Okay, I haven't been to the Hillbilly Housewife's website in a while. Wow ~ have I been missing out! Maybe I didn't fully check it out before, but it just seems as though she has added TONS of wonderful domestic "stuff". I'm giving her "fully tested" first loaf of bread machine recipe as soon as mine is done mixing up Tammy's Challah dough (which I will need to half next time - I think it's just really too much for my machine).
In and amongst the wonderful, frugal recipes - she has Magic Milkshakes. Think Wendy's Frosties. Yum. So I gathered the kids together and told them we were trying a new recipe: Magic Milkshakes. Whoo-hoo!!
So in the food processor (no blender here) went the ingredients. Imagine yourself as a small child. You watch water, some white powder, some ice, some cocoa powder, some oil (ick), etc. go into the processor. You watch it mix FOREVER (two minutes, but you're a small child, remember - that's a long time). Finally you watch your very-excited momma open the lid, squeal in joy, and then make a HUGE mess pouring three cups full of this brown, sorta-chocolate looking thick *stuff* into a cup.
Let's just say my Isaac was less than enthusiastic about trying it.
I finally managed to get him to take the smallest of sips. He moved his tongue around, trying to decipher the taste. A small grin. He takes a bigger sip. He takes a full gulp.
"Hey Momma, these are good. It really *is* magic!!"
Yes, son, it's magic. (or something about oil emulsifying the liquid....whatever....)
*Michigan Momma*
Friday, September 28, 2007
Pretty in Pink
This is the cutest thing ever.....well.........it's darn cute, anyways.
.
Yup, Dyson is giving away one of these ~ cool, huh? I do already own one - but to own one in PINK?!
.
So if I win, I'll have a drawing for my very-boring, yet quite functional blue Dyson, okay? Deal.
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Go here to check out the details.
*Michigan Momma*
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(p.s. ignore the periods. I'm having blogger issues...)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
a quick note
Things are running along fairly well around here. The fans are running all day long to combat the wet carpets. The wet carpets (in 2 spots) are from the leaking hot water heater (for the upstairs apartment, yet located in our laundry room). I know, I know, ANOTHER water issue - but this one wasn't my 2yo's fault - whew...
I got plenty of my "servants" working hard today. Washing machine and dryer are working overtime to keep up with the amount of towels, washclothes, rags, dishcloths, etc. My breadmachine is on round #2 (with thoughts of a third today). My coffee maker humbly did his work early......umm.....well........sorta early......hmmm.........well, it *was* before noon!! If only I could hire a "servant" to do my dishes. Hmmm...how old do you think a child should be before learning this task. I'm curious for child-training purposes, of course. Yes, for *their* good, yes.
I'm also on my third day of a horrible neck pain. I've taken three advil to combat it the previous two days, but now I'm beginning to worry. I don't mind a few OTC meds here and there - but not long-term, if possible. Hmm....I'm thinking I might check out our local Christian chiropractor.
"The Shop" idea is in full swing. Merely the *idea* at this point though. I'm checking out shipping options/prices, thinking of possible shop names, as well as prices for my wares. Also, just crocheted items or do some sewing too?? Hmmm.....so much to ponder.... I did meet a wonderful mom, 2 children and grandma yesterday at McD's (yes, we had to leave while the water was being pulled from the carpet) - she wanted to see what crocheted item I was working on (a round baby blankie) and was also interested in "The Shop". She wanted a url....but I'm not that far along yet. But just to know someone might actually be interested....cool!
Okay, time to go finish the baby blankie, play with The Rock, do flashcards with Isaac (his newfound interest - cool!) and pray this loaf of bread turns out (the last one kinda fell, but we ate it anyways). I'll have more interesting things to discuss later....sure I will. VERY interesting, yes!
