Why Do We Plan Again?

.......because absolutely nothing I planned to do today got done!! Oh well, I guess there is always tomorrow!

Today was full of unexpected things. Madison was up half the night with a sick migraine headache. They seem to be getting worse the older she gets. I decided not to take her to church "just in case" it was something else. I don't want to get anyone sick, just like I appreciate others not getting us sick. Thank you Jennifer Trotter for switching Sundays with me in SS~I really appreciate it!

Then we had an unexpected, but WONDERFUL surprise. My sister called me to see if we wanted to keep Rylee for a few days. She has to work late this week and didn't have anyone to keep her. You know what I said....YES, YES, YES!!! So, Mollie, Margaret, and I headed to Greenwood to meet them and pick her up. We were so happy to see her. Mollie kept asking me if she was really dreaming or was Rylee really here! Then, when I got home with her Madison asked me the same thing. These girls of mine really do think alike!

We have played ALL afternoon, only stopping for Rylee (and us) to nap. We have enjoyed our afternoon and can't wait for tomorrow. School should be fun with a baby! We did some tonight though so we wouldn't have so much to do tomorrow. Madison and Margaret have basketball practice and Madison begins Social, so we have a lot to do. I have not planned to cook tomorrow, but maybe I'll get around to it. I have everything planned, now I just have to find the time to get it done. This should be real interesting with school, a baby, activities, and Brad working nights. Maybe if I don't "plan" to do it, then I'll get it done! The only thing I am planning is spoiling my niece!!!

Spaghetti Sauce

I got this recipe from a dear old friend I've known forever! Thanks Shannon Clark Davis! I can't wait to try it!!!

Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb meat (if you want meat)
2 large cans of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (less if you are not a garlic fan)
1/2 large onion chopped
some salt and pepper...you know...enough (no clue how much)
a few spoonfuls of sugar

brown meat olive oil garlic and onions. Put tomatoes in the blender and chop up a little and add to the meat mixture with the rest of the ingredients. I cook it for about 3 hours (or the crock pot works too) The longer you cook it the better it will be!

Rebecca's Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

I got this recipe from a friend I used to teach with. Thanks Stacia Nuessle!!!

Rebecca's Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole - Shared by a friend at church
(I double the recipe to get TWO for me to freeze.)

Ingredients
* boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and chopped (3 to 4 breasts)
* 1 box of Uncle Ben's Original Wild Rice, cooked according to directions on box
* 1/2 lb. sausage, cooked and drained
* 1 pt. fresh mushrooms (sauteed with onions)
* 1 medium vidalia onion chopped (sauteed with mushrooms)
* 1 can cream of mushroom soup
* 1/2 pint sour cream
* Nature's Seasoning to taste

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Sautee mushrooms and onions until tender. Mix all ingredients together adding Nature's Seasoning to taste. Pour mixture into casserole dish and bake for 40 min. or until hot and bubbly.

Planning

Well, today I did not get as much done as I wanted to. It took a while to plan and then I decided to stay home today and cook what I already had in the house. We did 2 weeks worth of menus and made our list. If I double everything then I should get 4 weeks out of it, but I doubt I'll do that on things I'm not too sure if we will like or not. I found some really great menus to print out and plan on. I still prefer paper and pencil to do this part.

Things I did today:

Pumpkin muffins (I left out the chocolate chips since I don't like chocolate unless it is chocolate chip cookies or a brownie.) I made 24 muffins.

Pancakes-I only doubled this recipe to make sure we were going to like the mix. I made 30 big pancakes and 20 mini pancakes. They were delicious so I will be making more tomorrow! Mollie and I mixed them up and Madison cooked them. We make a GREAT team!

Taco Soup-I doubled this recipe too! I'm not sure how much I have to freeze yet because I put it all in a big Tupperware and in the fridge till tomorrow. I used all my freezer bags on the pancakes so I need to get more!

