Life with my Little Friends

I always wanted five rowdy boys. Just boys. I wanted my house to be filled to the max with noise and chaos. Growing up it was just me and my two sisters and our Aunt referred to our home as "a tomb" since it was so quiet.

My Dad came from a family of boys. Just boys. The stories he told about accidentally tearing down the curtains, kayaking in the ocean at midnight, and how his monkey ate his little brother's turtle were just the kind of chaos I wanted! What adventurous creatures little boys would be!

So when my first ultrasound (five years ago!) showed a little boy, I had to smile. He was a kicking, rambunctious, wild little fetus and I knew he would add a spark to our quiet lives. And indeed he has! He has been thus far, just as wild and crazy as he was on that ultrasound! We have most certainly had our curtains torn down . . . more times than I can count actually. We've had our toilet clogged with all sorts of junk due to those curious little hands. I am incapable of keeping the pillows on our couch. We've had our walls colored on, the beds don't stay immaculate, and the brownies get snitched. My distressed furniture has become much more distressed and I've picked up more Cheerios off the floor than any other human being that I should be added to the Guinness Book of World Records. I would say that I doubt there is any more conquering a little boy could do inside the house, but that would be asking for it. The adventures I've had thus far have been priceless! What living we have done since he has come into our lives! What memories we have been given! What a gift his adventurous little self has been! . . . And what a gift it is to not get exactly what you thought wanted (five boys). I must say, holding a soft, sweet, squishy, and dainty little girl has brought just as much joy . . . and a fair amount of balance to our lives:)

Free Summer Activities

Fairchild Cinemas are playing movies on Tuesday thru Thursday (guess I should have checked the calendar before I wrote "weekends." Doors open at 9:00 AM and movies start at 10:00AM.

Schedule:

June 23-25 ---- Bee Movie or Nim's Island

June 30-July 2nd ---- Paul Blart: Mall Cop or Horton Hears a Who

July 7-9 ---- Kung Fu Panda or Surf's Up

July 14-16 --- Barnyard or Igor

July 21-23 ---- Coraline or The Tale of Desereaux

July 28-30 ---- Shrek the Third or Madagascar 2

Aug 4-6 ---- Charlotte's Web or Flushed Away

Aug 11-13 ---- Monsters vs. Aliens or The Spiderwick Chronicles

Aug 19-20 ---- Hotel for Dogs or Surprise Final Film!

I'm pretty sure most theaters do this summer movies for kids so check your local cinema.


Lowe's does a Build and Grow workshop for the kiddos every other Saturday at 10:00AM. We will definitely try to make it to these! Isaac would adore making these!

June 27th workshop: Pirate Ship

July 11th workshop: Treasure Chest

Dinner Menu

Here's our dinner menu for the next two weeks! It's simple and easy and I put on a few new dishes that I'll share the recipes for if they turn out. Anyway, if this helps make your dinner planning easier then read further.

1- Steak fajitas/fresh lemonade
2- Panini sandwiches (from the Williams-Sonoma cookbook)/carrot sticks
3- Braised Beef Stew (from the Williams-Sonoma cookbook pg 212)
4- French bread pizza/salad
5- Grilled salmon/green beans/rosemary foccacia bread
6- Chicken and rice casserole/peas
7- Spaghetti/broccoli
8- Grilled chicken/corn/mashed potatoes
9- Salmon/Creamy Risotto (from the Williams-Sonoma cookbook pg 241)
10- Philly cheesesteaks/homemade french fries
11- Macaroni and cheese/brocolli
12- Tacos
13- Jamie's Italian Penne pasta/green beans

Dessert-

Oatmeal cookies
Blueberry cobbler
Cinnamon rolls

Beautiful Words

"A woman must be a cook, but not a competitive cook; a school-mistress, but not a competitive school-mistress; a house-decorator, but not a competitive house-decorator; a dressmaker, but not a competitive dressmaker. She should have not one trade but twenty hobbies; she, unlike the man, may develop all her second bests. This is what has been really aimed at from the first in what is called the seclusion, or even the oppression, of women. Women were not kept at home in order to keep them narrow; on the contrary, they were kept at home in order to keep them broad. The world outside the home was one mass of narrowness, a maze of cramped paths, a madhouse of monomaniacs. It was only by partly limiting and protecting the woman that she was enabled to play at five or six professions and so come almost as near to God as the child when he plays at a hundred trades. But the woman’s professions, unlike the child’s, were all truly and almost terribly fruitful."

G.K. Chesterton

"Scratchy" is another word for not being nice . . . didn't you know?

From our frequent visitor Wyatt:

"Bicki, Isaac's not being nice to me."

"What did he do?" I ask (Isaac had been laying on the floor next to me for the past few minutes).

"He's uh . . . he's just being a little scratchy."

Interesting.

Progress

Sunshine and Sausage Casserole

From the Farm Chicks' Cookbook:

1/2 to 3/4 lb pork (or turkey) sausage
10 large eggs
2 cups 2% fat or whole milk cottage cheese
8 ounces jack cheese, grated (2 cups) (I just used cheddar)
1 7 ounce can diced green chili peppers (I omitted these since I was making it for a crowd)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon and stirring occasionally, until browned -- 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-line plate to cool. Lightly oil a 9 X 13 inch glass baking dish. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the sausage, cheeses, chili peppers, and green onions. Without stirring, add the flour, then the baking powder, and then butter; then stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake until set -- 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes; then serve.

I really enjoyed this recipe and think it might show up on holidays from time to time!

From Jamie Larson's Kitchen

Cheesy Penne Italian Turkey Sausage Casserole


1 pkg Penne Pasta (16 oz)
1 lb ground Italian Turkey Sausage
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 can cheddar cheese soup (undiluted)
1-1/2 tsp italian seasoning
3/4 tsp pepper
3 cups mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to the package. Meanwhile, In a large skillet, brown sausage until done, drain. Stir in the Spaghetti sauce, soup and seasonings.Drain the penne and add to the sauce mixture. Stir in 1-1/2 cups of the cheese. Transfer to 2 greased 11x7 or 2 qt. baking dishes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months.Cover and bake the remaining one at 350 for 20 mins. Uncover and bake 5-10 mins or until the cheese is melted.

To use the frozen one~ Thaw in the frige overnight. Remove from frige 30 mins before baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 50-60 mins or until heated through and cheese is melted! Enjoy! :)

(I made this casserole for Bill last night and he must have said "thank you, dinner was delicious" at least four or five times! --Vicki)