~here's a few crocheted items for you to peruse~
(I need to think about how to take better pictures, but this is what I have already on my computer)
smilin' over my beautiful babies today ~ messes and *all*
*Michigan Momma*
I got plenty of my "servants" working hard today. Washing machine and dryer are working overtime to keep up with the amount of towels, washclothes, rags, dishcloths, etc. My breadmachine is on round #2 (with thoughts of a third today). My coffee maker humbly did his work early......umm.....well........sorta early......hmmm.........well, it *was* before noon!! If only I could hire a "servant" to do my dishes. Hmmm...how old do you think a child should be before learning this task. I'm curious for child-training purposes, of course. Yes, for *their* good, yes.
I'm also on my third day of a horrible neck pain. I've taken three advil to combat it the previous two days, but now I'm beginning to worry. I don't mind a few OTC meds here and there - but not long-term, if possible. Hmm....I'm thinking I might check out our local Christian chiropractor.
"The Shop" idea is in full swing. Merely the *idea* at this point though. I'm checking out shipping options/prices, thinking of possible shop names, as well as prices for my wares. Also, just crocheted items or do some sewing too?? Hmmm.....so much to ponder.... I did meet a wonderful mom, 2 children and grandma yesterday at McD's (yes, we had to leave while the water was being pulled from the carpet) - she wanted to see what crocheted item I was working on (a round baby blankie) and was also interested in "The Shop". She wanted a url....but I'm not that far along yet. But just to know someone might actually be interested....cool!
Okay, time to go finish the baby blankie, play with The Rock, do flashcards with Isaac (his newfound interest - cool!) and pray this loaf of bread turns out (the last one kinda fell, but we ate it anyways). I'll have more interesting things to discuss later....sure I will. VERY interesting, yes!
~here's a few crocheted items for you to peruse~
(I need to think about how to take better pictures, but this is what I have already on my computer)
smilin' over my beautiful babies today ~ messes and *all*
*Michigan Momma*
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Love thy neighbor
I attended a great Bible Study this morning, with a simple, yet profound, message: Love Thy Neighbor.
We started going through and really hashing out what "loving" means. You know, "love is patient, love is kind..". What does that really mean in our every day life.
One of the things that really stuck out to me was this concept: See what NEED your neighbor has and then FILL IT! It's an action, btw. But not just any ol' action, not just whatever YOU happen to be good at (baking bread, child care, lawn work, encouraging letter, etc.) but what they really NEED!! If I give all my neighbors homemade bread, yet what they really need is a listening ear, I haven't really loved them at all.
Anyways, this is kinda foreign to me. I'm not all that good at loving my neighbors (yes, I know, a PW should really be better at this sort of thing). It makes me nervous. It makes me DOUBLY nervous now that I have impressionable children to protect and care for. I worry about what they are exposed to, WHO they are exposed to.
Yet right now, my eldest son is playing upstairs with our new neighbor's little boy (5yo). His mom and friend are on their porch, I can literally *hear* the boys running around upstairs ~ Isaac checking out his new friends trucks and toys. Yes, I worry about a toy that perhaps we don't approve of or wouldn't allow Isaac to own - but hey, that could even happen with family. My daughter is playing with the next door neighbor's little girl (4yo). Of course, I did make them play in OUR driveway!
I'm also baking up some pumpkin bread for our family and for the upstairs neighbors. No, I'm not sure yet if this is what she actually NEEDS - but it does give me one more opportunity to connect with her, to talk to her, to perhaps get a glimpse of what her needs actually are.
I pray I will allow the Lord to stretch me and guide me through this process. I know He wants to ~ but I also know I haven't been very stretchable in this area before. So here goes nothin'.....
Learning to Love~
*Michigan Momma*
We started going through and really hashing out what "loving" means. You know, "love is patient, love is kind..". What does that really mean in our every day life.
One of the things that really stuck out to me was this concept: See what NEED your neighbor has and then FILL IT! It's an action, btw. But not just any ol' action, not just whatever YOU happen to be good at (baking bread, child care, lawn work, encouraging letter, etc.) but what they really NEED!! If I give all my neighbors homemade bread, yet what they really need is a listening ear, I haven't really loved them at all.
