Just to capture it, part 2...

Karry is teaching the boys about the parts of the violin. They're going to the violin shop today to get Karry's 2 old violins (a 3/4 and a full size) in working order, and to see about buying some smaller ones (1/2's). We may do a trade (with our 3/4) with another family who has a 1/2 size--for a while. Karry is going to teach the boys Suzuki method, starting this fall.  

Anyways, Karry was teaching the parts of the violin, and he said "this is called the hair, because it's made out of horse hair." Isaac, very seriously, asked "are you true?"  That's his way of asking "are you telling the truth?"  I never want to forget how cute he is when he asks that---are you true? :)

Just to capture it...

We worked with Ruby tonight, to get her to eat foods she wouldn't normally eat. It's been too long that she's been demanding of cheese, chips and fruit as the main foods she would eat (with very few exceptions--like crackers, cereal, dry fruit, and candy!).  Tonight we got her to eat salmon (and she liked it!! and took more bites on her own!!) and potatoes, and peas.  So she got a little scoop of ice cream for all of that hard work!

Kaleb and Noah ate all of their food last night and earned ice cream (we didn't warn them about the reward--we just rewarded the ones who ate well...). Tonight, Isaac, who really doesn't like potatoes, said "if I finish all of my potatoes, can I have some ice cream tonight?" And then he finished his plate off!

Ruby keeps saying "yep" to everything. "Did you eat salmon tonight?" "yep." "Did you like it?" "yep." :)

Ruby is infatuated with anything Winnie the Pooh. Her favorite tv show is "My Friends Tigger & Pooh." I got Huggies Baby Wipes ($1 each at Albertsons w/coupons!) and didn't even notice that the container had Pooh characters all over it. She picked up a container this morning and started shouting "Pooh! Pooh! Pooh!"

Karry got a Wii fit with b-day $$ (thank you mom & dad!). The kids *love* it!! Ruby did the running game today, and it weighed her & Karry checked her height. It said she was overweight!!  All of our boys are below the 5th percentile in body mass index (per recent doctor visits!), but Ruby is over weight. Hee, hee! :)

Ruby is also obsessed with dogs. She wants to pet every dog she sees. She's afraid of the owners, but she loves "a goggy" or "a puppy." We have 2 books about dogs, and they're going to be all worn out/ripped/bitten, etc., very soon, I think. 

She sings "Holy, Holy, Holy" everywhere, including through the grocery store (loud!). Today she picked up my hymn book, opened it and started singing it!

Isaac had a hard time eating a nectarine today because he's missing his 4 top front teeth!

3 cute things Kaleb said today:

"When I'm a man, I'm going to save up enough money for an airplane and a Wii, and also, I'm going to do coupon shopping." :)

and

"Mommy, when I'm a man, I'm just going to marry the one wife that God tells me to marry. And if Satan tries to tell me to marry someone else, I'll say 'Get away Satan.'"..."and Mommy, I hope my wife doesn't choose to work. I want my kids to have their mother at home."

and

He said he wants to have 8 kids when he's a man, and he said he's going to adopt most of them from England. Karry said "oh, if there are any left" (you know, the birth rates). And Kaleb said "God is always making babies, and when He puts it in my heart to adopt some babies, I will write to them, and then I will go to England." :)

He's thinking an awful lot about these things!  

Ruby calls milk "gilk" and says "me me" for "excuse me," even when someone else (like a brother) burps. :)

We taught the kids "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" and I showed them my little dance for that song. Isaac wanted to learn it.

Isaac, about ice cream: "mmmm....isn't this delicious?"

Noah is the only one of the kids who can even come close to doing a cartwheel, and he likes doing it. When he was littler he did somersalts and said "look Mommy, I made this up, it's called a 'frog'". :)

Kaleb: "just think of all of the wonderful things we did today...." =>

(um--cleaned their room, did some chores, read some stories, ate meals, took a nap, helped with laundry, read more stories, played in the backyard, picked up the family room, played the wii, ate ice cream, listened to Daddy read Narnia...yup, that's pretty much the day!!)

I just earned $8, and other goodness...

I just completed 2 surveys at Opinion Outpost. I've earned a total of $18 so far, but I just spent about 30-40 min and made $8.  Not bad. $16 per hour?  For a stay at home mom? That's great.  The first survey had me look at a web page, and then it asked me questions about what ads I saw on the page & what I thought about those ads, and how likely I am to buy Oral B products after looking at that page. :)  The 2nd one had me comparing Parents' Choice products to national brand baby products. How nice! I got to offer my opinions about things like Parents' Choice Formula (it's more clumpy than other brands--not as fine--not easy to mix) and diapers (they leak at night). I'll be getting a check for $8 in the mail in the next few weeks. Awesome!