Hamburgers-had some meat left over so Brad grilled 6 patties. He, Madison, Mollie ate this for dinner (he also grilled some deer sausage for him to take to work!), Margaret ate pancakes, and I had Taco Soup. What a conglomeration!!!

Chicken and Vegetables -I really don't have a recipe for this. I had some frozen chicken breast in the freezer so I just threw them in the crock pot and seasoned them with a little of EVERYTHING we had in the cabinet. I had some squash I needed to cook so I threw them in there along with some fresh broccoli, potatoes, and purple onions. I added a cup of water since these are boneless, skinless breast and I wasn't too sure how much water they would release while cooking. This will be our lunch for tomorrow.

My plan for tomorrow is to go to the grocery store and get the things I need to make the rest of the items on my list.

French toast sticks

Waffles

Pancakes

Chicken Rice Casserole

Pasta Primavera

Lasagna

Spaghetti Sauce -thanks to Shannon Clark Davis!

Chili -I use the recipe out of the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook. I use the Easy Chili recipe on page 38. I can post for anyone that needs it.

Whole Chicken -we get 3 meals out of 1 whole chicken. I put the whole chicken in my crock pot with a little seasoning salt, Cavenders, salt, and pepper. DO NOT ADD WATER!! I cook on low ALL day or night. I half this and we eat it as a meal with vegetables, I use the other half and the broth(make sure you save it!) to make chicken and egg noodles, and chicken and rice. I may cook 2 this time since there are so many recipes that call for cooked chicken and I will have it for when I need it. (Chicken Macaroni Bake, Chicken Tetrazzini, Chicken Divan, Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole)

Salmon fillets -I cook these on my George Foreman. I wash the salmon and sprinkle with Blackened Redfish Magic on both sides. It only take a few minutes for these to cook on the George Foreman. I make sure I cook enough so I have leftovers. I use them for Salmon Cesear Salad and Salmon Salad. I also found a great recipe today (thanks Jennifer Earp!) for Firecracker Salad so I will be trying this too. I will probably mix everything up and freeze so all I will have to do is bake them.

Vegetable Soup

Hamburger meat-plan on cooking this so I can make Taco meat, Sloppy Joes, spaghetti sauce, Chili

Let's hope I can get it all done tomorrow after church. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Now, do I have room in my freezer for all of this?

Baking Day Plan

Thanks to an idea I got from Money Saving Mom I am going to attempt to make a plan and have a baking day. I absolutely LOVE having things already cooked and in the freezer. This makes for very quick dinner nights. Also, we seem to be getting busier with our school work and extra activities so I want my life to be as easy as possible. The girls and I are working today on our lists and menus for the next 2 weeks to see how this is going to go. If all goes well, my next challenge will be to follow her $40.00 week grocery budget. We are an "eating" family of 5 so I will probably spend a little more than this, but I really want to try to stick with her budget.I know this sounds impossible, but it is working for Money Saving Mom so why can't it work for us too? I'll post our list and plan when we get finished. Wish me luck!!!

Taco Soup

Anyone love Taco Soup? We love it at my house! I haven't had it in awhile so I decided to make up a big pot today. I have seen several recipes for Taco Soup and they all looked so good. My secret when looking for a recipe is ....SIMPLE!! I won't usually fix something if there is a lot of steps and/or a lot of ingredients that will only be used for one recipe. I do like to try these types of recipes sometimes, usually it goes to waste because no one will eat it but me.

Here is the recipe I use for Taco Soup. I usually double/triple the serving so I will have some to freeze. If I am making it, I might as well make a lot of it. If I could remember where I got it from, I would be glad to give credit to that person or site. Since I did not write down where or who it came from, I can't do it this time. Please feel free to post your favorite Taco Soup recipe here too! If you make this, let me know how it turns out~I can assure you it will be DELICIOUS!!!!

