even going to put a positive spin on it...that's how sticky stuck my mind is at the moment. I'll be better tomorrow. "After all, tomorrow is another day!" Thank you, Scarlett.

Well, I will attempt to write fairly more frequently...I won't promise, because we have all seem how THAT goes, but it's a start to want to again.

This is also one of my favorite praise songs.
<I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from teh LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is they keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. Psalm 121>

A Lazy Streak Update

Well, let's not get carried away . . .I wouldn't say lazy . . .

My energy levels are pretty low . . .but that could be due to waking up early and going to bed later than I should. Going to bed at 11:30 pm and waking up at 5:30 am . . .not conducive for an energetic day . . .

. . . I promise that I was NOT grouchy . . .but please don't ask my hunk about this . . .one of us would be lying.

So that's why I like Calvin and Hobbes so much . . .who knew?!

And of course, Garfield.

But, I'm not always in a bad mood. When I'm being productive I'm usually in a good mood! That being said . . .

I mentioned that I made my own butter (yum.) Well, now I have finally made my first (actually second) loaf of bread. I found the recipe for a loaf of bread and then made the necessary modifications so that I could prepare it in my bread machine (someone gave me one when I got married . . .never used it and actually gave it away because it was so big and took up so much room in our mobile home . . .but I got it back and now I am super excited about it . . .if anyone wants some fresh bread, let me know!)

I will probably make my bread weekly . . .so next time I will post pictures of the process along with my method. But if you don't have a bread machine, just use the link and enjoy a wonderful loaf of bread!

I also made my liquid hand soap again . . .I didn't take pictures of the process like I promised, but I plan to do so soon . . .I have another bar waiting to be useful. Who wants to give kids a bath with a bar of soap? Not me! I used Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Castile Soap this time . . .was super excited at how great it did!

As you can see, it is all organic. I also have a bar of lavender soap that I want to liquify as well. I get almost a full gallon when doing this myself . . .and still for the $5 this bar costs . . .versus the bottle available in a 32 ounce size (a gallon is 128 ounces) which costs $17. So I'm essentially getting 4X's the amount . . .well, a little less, but still...4X's for 1/3 of the cost! 

See . . .PINTEREST! IS a useful waste of time!

Hopefully I will update more regularly again. After getting to bed earlier so I don't fall asleep during the kids' nap times/my blog times like I have been. Weekends end up being the time for the house to get destroyed and then I have no energy to clean up during the week . . .I need to improve! Average homemaker :/

<He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. Proverbs 16:32>

Chicken and Broccoli Bake

Okay, this has fast become a family favorite. Each time I make it, I do not measure anything...so this time I measured it all out! Disclosure: I am aware that this is not a novelty type meal. I know versions of this exist...this is just what I do for my family.

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts
2 cups frozen broccoli (16 ounce bag of chopped broccoli is what I used)
2 cups Pepperidge Farms Herb Seasoned Stuffing (or your choice)
2 cups cheese
2 servings Cream of X Soup (or 2 cans Cream of Chicken...I like making mine though)

Instructions:

First dice the chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper

Then toss into a preheated and oiled pan

While the chicken is cooking, take a sauce pan and begin making your Cream of X Soup

Start the roux by melting 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of butter

Once the butter is melted and starts bubbling, add 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of flour

Whisk together and allow to brown slightly

Add your milk and chicken broth - 1 cup of each 

Tip have this prepared before you start the roux...it can go from browned to burned really quickly...

...not that I know that from experience or anything

Stir together until it reaches boiling and then set aside off of heat (I just move it to the back burner)

If the mixture is not thick enough, you can add a little more flour....like a teaspoon of flour at a time...whisk together well and bring the mixture to a boil again....if it is too thick (it won't be) just add some more butter, again, a teaspoon at a time.

Next, in a casserole dish, pour out the bag of frozen broccoli

Okay...so I wrapped my dish in foil so that clean up would be easier, and the bottom ripped while stirring my ingredients, so I would NOT recommend the foil...unless you like fishing out bits of aluminum out of your meal...yuck

Then add your diced chicken. FYI: if you want to add some of your cream of X soup to the chicken while cooking, that is also a good idea...I did that last time and liked how it kept the chicken moist.