I've been feeling a little under the weather today. Maybe a lack of sleep? I went to bed at around 10 last night though, which is early for me.  I took a really long nap and was thankful that Karry got home a little early today so that I could do that!  My shoulder (left side) has been hurting super bad since yesterday afternoon. The only thing I can think of is that Ruby climbed on it. She's been doing that a lot lately--climbing on me. And she's heavy--bulky.  I was laying on the couch yesterday and she sat on my arm/shoulder. That could be it.

It wasn't that long ago that I was worried about Ruby not attaching to us--that she wasn't into hugging & pushed back. Well, these days, it's just the opposite!!!  It's almost annoying, how much she wants to be right next to me, on my lap, or at least touching me.  I'm glad for it, don't get me wrong! But I've been asking Karry for breaks from her ("please take her into another room for a little while, please!"). :)  I try to cut coupons--she hops on my lap.  I try to make dinner--she wants to stand right next to me or have me hold her.  It's hard deciding how much of this to let her get away with (for her own good) and when it's time to say "ok, that's enough kiddo."  When we go from thinking she's not attached to this, we don't want to stop this/let it go...But she needs boundaries, too. Mommy needs to be able to sit on the couch once in a while without Ruby on her lap! :)

Oh, and she's been saying "ewww!" lately when she sees icky things. And twice now, she's pointed at my mouth (my breath?) and said "ewww!" Once was today after I'd just eaten leftover rice with lemon, peas & green onions in it (it was so good!). I was talking to her, close to her face, and she pushed away and pointed at my mouth and said "ewww!" She's starting to sound just like Noah, Mr. Strong Sense of Smell! :) :)

Today was almost a repeat scenario of yesterday w/the boys, only, their room this time. I was getting frustrated. I made a good breakfast--popovers. Mmmm...With homemade strawberry jam.  Anyways, I decided to bring a big empty tub up there and just calmly start picking up whatever was on the floor.  That solved the issue.  The room was clean. They didn't like it. But I think it will stick.  They just helped me get more garage sale goodies!

New Veggies & Consequences

First, consequences:

The boys made a horrible mess in the bonus room today. They're supposed to take out one basket at a time and costumes only after they get permission.  When I was in the shower today, they took out some of everything, pretty much, and scattered it around the room, and made tents with their blankets, etc. I've been pretty calm about it (hooray!), but there have been clear consequences. We all got a really late start today. Breakfast was at almost 10 am (they got up super late). I didn't give warnings, I just told them to clean up. And then Ruby and I sat down and started eating. Bummer. They kept playing and didn't work. Bummer. Sad choice!  It's 12:30 and they're just now eating lunch. They started working really hard when they heard me say "ok, Ruby, go to your high chair, it's lunch time." They started running around like crazy, getting the place cleaned up. So they came downstairs. I cooked hot dogs and gave them some carrot sticks and said "that's all, sorry, sad choices today..." None of the free chocolate milk I got yesterday (with coupons). No chips. No yogurt. No leftover brownies. Not 2 hot dogs like Isaac would choose to eat. Just 1 hot dog and a handful of carrots. That's all. Sad choices. :(

Kaleb's telling his brothers that he wishes we had a tiny house and lots and lots of land so that they could just make messes outside and never have to clean up big messes inside. I have another solution: less toys. Little do they know, this afternoon, I will be weeding through the toys to get ready for a late-summer garage sale.  I was eyeing which toys might go while they were "cleaning."

New Veggies~~

We're doing a CSA program this year, and I have to figure out what to make! I know 1 good recipe for kale, I need more. I need to get creative with peas. I'm thinking some rice with lemon & peas tonight with salmon quiche.  What do I do with bok choy?  I saw a recipe for stir frying it w/ginger & onions--does that sound right?  And red cabbage?  German cabbage salad? Maybe? And my swiss chard recipe is good, but anybody have any more? Help!

And misc~~

I found frozen (whole!) salmon at Thriftway last night for $1.99/lb, which is nothing short of an amazing price! :) I got two whole fish for $5 to $6 a piece. NICE.  I also got Western Family cheese for $2.99, for 2 lbs. I never get that kind, I always get Tillamook, but it was cheap. And it's super good--it's a really soft, creamy cheddar. Yum! Ruby and I have been munching on it for lunch. Oh, the boys didn't get any of that either. :( So sad. Maybe tomorrow.

Ruby and I put her teeny baby clothes on her 3 dolls today, and she read them a story (her favorite, The Itsy Bitsy Spider--she sang it and did the hand motions), and then she put them to bed (her bed), put blankies on them, gave them stuffed animals (every single one of the ones from her shelf), kissed them and said "night"....Oh she is soooo soooo cute!!