The Very Best Taco Soup Recipe

1 1/2 lbs. Hamburger meat
2 cans Corn
2 cans Pinto beans
1 can dark red Kidney beans
1 can Ro-tel (mild or hot)
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix (not the dip mix)
1 8oz. pkg velveta


Brown hamburger and season as normal, I use garlic powder, salt, and pepper, in a large pot. Drain. Add the ranch dressing mix and taco seasoning to the meat and stir well. Do not drain any of the canned ingredients. Add all canned ingredients (including the juice) to the meat. Bring to a boil. While thats coming to a boil, cube the velveta and add to the soup. Once the soup has been brought to a boil cover and simmer on low for 30-45 min. Serve with tortilla chips. You can also serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa etc.

Out of the Mouth of Babes!

Mollie is the sweetest child~sometimes! She seems to always have something to say about everything. I thought it might be neat to blog about some of these so I won't forget them and to see if you might find them quite humorous/sweet too. I really think I named her right when I named her after my grandma Bess, Bessie Evelyn~~Mollie Evelyn~~because they are a lot alike in so many ways, especially when it comes to their words. They both seem to say what's on their mind at any given time no matter what, gotta love em!! Her nickname is Mollie B because my grandmother says I should have named her Mollie Bess. Cost too much to change her name and what's the point~we know her as Mollie B and everyone who knows us well knows what the B stands for.....BESS!!!!

"Good Golly Miss Mollie!"

She looks at our wedding picture and asks me where she is in the picture. Before I could answer her, she answers herself. "God and Jesus hadn't made me yet?"

When I couldn't get on my farm on farmville she says, "Be glad you got children to spend time with."

When she says things like this, it is hard to imagine her any other way but SWEET!

Fun at Kackleberry Farm

On Monday a small group of homeschoolers from our neighborhood went to Kackleberry Farms in Louisville. We had such a GREAT time. There was so much to do on this small farm, the children didn't know where to go first or what to do first. That's OK, because first off we had an explanation of the farm and what all there is to do here. Then we had some pumpkin education and a story. This was really geared towards the small ones, as I could see the older children got bored quick! When I say small ones I mean 1st/2nd grade and under. If I hadn't already completed a pumpkin unit with Mollie, she might would have enjoyed it more. Either way, the story was cute and I want a copy for my bookshelf at home. One can NEVER have too many books!!! After all of this was over, the children chose the corn maze first. After this, everyone just scattered because there was so much to do and everyone wanted to do something different. I didn't mind it too much because the farm isn't that big and I could keep my eye on everyone from a distance. Also, we were only 1 of 2 groups on the farm this day. It is only opened on Saturdays and Sundays to the public. During the week, it is reserved only for field trips. I was able to speak with the owner for a few minutes and she said this was their 3rd year and they have reserved trips for over 3000 students so far. The first year they had a little over 1000 and each year since have added 1000. They have also added new stuff each year. The first year they opened, they only had the animals and the corn maze. Now they have added lots more things and lots more children! If anyone is thinking about going, I highly recommend it!

I think I had just as much fun as the children!

Madison's favorite thing on the farm was the slide that went 40 mph because it was fast AND the baby rabbits and baby goats because they were so soft and cuddly. She didn't like the life cycle of the pumpkin or the story because she thought it was boring and everybody already knew this except for the little kids. (See where I got my review from?)

Margaret's Favorite thing on the farm was the baby animals because she liked feeding them the baby bottles. She didn't like the "Buckeroo Riding thingie" because it was impossible to sit on~thought the owners should have made it more stable. (I think this is the point of the ride though!)

Mollie's favorite thing on the farm was the corn maize because you follow tracks and look at patterns. She didn't like the pig races that much because you just have to stand there and be still and you can't do anything. (Can you tell she doesn't like to be still?)