 Take your Stuffing Mix of choice:

This is seriously the best.

And add half (1 cup) to dish

Then add half (1 cup) of the cheese. FYI you CAN add more cheese...I almost always do.

and your soup mix

and stir together until combined

Next take the remaining cheese (1 cup...or more) and sprinkle on top, followed by the remaining breadcrumbs (one cup) and sprinkle those on top. 

Then put dabs of butter over the top of your casserole (about 4 tablespoons)

Cook in oven preheated to 375 degrees F for 30-45 minutes (until cheese is bubbly/center is hot)

Serve with corn and enjoy....well, that's how we do it.

Okay, so I have a confession...I was actually worried sharing this recipe with you because when I made it turned out dry........then I realized what happened. For some reason I only added 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour for my roux! I'm so glad THAT riddle is solved. Believe it or not, that extra 2 tablespoons makes a HUGE difference. Now that I know, I am going to stick by this recipe for sure! 

Also, I'm sure you could skip the "cook the diced chicken" part, but then you would want to bake it for about an hour so that all the chicken gets cooked through properly....I do it this way because I like dealing with cooked chicken better...

ALSO you could just add frozen diced chicken (Tyson has this) and skip the cooking part and the raw part! 

Well, that's all for today. I don't have pictures of the kiddos because we haven't had any photo sessions lately. Maybe tomorrow :)

Back to Basics

I have decided something...I want to start making my own bread.

That's right...I said MAKE MY OWN BREAD.

Just looking at this picture makes me want to go grab a slice of the crap I just bought at the store sitting on top of my refrigerator, slather it with some delicious (homemade!) butter and chow down.

But I can't do that. I made the choice to consume a concrete from Freddy's Frozen Custard...I've pretty much ruined my day. As in: I-really-shouldn't-eat-anything-else-the-rest-of-the-day-because-one-food-item-took-up-my-entire-calorie-content kind of ruined day....but we all know I'm really going to eat......back to the buttered bread again. *mmmmm*

Why would I want to make my own bread?

Well, first of all it smells HEAVENLY when it's (almost done) baking.
Second, I know all the ingredients that go into the bread...
Third, it is actually a lot more cost efficient.

Look, I have the time. I'm at home. I love that little fact of life; I'm a stay-at-home mom. I totally fail at my daily responsibilities, but, hey, I have goals (thank you Mrs. Dorrell for your TOTS talk Thursday) and I plan on accomplishing them. Just because I have like three four days of laundry piling up that needs to be folded and put away doesn't mean that I won't have time for bread-making next week!

So I made my own butter (super easy and super fun) and now I need some homemade bread to go with it...I have an entire board devoted to Bread on PINTEREST!

But for now I'll finish the rest of the store bought loaf resting atop my fridge...perhaps this will be my last store-bought loaf ever.........

but somehow I HIGHLY doubt that

<I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. John 6:51>

Homemade Baby Rice Cereal

Okay, something I have always done is make my own baby food. I do buy some baby food from the store, just for those moments of necessity, but most of the time I enjoy the process of steaming and pureeing on my own. One thing I have almost always purchased, however, is the baby rice cereal.

Let me preface this: I HAVE made baby rice cereal by powderizing (I think this is a made-up word, but I'm going with it!) organic brown rice grains in a coffee grinder. However, it does not whip up in a few short seconds...it takes quite a while, actually, because it has to cook all the way through.

With baby #3, however, I had a random (and rare) "ah-ha!" moment. I had purchased some Brown Minute Rice because I thought "how nice to make rice so quickly if I forget to make a carbohydrate for the meal one day" (yeah right...like that could happen with this carb lover *points to self*) and as I was looking in my pantry I suddenly thought..."why not just powderize the minute brown rice?"