The Sanctity of Marriage

Karry and I watched an episode of Jon & Kate plus 8 tonight, about their separation. At the end of the show, right after Kate said "a new chapter," there was a black screen with text on it saying that on Monday, June 22, legal proceedings took place to dissolve the 10 year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin.  

I saw their pictures all over the tabloids recently. I didn't want to believe it--you never know if what those magazines are saying is true.

We started watching Jon & Kate Plus 8 not long after we got our TV and satellite. People were telling us about it (maybe because we have half as many kids?? :), so we decided to watch it. We thought it was a cute show at first.  Several months ago, I stopped recording as many episodes (I used to record "ALL") and I stopped showing it to the kids (they loved seeing what those 8 kiddos got to do), because I noticed Kate's attitude was sour.  I started turning on the Duggar family's show, because I really like Michelle Duggar--and because honestly, I believe what we watch on TV can impact how we act. Karry and I used to love the show Everybody Loves Raymond. We noticed though, that after a while, our humor towards each other became disrespectful. Right after we noticed that, we turned off our TV and didn't turn it on again for 3 years....Now we're back to watching it, but we really have to be careful of what we watch. I did not want to become a wife like Kate Gosselin...so I decided that I wouldn't expose myself to that show very often, if at all...

This show was SO depressing. I am very sad for that family. I feel like I know them--they invited me (and all of you) into their living room, and kitchen, and giant new house, and van as they traveled to various places. (Karry's been envying their van for a while now (you know, as we adopt more kids, a suburban won't cut it anymore!)). So I feel sad for them like I would for someone I know...

Marriage is an image of the relationship between God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I think the most vital piece of our churches, our nation, our world that Satan attempts (and does) destroy is the family--marriages.

That said, I have some things to say to the ladies. I've said these things before. I'll preach them over and over until I am blue in the face because I think these things are *IMPORTANT*...

In that show, Jon Gosselin was very cold--he's excited about what's next, he's only 32. Jerk. Yes. We can say that. He's being a jerk. But he didn't used to be like that.  He used to be a nice guy, very "passive," as he admitted--just a go with the flow, "whatever you say dear" type of guy. Any of you married to a guy like that???

*Do not walk all over him.* I repeat *DO NOT walk all over him." K? Ok. Friends, our men, Mr. Steady, passive, Mr. Compliant, Whatever You Say Dear, or whoever they may be, *need* to be the leader.  

I think that women don't even realize how much power they have to make or break a marriage. I really think that if Kate had realized how much power she had to hold her marriage together earlier on, Jon wouldn't be so cold now. I'm using them as an example, but friends, 50% of believers are ending marriages, just like this.  It's a SAD statistic, but I think *we,* women, have the power to change it. Honestly, most men like stability and want a loving wife, companion and friend do come home to--if they've got that *most* men will become the man they're supposed to be. I know that separations and divorces take two people--but more often than not, these days, I'm seeing the majority of the problems are being caused by the wives...

Some thoughts:

~~Your man's opinions *matter*...Treat him like they do.

~~Listen to him.

~~Say you're wrong when you're wrong. 

~~When he makes a request of you, do your best to follow through (as long as it is reasonable, not abusive, etc.--do I really need to throw that caveat in there? You're all smart!). 

~~Give him what he needs. You know what I mean.

~~Listen to him.

~~Don't knock down every little thing he does. Stop it with the Mommy business. He grew up, became a man, and left his Mommy for you. 

~~Stop holding onto every little thing he's ever done wrong. Grow up and let those things go.

~~Stop the fights. You have the power to end them--you know what to do--just do it.

Again, men who are faced with nagging, complaining, witchy (to put it nicely), proud, selfish wives are going to do this:

1. become a bum--zone out

2. become a whiner

3. become aggressive

4. become a workaholic or a something-else-aholic

5. leave and find another woman

Either 1 of the above or all of the above in some order. Jon is doing #5. Not exactly a great choice, Mr. Gosselin.  Could this have been prevented? Absolutely!

Kate acted like a victim--she's not happy about this, she wouldn't have ever thought her life would go this way, etc., etc., etc., etc.  Seriously, she did not see this coming? She did not see that like a duck, she was pecking, pecking, pecking away at him and eventually he would run?  I think that's the danger--we get into our comfort zones. We try to be "real"--meaning--we don't care to change for the sake of another person (that is the definition of "real" these days, isn't it?)--and then we forget that every little thing we're doing is effecting another person--other people--and the future...

Let's stop, look, and listen. Are we nagging? Belittling? Simply not caring? 

I have this quote at the end of my e-mails:

`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 
`I don't much care where--' said Alice. 
`Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. 

