You gotta love 'em!

This was something that Tyler created for me late one Monday afternoon. It came just in the nick of time. It was one of those days that I felt like I was being pulled in different directions helping different kids do different things while I was trying to accomplish something myself!



We had Jonathan over and he and Hayden were working on a model and Hailey was really bored looking for things to do and ended up trying to work on a craft project. Tyler was feeling really left out and somewhat pouty because no one wanted his help and the things I got out for him to do weren't keeping his interest. I was busy trying to catch up on dishes and people kept asking me what they could do or help me with this or with that.

Someone had mentioned these little plastic dominoes for Tyler to play with and that was just the trick. He actually ended up setting them up with Jonathan and it kept them busy for quite awhile. But, even better was the fact that Tyler found out the white dominoes were really glow in the dark dominoes and he immediately took a handful into the closet and created a picture of Jonathan. It was really cute. But then he called me into the closet because he had something to show me. This is what it was . . .

I absolutely loved it! It made my day! Thanks Tyler!

I think I figured it out!

There are things in every ones life that are special memories from their childhood. I have several that when I smell something or see something, just brings them right back to the forefront of my mind. Dad and softballs or a Frisbee (Debra, stop laughing), a Coleman stove and old army auctioned vehicles! :)

But a very strong part of my childhood is certain food dishes that my mom prepared that always bring me back . . . I have several but there have been a couple that have been elusive to me. I still have yet to replicate my Mom's spaghetti sauce. I have tried and tried but nothing quite tastes like it. She always measured the spices in the palm of her hand and so it wasn't on a recipe card and I had asked her many times for it but she never wrote it down. She learned it from an Italian woman from her old neighborhood and that's all I know.

But, I think I may have discovered the recipe for a dish that was always tasty on a cold evening! She called it Chicken Fricassee and even though I looked under that name (at my favorite recipe site "allrecipes.com") I couldn't find anything that resembled what it looked like. Finally I had just typed in "chicken in white sauce" and came up with something they called "Chicken Ala King" - but the ingredients weren't quite right. But, I started reading the comments section and discovered some interesting entries! Several of the people had commented how they had this dish when they were kids and loved it but it didn't have "this and that" and they just replaced it with "this and that" . . .
I was soooo happy because what they described was almost exactly what I remembered as a kid! I jotted it down quickly and decided I had to make it. The only thing I knew I probably wouldn't find was this whole canned chicken my mom used to get. It was really greasy and you had to spend about 1/2 an hour tearing the meat off the bones to add to the sauce!


Mmmmmmmm - here it is cooking on the stove. It smelled almost exactly like it! I couldn't wait to try it!

This is how we always had it . . . a nice piece of toasted white bread with a big scoop (Mom used to use an old ice cream scoop) of white rice and a generous amount of this creamy mixture with peas, carrots and shredded chicken poured over the top!

The two older kids liked it (well, Hayden didn't like the toast getting soggy. He wants it on the side next time) but it gave me a great opportunity to share with them a childhood story and I think it even made it taste better!!! When I tasted it I was pretty happy. It was what I remembered.

Kurt never did try it, he saw the picture and said it looked like someone threw up on the rice and toast. I will not be deterred. . . All I can say is " Kurt, you're missin' out"!

Thanks Mom for the memories - now for the spaghetti sauce recipe . . . . .

Game Night with the Boys :) !

I have to admit, it has been one of those days. Haven't had much energy, haven't felt all to well and just trying to get through the day and get through the house work.

Hayden has been feeling under the weather all day too and Tyler didn't really want to go outside so the boys were playing computer and Wii and Hayden laid around and read a lot. Kurt was away at work all day and Hailey went to help and the atmosphere was pretty drab. I actually found myself sitting at the computer and realizing that the boys had been on the Wii for a long time. I hadn't really seen them in a while and didn't feel good about that! So, I went down and suggested maybe playing a board game . . . they jumped at the chance. Since Hayden's head hurt I suggested something that didn't make a lot of noise . . .that knocked out Buckaroo and Trouble, Cage Bingo and Disney Yahtzee, Tyler suggested Candy Land (argh) but we all decided on Life! I like this game because it has a beginning and an ending, unlike Monopoly which can drag on forever - perfect to play with kids!


Willow was helping out with the instructions! This game was a lot of fun and Hayden ended up the winner by over 1.5 million more than me and Tyler, Tyler was second and I lost. I'm okay with it!