Anyways, this is kinda foreign to me. I'm not all that good at loving my neighbors (yes, I know, a PW should really be better at this sort of thing). It makes me nervous. It makes me DOUBLY nervous now that I have impressionable children to protect and care for. I worry about what they are exposed to, WHO they are exposed to.
Yet right now, my eldest son is playing upstairs with our new neighbor's little boy (5yo). His mom and friend are on their porch, I can literally *hear* the boys running around upstairs ~ Isaac checking out his new friends trucks and toys. Yes, I worry about a toy that perhaps we don't approve of or wouldn't allow Isaac to own - but hey, that could even happen with family. My daughter is playing with the next door neighbor's little girl (4yo). Of course, I did make them play in OUR driveway!
I'm also baking up some pumpkin bread for our family and for the upstairs neighbors. No, I'm not sure yet if this is what she actually NEEDS - but it does give me one more opportunity to connect with her, to talk to her, to perhaps get a glimpse of what her needs actually are.
I pray I will allow the Lord to stretch me and guide me through this process. I know He wants to ~ but I also know I haven't been very stretchable in this area before. So here goes nothin'.....
Learning to Love~
*Michigan Momma*
Monday, September 24, 2007
Life's little interruptions
Today was the day.
The day when "normal life" was supposed to return to our family home. Vacation time was over, summer had drawn to a close, cooler weather was on its way and a more regular homeschooling schedule was calling. I was prepared to face the challenge ~ I was ready!
Apparently, "normal life" does not exist around here.
My self-potty-training 2 year old decided to take herself to the bathroom yesterday. She "peed" in the potty (not really) so she wanted to wipe. With toilet paper. With A LOT of toilet paper. Still, toilet paper dissolves fairly rapidly - so no problem, right?
Wrong.
Apparently, she must have also "wiped" with some of the conviently located baby wipes on the back of the toilet. THEN, she must have wanted to clean up any possible mess in the bathroom with Clorox-wipes. Yes, the kind children are not supposed to use. Yes, I know.
She was supposed to be in her room napping, by the way...
So instead of this wonderful, blissful day of organized learning ~ our family learned about sewers, back-ups, dissolving toilet paper, non-dissolving wipes, where the water goes when you flush the toilet, how much money a plumber makes (fairly good money, if I do say so) and what an auger (sp?) is. Not a bad day's education - what I had planned was ever so much more boring and "normal".
So after all that, it's now almost 4pm. I have a MOUNTAIN of laundry from our trip, from the weekend, and now from the clean-up process. I have...well...the clean-up process - which will require a LOT of bleach in the bathroom! I have a sink full of dishes and I haven't even *thought* about dinner. The children are either napping or taking a quiet, room time. My dh will be home within an hour (PTL!). And I know the sun will set, the sun will rise, and I'll have another go at this "normal day" thing.....
Oh, and lastly, as my son looked out the window today, wistfully watching the loud truck go by, he declared, "Momma, when I grow up, I'm gonna be a street sweeper, okay?".
Yes, son, it's okay. Momma knows how much you like things to be clean. Me too. You will make a great street sweeper!!
*Michigan Momma*
p.s. not to mention it's in the high-80's here today. Nice with the sewer problems, real nice.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
a mistake and an idea
First the mistake:
I have joined a couple Yahoo groups, not because I need something else to suck up my time, but merely to get some Bread Machine recipes. I printed out a few and I'm going to work my way through them, one a day, to find THE perfect recipe (well, a few perfect recipes).
Anyways, I'm trying a Challah bread today. During the second rise time, I took a glance inside the viewing window. Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was NOT MIXED UP!! Not at all ~ suddenly it flashed before my mind: the little mixing blade sitting in my dish drainer. I had forgotten to replace it after I washed the dishes - DUH!!
So I dumped out my unmixed contents into a bowl, inserted the blade, and now it back to the second rise time. Hmmmm.....do you think it will work???