Milestone

I put my oldest "baby" on a bus this afternoon with other middle and high school students from our church for a weekend retreat in Covington, GA. I know she will have a GREAT time! When I got there to drop her off, all the other students are older now. I don't think I realized how grown up she was getting until I scanned the crowd and saw all those "bigger" kids (I know, everyone is bigger than her!). I have only been used to the children's department and the trips the girls go on with them. This is our first year in the middle school department and she LOVES it! I am feeling quite old! I HAVE A MIDDLE SCHOOLER NOW! WOW! Where have all the years gone? When the girls were younger and I saw parents of middle school children, I thought they were so old and their children so grown. Now I am one of those parents and my daughter is one of those children. I still can not believe it! Can you tell I'm having a hard time?!?! I barely got a hug good bye today. Just a quick grab on my back while I was talking to someone. Nothing fancy or special~no looking into my eyes and "telling" me good bye, no long, tight hug good bye, and definitely not a kiss! She even called me "mother" today. I told her I was not her "mother", but I guess I am! I always thought I would be mommy. I guess that is only for moms who do not have a child in middle school. Hopefully I can make Mollie and Margaret stay little for a while longer. I just hope she and Margaret do not pick up on the "mother" thing!

It's FINALLY Here!

Well, my cell phone came in today! I guess I should really say my Blackberry ("crackberry") because I was using a cell phone and it is definitely NOT the same thing!! I thought I had to wait 7-10 days for my replacement to come because I only paid the $9.99 shipping (too cheap to pay the $19.99 for 2 day and really couldn't afford it anyway! Patience is a virtue, right?) and I had already decided it wouldn't be here until then. Trust me, I was in a bad mood every time I thought about it, got a text, had to sit down to check email, or log on to facebook to do anything OTHER than farm! The cold, rainy weather didn't help my mood either, so I was just THRILLED to hear the girls say there was a package at the door. I really didn't think it was my phone though because it had not been enough time. I am always sending off for so many samples of "free" stuff I find online, so I just thought it was something "not so important". There was no return address with Tmobile on it so I just didn't think it could possibly be my phone.

I bring it inside and open it and SURPRISE....it is my Blackberry!

Now why in the world did they want me to pay $19.99 for 2 day shipping when it was going to get here in 2 days for $9.99?!?! If I would have paid $19.99 I would have never known the difference. Since I only paid $9.99, I would like to know where my other $10.00 would have gone? Do you think they would have sent it back?? Anyone think I should ask?

We went to Edgefield tonight to the funeral home. My stepfather's mother died or my step-grandmother? Either way it was a sad occasion for a visit to Edgefield. Sorry, but Thurmond's isn't on my list of places to visit when I go to Edgefield. It is such a sad place to go. A sad occasion to see people. I often wonder why it takes a funeral home visitation or funeral to see people you may not have seen in ages? There were some people there tonight I hardly recognized because I was much younger the last time I saw them. This is really a happy time when you see someone you haven't seen in awhile, but then you realize why you are there and why you are seeing them. Depressing! People's lives are so busy these days, but it is nice to know we all still come together to share in the life of someone dear to all of us~someone special to each of us in our own way. I think "Miss Dot" would have been happy~lots of people there that loved her. Please keep her family in your prayers as they go through this difficult time in their lives. Grief is a very painful thing. People always say it gets better with time, but how much time? Can you really put a time on your pain?

Brad and I brought home both babies (Rylee and Matthew) for the night. We are keeping them until everyone gets back from St. George sometime tomorrow evening. I went to the funeral home with sad eyes and a heavy heart and came home with 2 babies and a smile. Isn't it funny how babies make you take your mind off your own trouble/grief? So sweet, so innocent! This time tomorrow my eyes may be red and heavy from a lack of sleep, but it will all be worth it!!!!

You Won't BELIEVE This!!

I actually had to hang clothes outside to dry...not just ANY clothes, but Brad's hunting clothes! See, I bought this Bounce Dryer Bar for the dryer, so everything smells GREAT! Only hunting clothes are not supposed to smell GREAT. Am I the only one that did not know that?!?!