I didn't want to play life again so Hayden suggested a game he absolutely LOVES, Dragonology!

Hayden has a certain stealth about himself with this game but I have to admit it was very close! We toned the game down just a little for Tyler because there are some moves in this game (the card is called "confusion") where you can annihilate another player and knew he wasn't ready for that and Hayden also used an attack card(swoop) in a positive way for Tyler and it was the perfect example of good sportsmanship!

It was a heated battle between Hayden and I and we were not pulling out any stops! There was Hypnotizing, Swooping, Master Clawing and Deja Vu-ing all over the place. No idle threats were thrown and we knew a blood bath was a complete possibility! We were no longer Mother and Son, we were Master Dragonologists fighting to the death!

After over 2 hours of intense strategy and ruthlessness, Tyler was the victor! He was the happiest kid on the block! When you win at this game you get the huge honor of getting to write your name on a special list that is included on the game board in a special little envelope. Tyler was jumping all over the place! He stopped jumping long enough to sign his name!

In case you wanted to know, I won second and Hayden was third. It was a close match, he only had two spaces to move but I rolled the Dragons Eye and victory was mine! (well, at least I beat Hayden)! It was loads of fun and it beat watching a movie any day. The boys and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and really we all won because we got to spend the evening together and shared some special times! Hopefully next time Kurt and Hailey can join us too!

My Blond Moment ? . . . .

All you ladies out there have been in this position before - you have company and there are things you "hide" places so your house will look cleaner . . . well, I ended up having our Christian Living Bible Class at my house this morning (because the normal homes had sickness) and in the process of straightening up I placed a plate with a few leftover pieces of cake in the oven to get it off the counter. At the time it seemed like a brilliant idea because no one would be using it during class.

I only remembered it later when I was heating up the oven to make some cookies. I kept smelling cake and told myself that I really needed to clean the oven until it hit me!

AAAAHHHH the plate with the cake!!!!!!

So this is what a cake with plastic wrap looks like after being in a 375 degree oven!

So is this cake or molten lava????

I have to admit I was very nervous about what would become of this. I love this plate - it was given to me by my sister Pat, 4 years ago and it is very pretty and thankfully well made. I was so sure it would crack. The knife seemed to have survived as well but I haven't attempted yet to get the frosting and cake off of it. I wouldn't suggest eating the cake either!
All I can say is that thankfully there was no fire but who know what carcinogens were released from the melted plastic.

Now, I must accept the fact that I also have blond moments!

This should please Hailey

Quilting 101 !

A few years back I read a book my sister Debra had lent me (that my Grandmother had sent her). It was called "The Quilter's Apprentice". I LOVED it! I enjoyed it so much that I read all five of the rest of the books in the series (Elm Creek Quilters Series). After that I had the strongest desire to learn to quilt. I figured I had done cross-stitch, needlepoint, embroidery, sewing, crocheting, some knitting, painting, latch-hook . . . . why not quilt too!
ANYWAY - Grammy was kind enough last March to send me a project she had - it is called "The Quilt Block of the Month". Each month you get a different style of quilt block design with pre-cut material and instructions. She had completed a few of the twelve and started on a few others but the rest were still untouched. This is a project me and Hailey have talked about but hadn't gotten to. Today was our lucky day!


I reassured her that the only REAL way to quilt is by hand! That's the way it's been done for centuries (plus my sewing machine is acting up)! I thought it would be fun to chat like they do in movies but you could have heard a pin drop (no pun intended) - way too much concentration going on!

I think one of the most important tools with quilting is the ol' seam ripper! It became handy to both Hailey and I much to our grumbling. All I can say is it is easier than it looks and no matter how many times you arrange the pieces you are bound to match up the wrong sides!!!!

I am happy to say that after a few hours we almost completed a 12 x 12 quilt block apiece (mind you, these are ones that Grammy had already done a little work on)! Hailey's is on the left and she just needs to sew the four sections together and mine is on the right and I just have to hook the two sides together. I really enjoyed it! Can't wait until we get the whole thing done. Three generations will have worked on this quilt. Almost brings a tear to my eye!

Before I end this post I want to put out a special "I LOVE YOU" to my Grandmother, Grammy! I believe without her influence I may not have ventured into the craft world. Even though I only saw her about every 3-5 years when I was a child she took the time to teach me how to crochet and I believe cross-stitch when she visited. And I have enjoyed crafting since then and love it so much that I am teaching it to my kids (boys and girls alike). XOXOXOXO Thanks Grammy!