Seriously, what way do we want to go? If we don't care where we end up, we can act how we want to act. But friends, do we care? DO WE CARE? Oh yes, I do, and I hope you all do too!  Then we've gotta pay attention to the path we're on & make sure we're heading in the right direction.

That's all for my lecture! :)

Random Things & Thoughts

We went to the airport to see Dave and Joy Forney & crew today. They're here for 2 weeks, then off to the East Coast, and then back in Sept. until January. We are so excited to spend time with them!! We got to see Alan & Theda and their little granddaughter, Ella, and Angie and her 5 little blessings, and Pat and Rakel Thurman, too! There were 15 busy kiddos around us! Very fun!

Modest tank tops--anyone know of any?  I wore a tank top today that appeared to cover things well, but then at the airport, I picked up Ruby, she held onto my shirt, and wa la, there was my colorful bra, right as I was standing there talking.  Oh my!!!  I just edited an article and wrote more about *modesty* to post on Serious Moms. *Oh my!* Sorry to everyone who saw it!! Help! I need good, modest tank tops!

I bought yellow shoes several months ago and I'm never brave enough to wear them. They look a little to shiny, I think, but I think that's in? Well--I keep debating "should I just return them??"...Today I am wearing a shirt with yellow, it would have been perfect. But I'm not that brave. Oh me oh my!

I planted 4 tomato plants my brother gave me on Sunday (he got SIXTY free tomato plants!!! He planted about 50 in his yard--they have 3 acres now!). NICE! The plants were almost dead on my back porch. I hosed them down every now and then, but they needed to get in the dirt. Well, they're in it today!

I picked raspberries with the kids, in our backyard. I've been getting a lot, recently (a big colander full the other day), but only 1/2 a bowl today since the kids (especially Ruby) were eating, eating, eating them up before they went in the bowl! That was fun though--except for the bees! And I think I got a spider bite or something--my arm started stinging, and there were two tiny little holes that were bleeding, and then it puffed up and got pink around there. It's calmed down now, but I'm wondering what that was?  

Kaleb got lunch on the table. Since we don't eat gluten, the kids simply had lunch meat (no bread :) and some Pirate's Booty, and a jell-o snack out of the fridge (all sale items!) and some of those tasty raspberries.  Mmm.

My right thumb is hurting, right under the nail, because right after the kids ate lunch, they all went down for nap, except for Noah, who helped me shell a bunch of peas. We spent 30 min working on a full grocery sack of peas and got just enough for 1 meal. :) It's nice to be able to spend time with just 1 kid. He was the only one interested (he wants to be a farmer, and I told him farmers do this :).  He kept calling the peas "babies" that he was getting out of their mommy's tummy...oh he's so cute.

This week the boys have gone to VBS 3 days at the local 4square church. I have had 3 mornings from 9:30 to 12 to just hang out with Ruby. We went grocery shopping every day (Deal shopping!). We went to Target day 1, then Albertsons, Walgreens + Target day 2, then Walgreens, Rite Aid & Fred Meyer day 3. Anyways, just going with her was such a nice treat. I taught her where her ears, elbows and knees are. We worked on the ABC's. We sang a few songs (She's perfecting "Holy, Holy, Holy," it's VERY cute!!). I taught her that she's "ONE" and she has "THREE" brothers. :) She was such a big girl--she walked with me a lot and didn't require me holding her. She got her very first Starbucks drink (a water!) and soon after choked on it (requiring me to pull over as I was driving!). :) She loves the big red balls at Target and shouted "BALL!" right as we drove up, and wanted to hit them all as we walked up to the store. OH she is so cute!

I scheduled well-child check ups for all 4 kids next week, and cardiology appointments for Isaac & Kaleb for the end of July (they have bicuspid aoritc valves and should go every year, but I think it's been 1.5 or 2....Yikes...).  I am worried about two things with Kaleb:

~~He has started coughing after physical activity. Maybe a bad habit (Karry said he did that for a while when he was a kid until his dad told him to stop it). Maybe asthma? I want to get him checked out, just in case.