Back when we were first married I can remember a time when I washed them in the best smelling laundry detergent I could find then literally soaked them in Snuggle liquid fabric softener because I wanted them to smell good! Can you say "HUGE MISTAKE!!!" Anyway, you would have thought I would have learned my lesson with those clothes by now, but NO I DIDN'T! To make matters worse, we don't have a clothes line. Who hangs up clothes on a line anymore~surely not ME! Too much effort would be involved in that and how much time would that take, and besides, what in the world would my neighbors think?!? So, I had to improvise. The girls and I took those wet clothes and hung then out alright, out on the trampoline. Guess if I have to do this again I should invest in a clothes line complete with clothes pins and all. But what else would I ever hang on a clothes line~NOTHING, NADA, ZIP~so why waste the money, time, and effort involved in hanging one up. I think I'll just stick with the trampoline!! BTW~it rained last night so guess who had to go get those clothes~THE GIRLS AND I, and they weren't even dry yet!! How ridiculous is that!!

Birthday Celebration and Other Stuff

I really need pictures to go with this post, but, oh well! My camera card is full, but my computer says it is empty! Wonder which one is correct? Guess I can always post them later! We began our first weekend in October with Brad's 35th birthday. Yes, I said 35th birthday! WOW! It was a very quiet one (if you call living in a house with 4 women quiet!) since he had to work nights all weekend. The girls and I took him to lunch at his favorite place....the Japanese Steak House! I'm not exactly sure if it is his most favorite or if he just had to go there since we have gone there for the past several years for his birthday. Wouldn't want to break up a tradition now would we? We have a tradition in our family that when it is YOUR birthday, we go to dinner somewhere special, anywhere YOU want. The fun is getting to pick out the place and no one can say anything because it is YOUR special day! Now, if he had waited until after he got off of nights, then he might would have had to eat somewhere the girls and I picked. Wonder where that would have been??? Guess we won't have to find out after all! I think he enjoyed his huge meal, hence the empty plate (only other person I have ever seen do this there is my daddy!) and only got leftovers from the girls and me to take to work for later. How in the world can someone eat something leftover that was just eaten a few hours before? I never understood that! I really don't like leftovers too much, but definitely NOT in the same day. I have never worked nights so I wouldn't understand!!! We came home for some delicious cake from A Piece of Cake Bakery. He was so excited to have his Smoak's Bakery icing back. The girls wanted a deer hunting theme so this is what we got. I figured it might be as close to a deer he may get all season! HA HA! I'll post the picture of the cake later, but if you are friends with me on facebook, then you can see it there! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAD/DADDY~WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Saturday, the girls and I did absolutely nothing. Well, maybe I should say I did absolutely nothing. I stayed in my PJs all day and had a great time being quiet, or trying to be quiet. I got caught up on some reading, nothing adult oriented though. Just some things the girls are reading for school that I needed to read too. I guess I really didn't have to read their books, but it sure makes conversation about them much more meaningful later on. I also like to know if they are really reading on their own. When we do read alouds, I know. When they are reading to themselves in their room or outside, it is hard to tellif they are REALLY reading. Besides, the books are good! We are working on Johnny Tremain right now as a family read aloud, or rather, I am reading it aloud. The girls don't think Brad can read too well...he just doesn't change the voices like I do! It is mostly Mollie and Margaret though. Madison thinks he will get

Alzheimers if he doesn't read....said she read this somewhere. Too funny!!! To themselves they have read Pocahontas and the Strangers, The Matchlock Gun and The Cabin Faced West, all in the past few days. They call them "quick reads." I kept telling them not to read it all in a day, but they couldn't stop when they got to the "stopping" place. I told them they had to stop, then I realized what I was saying. Why did they have to stop? If they want to read ahead, I let them. They are enjoying their reading stories and I am glad. It could be worse, I could be screaming at them to read or punishing them because they don't read, but I am not having that problem. Is there such a thing as too much reading~I think NOT!!