The Idea:
An Etsy shop! What do you think?? I'm not in it to make a whole bunch of money or anything ~ just some extra cash for doing what I love anyways. I seem to have a knack for coming up with some great crochet patterns, I really enjoy it, and if I can find some good prices on nice yarn - well, anyways....it's something I'm thinking about. It would take me awhile to build up enough for a SHOP, but they say the baby stuff sells the best anyway - and that's the quickest to whip up. Now I need to think of a catchy, sophisticated name. Crocheting, stitching, hooks, yarn.....take a stab at it if you think of a great name! (p.s. Mom, you could put items in the store too....cool, eh?)
Ok, the mistake (silly) and the idea (silly??). Tell me what you think!
*Michigan Momma*
I have joined a couple Yahoo groups, not because I need something else to suck up my time, but merely to get some Bread Machine recipes. I printed out a few and I'm going to work my way through them, one a day, to find THE perfect recipe (well, a few perfect recipes).
Anyways, I'm trying a Challah bread today. During the second rise time, I took a glance inside the viewing window. Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was NOT MIXED UP!! Not at all ~ suddenly it flashed before my mind: the little mixing blade sitting in my dish drainer. I had forgotten to replace it after I washed the dishes - DUH!!
So I dumped out my unmixed contents into a bowl, inserted the blade, and now it back to the second rise time. Hmmmm.....do you think it will work???
The Idea:
An Etsy shop! What do you think?? I'm not in it to make a whole bunch of money or anything ~ just some extra cash for doing what I love anyways. I seem to have a knack for coming up with some great crochet patterns, I really enjoy it, and if I can find some good prices on nice yarn - well, anyways....it's something I'm thinking about. It would take me awhile to build up enough for a SHOP, but they say the baby stuff sells the best anyway - and that's the quickest to whip up. Now I need to think of a catchy, sophisticated name. Crocheting, stitching, hooks, yarn.....take a stab at it if you think of a great name! (p.s. Mom, you could put items in the store too....cool, eh?)
Ok, the mistake (silly) and the idea (silly??). Tell me what you think!
*Michigan Momma*
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
"Bread Baggies"
Here is a tip I am *about* to try - I heard it from my mom, who heard it.......well........probably through someone in the blogosphere.
If you plan on making bread every day in your bread machine (I just got one - and yes, I plan on making bread in it EVERY DAY!), go ahead and make up some "bread baggies" ahead of time. Put in all your dry ingredients needed for particular recipes (minus the yeast), label them with the type of bread and the needed wet ingredients (plus yeast), and you're set!!
Soooo, when you make up some potato bread, make up like five extra batches. Same with honey wheat bread, white bread or egg bread. Then you have all these bread baggies just waiting to go. It will cut down on that much more time, as you set about getting your "servants" going in the morning. Yes, you still have to get the wet ingredients, but hey, we could all use a little extra help in the mornings, right??!! (or is that just me?)
Do be careful: don't use these "bread baggies" for the *timed* setting - the salt may interact with the yeast you add in on top. But if you are just baking up a loaf almost every morning for the day - this will work great!
At least, I *think* it will work great. It *sounds* like it will work great. I'm going to go try it - right now....
I'll let ya know
*Michigan Momma*
Monday, September 10, 2007
Awwww....
We recently got together with some extended family members for a fun trip to Cedar Point and a cookout the next day. We all sat down for the obligatory family pic and then snapped a few others, including this family pic. Aren't we so sweet??!! Isaac is looking down, but with four kids, well....it's pretty darn hard to get *everyone* looking the right way with a smile.In other news, I got a bread maker!! From one of my mom's frugal buys (thanks Mom!). I've only made one loaf of bread - and now I'm trying to make banana bread. I don't think it's going to work though. I'm thinking it's not the kind that makes quick breads. It has a "fruit/nut" selection, but not "quick or sweet or batter". It's "rising" as we speak (type, whatever) - since a quick bread doesn't have to rise, well......we'll see....