~~He says that his chest hurts, often. Today at nap he said it hurt (now he's sleeping on the couch right by me so I can keep an eye on him). His chest pounds very, very hard, even resting.  He pointed to his sternum and said it feels like a giant is pushing down on it really really hard...and then he said, "well, maybe not really, really hard, just really hard." Kaleb was born with a huge sternum and a lop-sided looking rib cage. When he was a baby it stood out to me and made me worried that something was wrong with his heart (it was very big around his heart, and smaller on the other side). It's not as noticeable now that he's bigger, but it still makes me consider that now that his sternum area is hurting all the time.  I'm worried about what could be going on with him?  Huh!?  Any thoughts?  I said to Karry "maybe his rib bones are just all too big there and now that his heart is growing as he gets bigger, there's pressure in the area. Karry said "huh, I've never heard of that. " :) Me either, but it's a theory. :)

I've been working on a new, improved Serious Moms with rss feeds and css and includes. Oh yes--I've been learning. :0) Or--uh--Karry's been learning & helping me! Someday soon, coming to an internet near you, SeriousDads.com. Someday! :)

Tonight is our last night of t-ball, and my coach hubby and half-the-team-boys will get to go play with their team for the last time. Then we have a picnic and awards tomorrow night. 1 trophy per team, for the kid with the most team spirit or something like that. My kids aren't getting it, and I'm ok with that, less junk. They might be disappointed though. Oh well. I want to build a shelf up high in their room for things like that. We've got 2 soccer trophies, and piggy banks and Mickey Mouse hats could go up there too. Maybe someday. :)

There were coupons in this last Sunday's paper for $2 off of Starbucks ice cream and it's $2.50 at WalMart this week. We'll be in Hubbard for t-ball, so we're taking a quick trip to the WalMart in Woodburn to get some ice cream! :)

That's all!! :) Have a great, sunny day! :) :0)

Good Food, Good Deals!

I have been getting so many great deals lately, I'm stocking up! I wanted to show you some of the deals I have found over the weeks (and my newly organized foods!). :)

First, the drink cupboard:

There are 6 bottles of Tree Top juices in there (behind the Magic Bullet, etc.), and I got those for .50 each. Then the Country Time Lemonade--8 of those, I think some were free and some were .50 each, plus I got a catalina for the next purchase). I've got 3 boxes of Lipton Iced Tea, all cheap. 2 boxes of Tazo Tea, very cheap. 3 International Coffee Blends, cheap. I got a bunch of Koolaid packets (only orange and yellow--no red on my carpet! :), and I used my coupons for those at Winco. On the right bottom are canned juices--strawberry, strawberry lemonade & grape! The grape tastes SO good mixed with sprite or ginger ale. Mmmm! I have little baskets (left middle shelf) for my tea--one with a variety, one with only decaf/herbal for people who request it. I have extra tea bags in a little plastic drawer in another cupboard.  

Now, an overview of my pantry:

I just organized it, but it still looks messy to me. I bout some rulers and I want to do labels like this. (I LOVE her blog, by the way--check out the whole pantry article here).

The top left is looking a little bare. I need a good salsa sale and some more salad dressing, and maybe some mustard too, k? :) Ok, so I got those salad dressings, mayos & mustards for .40 each. The bbq sauce was all free. The A1 was .69. The refried beans were .38 per can (using my $1 off of 2 coupon at WinCo!). The olives (right, red cans) were .25 each at Albertsons (this week, you can print the coupons, buy 4, and double your coupons and spend $1, too!), and a couple were .50 each at Walgreens a while wback.

I love my yellow bins (below). I need to label them! Left: potatoes, onions, ginger root--things like that. Middle: taco shells, tostadas, things like that. Right: capri suns and other such drinks. I found these bins at Wal-Mart on clearance a while back.

These all need labels! Oh, what is a pantry without labels?? :) Beans, pasta, rice--all in jars. Except a couple of packages of rice pasta. 

Oh! You can see the original shelving above the jars--just wire racks. We don't like wire racks. We detest wire racks. So--when we first moved in, we measured it all out, ran to home depot & bought cheap wood (melanine, I think--white on the top) and had it all perfectly cut to fit in the pantry. This way, if anything spills, it doesn't go to the next level and the next level, and the next level, making an incredible mess! Also, the cans/jars sit nice and flat, no tipsy-ness going on!

This one looks messy, but I'm stocking up!! Top shelf: will be labeled "extras". Our favorite chips, from Winco (they're at other stores, too, but .11 more per bag, so I stock up at Winco), Juanitas. They're authentic tasting! Mm! Then some Kettle Chips (FM sales--$1.50 per bag), then 14 bags of Pirate's Booty stuff, $1.50 each with sale (FM, this week) and coupons (from paper). Then Chex, I used the $1 off 2 coupon from the paper 2 weeks ago & bought a bunch at Winco (we've gone through a bunch...We've had vbs this week & have been having cereal every morning!). There's a HUGE bag of salt there too (25 lbs!), that I bought for making salt maps & such with the kids (Costco, $3 something), but it also works to refill the salt jars for cooking!