Sunday is our church day, normally. This morning or last night rather, I did not set my alarm because Brad would just be getting to sleep good and besides, I just knew I would be up. I am always up before the alarm on Sundays. Well, not this Sunday!! NO ONE woke up until 10:30! SIMPLY AMAZING!! Even after Mollie was up and ate homemade waffles (I made waffles for brunch!) she was back to sleep. Supposedly tummy ache and/or headache. I guess everyone was tired cause boy did they sleep good. We felt bad because we hadn't missed church in a while, but I guess it was OK. We did a Sunday School lesson at home. I let them pick what they wanted to do and them we sang some songs out of Margaret's hymn book for choir. (She has to know 1st verse of her songs for choir so she has it here practicing) Madison said I wasn't as good as her SS teacher but I think Mollie and Margaret were happy with me. It's not like we have to do this every Sunday, right? We were even able to fit in some schoolwork today~got a head start on tomorrow already!

Later in the afternoon we went down Washington Road to the parking lot of Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish to look at pumpkins and flowers. The girls all had their own money they wanted to spend if they saw anything. I am taking them to a pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins, but of course Mollie and Margaret couldn't wait. They had to have a pumpkin, each one purchased with their very own money and Madison bought her a huge pot of mums. She didn't quite have enough for her flower so Margaret offered to give her the rest. Wasn't that sweet?!?! I have never been many places where I didn't have to supply the money for whatever they wanted, but since I am not working anymore, I just don't have the money to supply them with. Believe it or not, they actually LIKE spending their own money. They have this wonderful look of pride on their little faces when I hear them tell someone "I bought it with my own money!" They also seem to take better care of things purchased with their own money too. I am just so proud of them. When I feel bad because I can't buy them all the things they want, they are just so happy to be able to buy it for themselves. What wonderful children I am raising!

We came home and worked in the yard for the rest of the afternoon. We got up 15 bags of straw and dirt from where we had pulled up all the shrubs and planted the azaleas. Our cement walkway used to be covered until this afternoon. It is now all CLEAN!! Needless to say our yard is one of those things that gets neglected and it really needed/needs work. We have started and hopefully before long it will look GREAT! Yard work is a lot cheaper than housework. We have a lot of things that need to be done inside too, but it is all costly. Doesn't cost anything to rake and bag now does it, unless you count buying the brown paper bags! Pictures are coming soon...I hope!

We ended our evening with subs (made by me) and a walk to the park. Brad went to work for his last night until Wednesday, so I guess tomorrow will begin his weekend. Not sure what he has planned yet, but no matter what it is, we are just glad he will be home at night. Well, I will be anyway. Mollie will have to wait until Wednesday for her night to sleep with me, so she is already counting down the days until he goes back. She is such a MOMMY'S GIRL!!!

Maybe he can get my pictures off my camera card for me too!! I'll put that on his "list!"

First Day!

Today is the very first day of October~WOW! Why do I feel the need to blog about this you say? Well, there is no real importance to this day except it is the first day of October and there will never be another one until next year! There is really nothing special happening today for us. We go to PE today and Madison has basketball practice. This is something we do every Thursday, so today isn't different. It is my aunt Becky's birthday today (so it is a special day for her!) and I won't say what age because she would probably kill me. Her son wished her a happy 30th birthday and me, being the smart person I am, added to his comment that maybe it was 30+30. Oh, she didn't like that AT ALL and now I think I am in trouble! HA! HA! I hope she will forgive me soon! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT BECKY~WE LOVE YOU!

Happy First Day of October everyone~WE LOVE YOU ALL TOO!!

Notable "firsts" in history (according to http://www.brainyhistory.com):

*1992 Cartoon Cable Network premieres

*1989 US issues a stamp, labeling an apatosaurus as a brontosaurus

*1982 EPCOT opens in Orlando, Florida

*1977 Department of Energy established

*1972 First games of World Hockey Association

*1971 Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, Florida

*1964 San Francisco Cable Cars declared a national landmark

*1962 Lucy Show premieres

*1947 1st helicopter air mail and express service

*1908 Henry Ford introduces Model T car

*1896 Yosemite becomes a National Park

*1890 Yosemite National Park forms