What you need (or a variation of seen objects *UPDATE* I actually use my blender first and then finish the grains off in the coffee grinder until it reaches a powdered stage...I burned out my coffee grinder only using it, plus it takes less time and it's really not too bad to clean up):

I set my coffee grinder at "Fine" and I keep holding it "on" until it reaches a fine powdered end.

I tried to show how powdered I meant...think flour consistency...mine is not that fine, but the finer you make it, the better...but it will still work if it isn't that fine, so don't worry.

I tried making the rice cereal three different ways to see what would work out the best.

1) Add cold water to the rice.......that was a major fail. It doesn't get a chance to cook that way...obviously, so it is crunchy and grainy...blech!

2) Added hot (boiling) water to rice (plus an ice cube to cool it down after letting it sit a bit). This worked great, however, it still had probably too much texture for a baby who is just starting out on solids.

3) Put water on stove to boil, added rice, mixed, brought to a boil again, and voila! Perfect consistency for a beginner baby. I added an ice cube to this after I was finished as well. All-in-all this only took like 2 minutes...

Now, I don't really measure things out. I put like a 1/4 cup of water in the pot...so it literally takes a minute to boil...then I just keep adding rice until it thickens up. I'm not too worried about how thick it will get since I add the ice cubes.

It was a huge hit! Plus, it didn't take me 20 minutes to make like the rice cereal I used to make. Now what I want to try to do is parboil my OWN rice...then I can do organic brown Basmati rice (which just happens to be my favorite and can be found in bulk at Whole Foods...whoop!)

Parboiling is very easy, actually, and it will save me money to parboil it at home instead. I am planning on just getting a canister to store the rice in once it is finished drying after I parboil it. Well, if you DO make your own baby food, or have always wanted to give it a try, then I hope this helps you.

Also, sorry that it has been SO long. I actually had planned on writing this a few days ago and I didn't...but, better late then never. I have a couple of recipes I want to put on here that were HUGE HUGE hits with my family (finally......) but I didn't take pictures. I got way too caught up in the cooking process to remember to take pictures! But I will make them again and post pictures then...meanwhile, I hope you all are having a wonderful day!

< Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:24 >

Writer's Block

Well, here I am again...with so much to say and no formulation of thought to appropriate it. I watched a movie and it dredged up some old memories of mine. Funny how memories have a way of surfacing at the most inconvenient times...like right before bed. Umm, hello brain activity, I would like to go to sleep now! Oh wait, I can't because you are having a party in my head!

So I made a dinner tonight...and it turned out all wrong. I do not know WHAT I did wrong, but I was very sad. It is one of my favorite meals. Apricot Chicken. A recipe from my Mother-in-Law. All you need is:

Chicken
Apricot Preserves/Jelly
French Dressing
Lipton Onion Soup Mix

You can roast it or throw it all in the Crock Pot....it's really soooo simple and for whatever reason tonight it just had no flavor.

So sad.

All I wanted was Apricot Chicken and what I got was just...wrong!

At least that is all I have to complain about today (well, that and the sinus pressure...thank you, Lord, that the antibiotics have kicked in and my ears no longer hurt....that's right, I have had an ear infection...I'm an adult for Pete's sake!)

No pictures of my cooking disaster. I will get better one day. Once it becomes habit. And I will start blogging again more frequently (she said again...does anyone believe her???) But I do have this picture of Leah trying on my pajama pants.

I know it's hard to tell, but that is Stewie on my pj's and a quote "How dare you disobey me!" HAHA I thought it was funny anyway. I'm not a huge fan of Family Guy but I thought the pants were quite fitting!

People can't help but compare themselves to others...and quite honestly, I am often ashamed and my level of thoughtlessness. My mind is filled with day-to-day life and not more important matters (like eternal life!) I was reading my sweet friend's blog and could not help but be humbled by the thoughts she has in her heart...and I can't help but realize how infrequently I think that way.

Maybe I should change my blog to Sordidly Sub-Average! ha! But perhaps where I am really is the average. Maybe I need to stop being just average and be more AMAZINGLY average in the areas of life that really count!

<I know they works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art luekwarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Revelation 3:15-16>