Next row--my baking stuff. Not so organized on the left. On the right, I have SO much sugar!!!  There was a deal at Fred Meyer last week--I got 4 pectin (Sure Jell), picked up 2 coupons on the Sure Jell display for free sugar (up to $2) with every 2 boxes, and then picked up a yellow FM coupon in the sugar aisle for free 5 lbs of Fred Meyer sugar with every 4 boxes of pectin purchased. The pectin was $2 each. So I spent $8 and got 4 boxes of pectin, a 5 lb bag of Fred Meyer sugar, and 2 bags of C&H powdered or brown sugar. And THEN, a $3 catalina printed off for my next purchase...So I turned around and did it again for only $5. I did this over and over and over...So I have lots of sugar!! One of those yellow bins is FULL of powdered sugar & brown sugar!!! The other bin is FULL of marshmallows I got for .70 each on sale--we'll use them all summer over the fire & for rice krispies! :)
Top left (the baking one you saw above is right above this): these are gluten free flours. Notice the 25 lb bag of brown rice flour on the left! This is the cheapest way to buy it. I have more gf flours in another cupboard and some right by my mixer...Oh yes, there are a lot of flours to cook with when you go gluten free!!

Middle: syrups on the left. Fruits/applesauce/preserves in the middle. Then cereals on the right: first hot cereals (brown rice, and gluten free oats), and then the boxed cereals so the kids can reach them.

Bottom: Juices galore!!! Stuffed in the back left corner, tons of Tree Top boxes (free!) and Juicy Juice boxes ( super cheap). Then 10 bottles of Santa Cruz juice that I bought at Freddy's today. Print this coupon and get them for .25 each!

Right side: snacks--popcorn and fruit leather bars in jars. then opened bags of chips & packages of crackers, etc., in yellow bins on the right.

This shelf unit is a recent addition to the pantry. Mostly baking stuff on here: sprinkles, icings (I think I collect these things--I like decorating cookies & cupcakes with the kids, but I never knew I had so many!). I have been picking up cheap pudding & stuff as filler items (.39 each) when I wanted to use my register rewards or catalinas but had coupons for every other item (the rr's and catalinas are considered a coupon, and you can only have 1 mfg coupon per item--so I pick up something super cheap to be the extra "item" and use my, say $5 off catalina/rr to discount the other stuff even more, and basically get free pudding or jell-o, or gum, or clearance nutmeg, or whatever I pick out!). :)

Bottom shelf: chicken broth, parm cheese, pears (grocery outlet).
And now, the freezer! The bottom & bottom shelf left look pretty empty. I need more stuff, right? :)

Top: 6 bags of frozen whole strawberries, a total of 25 jars of strawberry freezer jam in the door & top shelf.

2nd down:a ton of gogurts (I think 18+ boxes) that I got super cheap or free, 10+ bags of shredded cheese that were also super cheap on sale & with coupons (I think .50 each). Some popcicles in there too.

3rd down: a huge box of cheap, end of the year blueberries from a farm my friend Celina knows about. Left side, a couple of packages of bacon, and a few of hot dogs (cheap bacon, free hot dogs)

Bottom: frozen veggies & some ground sausage.

We have a chest freezer for meats, too, and an inside freezer that holds:

ice cream, chicken broth (homemade), minced garlic (home-done, frozen in ice cube trays w/a little olive oil), gluten free bread crumbs (saved for various meals), misc. jars of "lunches" for Karry (soups, stroganoff, whatever I make that can be left over & he can warm up!), more frozen veggies, cooked meats (like shredded chicken ready for meals, taco meat, etc.), yogurt starters, as well as starters for buttermilk, sour cream, and my rennet...I think that's all. There are mini Dryers Ice Creams at Target right now for $1.19 and a $1 off Dryers coupon for Target, online here, and it doesn't specify the size or the amount. So get little ice creams (about 1 cup worth) for .19 each. What a treat for the kids! And for us! :)

I also wanted to share some good food I made last night and am making tonight!

Last night I put chicken breasts in a 9x13 pan and pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees.

I made a roux with butter & flour, and garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, poultry seasoning, chicken boullion, and then added milk and some white Sherry cooking wine in and made a thick sauce.

I poured this over the chicken. I topped it with ham (I have tons of Oscar Mayer & Hormel natural lunch meats I got cheap in my fridge). Then I topped it with swiss cheese slices (cheap also!) and a little bit of shredded cheddar. Then I topped it all with some gluten free bread crumbs (straight from the freezer). I baked it for 40 min.

Meanwhile, I cooked brown rice, and steamed some broccoli, and made a salad (CSA greens + carrots & tomato & cheap Lighthouse ranch dressing...mmm!).

I also cooked swiss chard. Here's how I do it: I put olive oil in a pan, and saute about 2 TB worth of minced onions. Then I add the torn up swiss chard & saute it. Then I add chicken broth in, as well as salt & pepper & let it cook a while until it's nice and done. Tasty greens!