But I'm excited nonetheless. I'm going to work my way through some basic bread recipes, find a few that my family loves and then use my breadmaker EVERY SINGLE DAY!! Seriously. Homemade bread is MUCH better for you than regular ol' store-bought, preservative-filled, bread. And my babies love bread. Grilled cheese sandwiches, tubby-toast, pb&j, b&b with pasta, etc....And it's just so easy - just dump in and go!!
I'm also working on my "Journal". I got that idea from Jewel - and I'm loving it. When I'm making out a page (every few days), I think ahead to when my babies might be reading it. What would they want to know? What would be interesting? How do I want them to view our days? I'm honest, but I concentrate on the joy, the cute sayings, finding joy in the everyday. I'm having fun!!
I'm slowly working my way through the round blankie for D & C's little bundle of joy due next month. I'd better be a bit more consistant with it if I want to send it before the birth. It's just beautiful yarn! Selah is already requesting that I make her something next. I'm guessing she will want to learn crocheting asap.
I'm thinking about sewing projects - I have some fabric, I have some patterns....but I just can't get up the motivation. Sewing for me is a LONG project. It just takes me a long time to iron, cut, measure, iron, sew, iron, snip, cut, iron, baste, sew, iron, iron, iron. *sigh* I really enjoy the finished product, but I need to learn how to better enjoy the process. Again, I just always feel like there's better things I could be doing with my time (reading to my children, vacuuming, oh, I don't know - SLEEPING!!).
We just started Pioneer Clubs this past Sunday, choir practice last Wednesday, Bible Study/Story Tales tomorrow morning (Tues.). Not to mention my dh's regular weekly/monthly/quarterly meetings at church. Things are just busier. I do like my schedules but this is crazy!! Dh keeps assuring me that when he is done with school - things will improve. Here's praying....
Nothin' else to talk about right now.....I've got some things in the wings, just waiting for some more time to work through (i.e. day/week in photos, scheduling, weight loss/nutrition, submission). I'll get there, I'll get there....
To my readers, I've just been reading blogs at Google Reader recently - not really having the time to comment - but I'm hoping to find a bit more time to actually comment here and there. Some of you are just such an encouragement to me, I feel like I'm honestly friends with you - albeit friends who have never met!! Don't give up on me just yet, please!
One last thing....here's my Lil' Man gigglin' with Mema - isn't that great??!!
I'm tired....good and tired. Thank you God for this day!
*Michigan Momma*
*Michigan Momma*
Thursday, September 6, 2007
MIA?
Yes.
Maybe it's just the season. That in-between-summer-and-fall season. It's quite busy around here. Everything is starting back up at church - so my wonderful dh is extra busy. The rest of us are slowly getting used to a schedule that has us out of the house 3 to 4 times a week (harder than it sounds). Plus the homeschooling, visitors to our cozy home, family trips, etc. Well....I haven't even had time to *think* about blogging, yet along come to the computer and actually DO IT!
Yet I will be back ~ and soon, hopefully. Once fall hits in full-force, I plan to hide out here with a cup of coffee, in the early morning hours. While it's still dark and the children are fooled into sleeping later than usual. Ahhh....
Ok, now it's time to find a car detailer that can make our van no longer smell like vomit.
Yes, Selah vomit.
yuck........
poor girl
*Michigan Momma*
Maybe it's just the season. That in-between-summer-and-fall season. It's quite busy around here. Everything is starting back up at church - so my wonderful dh is extra busy. The rest of us are slowly getting used to a schedule that has us out of the house 3 to 4 times a week (harder than it sounds). Plus the homeschooling, visitors to our cozy home, family trips, etc. Well....I haven't even had time to *think* about blogging, yet along come to the computer and actually DO IT!
Yet I will be back ~ and soon, hopefully. Once fall hits in full-force, I plan to hide out here with a cup of coffee, in the early morning hours. While it's still dark and the children are fooled into sleeping later than usual. Ahhh....
Ok, now it's time to find a car detailer that can make our van no longer smell like vomit.
Yes, Selah vomit.
yuck........
poor girl
*Michigan Momma*
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