THEN, I also made some gluten free shortcakes for strawberry shortcake. These were VERY GOOD and could be made by anyone, even if you don't have GF flours in your house. It's made up of butter, powdered sugar, eggs, corn starch, and baking powder. That's it! We have 1/2 the pan left and have fresh raspberries to eat with them tonight!

And one more thing I am making tonight, to go with the leftover salad we have from last night: Zuppa Toscana. We got Kale from our CSA, so this will make a nice dinner tonight! 

Enjoy! :)

Political Post

Some facts to share (not just my opinions):

• The US Department of Homeland Security labels right wing conservatives as domestic terrorists.
  
• Since Obama has become president, there has been a huge shortage on ammunition. Not because people are buying it out--no, the stores can't get it. Not because of the war--no, different factories make the ammo for the war & the ammo that is sold in our country. Because it is being controlled--shelves that were full of all different kinds of ammo when GW Bush was president (even during the peak of the war) are suddenly empty, and the ammunition is suddenly "unavailable."
• ABC has turned their programming over to Obama. He kicked all of the other press ("freedom of the press"??) out of the White House, and now he's in charge of what gets covered about him and his adgendas.

Now, opinions--predictions from people I know (not myself, these are simply predictions I have heard):

• There is going to be an attack on our country. Obama will allow it to happen. (Note: there is one scheduled on Hawaii, already, conveniently where Obama's birth records are supposedly being held--nothing is being done about this). Obama will then use this attack to gain more control, saying that our country is in danger.
• One person said that this is when people will be required to be tagged with a chip. Like a cat?
• Note: regarding this: there are two things already happening that remind me of this. 1 is a 24 page survey asking all kinds of detailed questions (whether you rent or own, how much you make, and more personal questions about your personality & beliefs, etc.). I have heard of people already getting these, and there will be more issued--and there is a large fine if you do not answer & return the survey (it is from the Census Bureau).  One more thing--the government has begun to take photos of & putting GPS marks at every single person's front door. They are keeping track of who lives there & exactly where each person's residence is. They already visited my brother's house.
• Next prediction: that the government is going to take over more private corporations, like GM. The economy will get worse than it is, and many, many, many companies will go bankrupt.
• Then, Obama will issue a "clean slate."--Our money will be worthless. Whatever you've got in savings will be worthless. There will be a new money system, similar to the Euro, one person said.
• The bulk of our country's debt will fall on China. China will be mad.
• China and N. Korea will partner up & attack our country.

Again, the 2nd part was just predictions/opinions. We'll see. I don't know. What do you all think?

a math lesson :)

I mentioned that our house is a wreck, right? The boys thought that since their cousins were here, it was a chance to take out every single toy (and game!!!!! OH MY!!). The boys don't usually have toys in their room. But there are costumes, and legos, and toy instruments all over their floor right now....And Connect 4 pieces, and costumes, and so many other things all over the bonus room floor. And mega blocks, books, and other things all over the family room floor....

SO--my lesson?

I taught them tally marks, which goes well with counting by 5's, which we recently learned. I set up the white board (at their level) with a space for Isaac, Kaleb & Noah, and then told them to start cleaning up & put a tally mark down for every thing they clean up. I said, pick up 5 things, and then come make 5 tally marks...Then, I said that for every 10 tally marks they make, they'll get a penny. Not a lot, but a bit of incentive for these kids. I hesitated at paying them for their own mess--but I could struggle with them all day to get this mess cleaned up, or I could offer some pennies and make it fun. So that is what I'm doing. :)

This little game has them rushing around the house picking up stuff FAST, they're SO excited to clean!! 

The Day, The Week, and Randomness!

The Day

It's Karry's Birthday!  AND Father's Day! He woke up to a "treasure hunt" that Isaac had put together, for him to follow a map and find wrapped up presents (filled with crayons, of course--I thought the crayon drawer was looking a bit sparse!).  We had cereal (I know, exciting!), I wrapped presents, baked a cake, made pasta salad, and we left for church! 

We went to Household of Faith again today, and Dr. Brian Ray spoke this morning about fatherhood. => Dr. Brian Ray does statistics & research about home education--I've seen and heard people quote his research before. He said today that 85% of kids who grow up in "evangelical Christian" homes do not walk with the Lord as adults. That is CRAZY!!

We told my brother & his wife that the get-together started at 1:30 today because they're always late (we told everyone else it was at 2). :) My brother called Karry when we were leaving Thriftway (picking up strawberries & a few sale items!), and he asked "where are you guys? I'm parked outside of your house."  OOPS. They were there ON TIME!

We had good food with great people. My mom brought potato salad. I made pasta salad (gf) with Wishbone "Bountifuls" Italian marinade/dressing that I got really cheap (or free?) and olives I got for .50 per can w/coupons, and cherry tomatoes. We barbecued corn (I soaked it in sugar water for a few hours), and salmon burgers (Costco) and hamburgers (Costco). Mom brought buns for the bun eaters. I cut up cantaloupe. I mixed cherry jello (made it last night--the box was free w/coupons) with cool whip (.25 with coupons!), for a 25 cent side dish/dessert! 

I made a cake that turned out horrible. It was a gf box mix that I've made before, but I did it in 2 smaller pans (rather than 1 big one) and it cooked too long and was hard....The strawberries & whipped cream I put all over it sort of helped...

I got K 2 nice shirts from Lands End (he likes the polos & button ups from there, they don't wrinkle as much :), and a starbucks card, and an itunes card, and a little Flip Video Camera. It was a "Goldbox Deal" on Amazon a while back, so about 1/2 the price of what it is now, and people were blogging about it and saying it was great. :)  K wants to make short little movies with the boys. Thought this would help. :)

This Week

I re-arranged a lot of the house/organized stuff!!  I swapped our dining room/kitchen  tables and extended the one in the dining room to make more space for homeschooling. The boys are always fighting over their space (their math books are big, and the blocks take up space, etc.). I also don't really like homeschooling at the same place we eat breakfast at--we're always required to clean up before we can get any schooling done. So--I changed things! I put the living room loveseat into the den (ok, Karry did this part for me!! I moved the tables, he did the couch!). It has a big stain on it and doesn't look pretty anymore (I've tried to wash it and it hasn't worked!). Also, I wanted a comfy place to sit and cut my coupons/plan my deals. I set two small file cabinets together like a coffee table in front of the couch, with a table runner over the two...It's a perfect set up for my couponing!

I got a nice solid wood bookshelf from Craigslist this week and put it in the living room. I re-arranged homeschool stuff so I don't feel stuck in 1 room all day. Math & phonics are in the living room/dining room, as well as Bible & character stuff. Science & literature are in the family room. Art, history & geography are in the den. Music & games are upstairs in the bonus room. PE--well, that's every place they can run! =>

I organized the pantry and I think it's so pretty that I keep looking at it. :) I am so proud of my coupon deals in there. :)

I also organized the freezer & love the 15+ boxes of gogurts, 10 bags of cheese, several packs of hot dogs & bacon...Oh this is fun!

I hope we don't have a power outage, because I stayed up 'til 2 one morning making strawberry jam & freezing whole berries (3.5 flats total)!

The kids and I picked 1/2 a flat of berries on Wednesday. They did SO great. All of them. They had good attitudes, and they were seriously having fun. We quit because Kaleb had to go potty. :) Isaac asked the woman who worked at the farm if she believes in God. :)

We went to the Happy Valley garage sales w/my friend Erin on Friday. Whew! I got 4 pairs of shoes for Ruby for .50 each (NICE ones!!), and an adorable pair of boots for her for $2. Love it. Garage sales rock!!

Randomness...

Ruby is understanding so many more words and concepts and she's communicating so much more. We're getting tougher on her with "using words" instead of fussing, etc.  She is becoming such a sweet little girl.

We still have paperwork to fill out to start the adoption process through the state...We'll work on that soon!

Have y'all ever heard of embryo adoption? Kind of a strange concept. My mom told me about a couple we know of who did envitro, and they have 6 fertilized eggs left (she's now pregnant w/twin boys), and they want to give the eggs away. So, whoever adopts them would then have the egg put into the adoptive mother's womb...she would then deliver a baby that has none of her genes or her husband's.  So then, my question is (well, one of them!), who is birthmom? And then, how do you explain to a kid that they look very different from their siblings but they came from Mommy's tummy? And what about if they meet a true biological sibling someday? Wouldn't that be strange? Lots of questions. But then, another question--do we consider a fertilized egg to be a life? Yes for us, we do...And there are 500,000+ of these "snowflake babies" on ice out there, somewhere. So, anyone want a baby? :)

My house is a wreck and I didn't touch it tonight. Funny thing--we clean for parties & gatherings--and then clean after them, too.  Did you know the Duggars use paper plates at lunch time w/their kids? Good plan!!

My brother and his wife are so thrifty and wise w/their new 3 acres, I'm so proud of them. Brad picked up 50 free tomato plants from someone off of Craigslist and planted a bunch yesterday and gave me 4. :) They're slaughtering their free chickens next week. They were talking about how common it is to find free cows in their area (McMinnville).  Love it...They're awesome. :)

That's all folks!