What the heck has been going on around here?

A lot, actually.

Joseph is just finishing up with his freshman track season and has done really well. He runs distance events, mostly the 1500 and 3000. Track districts are next week and then he's done. Why anyone would want to run that far with no big prize at the end like shoes is beyond me. He's running for Soph class president and asked me to write a speech is giving a speech on Wednesday. He starts swimming again on Monday after taking a break. because he needed a serious attitude check.

Michael has been playing soccer for a neighboring school and has two weeks left. Both him and Joseph are getting ready to take life guarding classes in order to work at the local pool this summer. I drove him to a game today (2 1/2 hours EACH way) and he is sportin' a really wicked, nasty, oozing turf burn on his leg. Not yummy. He was nominated and ran for All Student Body Treasurer. I wrote his speech while I was in the shower don't ask and even though he was running against someone older, he won!

Timothy has been playing soccer too, for a team in a neighboring town. He's scored twice from the defensive position. Both times he had eaten a certain sandwich right before the game and he's now convinced that is why he scored. He's gearing up to start his Eagle project and is looking forward to school being out for the summer. Can't believe that he will be a freshman in the fall!

Joshua is also playing soccer in a nearby town and he has fast become my garage sale/dumpster diving/Goodwill hunting buddy. He has attached a hook to the end of a walking stick in order to better dig through the GW dumpster. I'm so proud. sniff...sniff...

Elizabeth is playing softball and is so completely into fashion that I'm wondering whose daughter she really is. It's all about the girl drama...all the time. sigh...

Matthew was standing to close to the handlebars on Liz's bike today and his nose took a hit. Luckily, Corey was here and just super glued the chuck back on.

Hannah, aka the crayon bandit, is driving me nuts with her artwork. All. over.

Levi has come out of the dreaded 3's and is the best little boy ever. I just love that kid.

Lily has a shoe fetish. She is so my girl.

Boo is doing wonderful. Here is his mug shot from the Animal Regulation place that we adopted him from.

Doesn't he look like a big dork?

He fits right in around here.

I don't do inside animals, only inside kids, but here he is in the garage bathroom sink.

Here is my beautiful mother. She is just as beautiful on the inside too.

Since the five older kids are on five different teams (six starting on Monday) she has saved our bacon countless times. My kids have always had someone at each and every one of their games/meets.

Love you Mom!


As for me, I'm coping. I haven't said much before now but I'm having some issues. The short version is...for over a year now, I've had a rib out of place. It has messed up a bunch of muscles in my back and neck which have caused more problems. It is very painful. Because I waited so long to have it fixed...it won't stay in place. It is sucking the life out of me. The last couple of months have been the worst.

Sorry if I've seemed distant or anti-social, it's just that I'm wiped out a lot and pretty grumpy. I stay away for your sakes, promise. I hope think I'm now on the mend.

**crosses fingers**

Corey's been working, some away and some at home. He's a saint and is really taking good care of me.

That's it in our nuthouse a nutshell.

Have a happy weekend!

Our Newest Family Member

Meet Boo.

Or, King Boo as he is already being referred to.

He is currently in jail.

But we are posting his bail tomorrow.

I know that we will never own another cat like Spook.

I just hope we can keep ourselves from comparing our new fella to Spook.

Boo is a super chill kinda guy, but because he is an adult black cat, he keeps getting passed over.

One of the volunteers in there today told me that Boo is her fav.

Boo has no idea what he has gotten himself into.

His whole world will change tomorrow.

Hope that will be okay with him.

More Diving

Goodwill has been busy...

Throwing stuff away.

I try to take a peeksie every day.

Just to see if I want any of the offerings of the dumpster goddess.

Check out my goodies...

A metal chest which I have already began renovations on.

We ripped off the yucky red felt off the back of these plaques and Joseph plans on using them in his medieval, dragon, wizard room. I had almost bought these several times in the store.

Now, I'm glad I waited.

Josh my dumpster diving partner grabbed out the blue goblet for Joe's "display" in his room. I'll have to show you his display sometime. He keeps it looking really nice.

A really nice, clean Graco carseat. Thankfully it was on the top of the pile. I brought it home, checked for recalls and then gave it to a friend of mine who is very preggo.

An electric blanket, still in the package.

I was really excited about that because I was planning on buying one anyway.

No controllers which was a bummer.

Checked for controllers online and found that I could buy the ones that went with the blanket for $20.

Since the blanket new runs about $80 (I think) I was planning on doing that.

But then I found the controllers I needed at a neighboring Goodwill for $4. Brought them home, tried out the blanket and it worked perfect.

I love it when things work out like that.

It must have been game night at the dumpster because last night it was full of wrapped up games and puzzles.

We will have so much fun with these. My kids love puzzles!

And then when we are done with them, we will pass them on.

Just not back to Goodwill.

But wouldn't that be funny?

Unless they wound up back in the trash a second time.

Then that wouldn't be.

Also found were a bunch of wicker baskets all wrapped up with lotions in them. I think we picked up six that night.

A couple of them were perfect for carrying around baby dolls in them.

The rest of them we took and used to plant tomato and green pepper starts in.

I found a local charity that is run with volunteers and 100% of the profits are used to spay and neuter animals. So that is where I take my donations now.

Or, if I'm feeling lazy, I put stuff for free on Craigslist.

Sadly, after finding out that our local Goodwill executive makes over $600,000 a year (and that was after our state governor made him take a pay cut!), and seeing the amount of usable goods that end up in the landfill, I will no longer donate to Goodwill.

But, I'll still shop there.

Especially in the dumpster.

Happy Diving!

Pancake recipe and some cooking mumbo jumbo

In case you can't tell...

I've been on another cooking push lately.

I have a bunch of frozen meats out in the freezers, which I am grateful to have.

But, a turkey, frozen solid, when dinner time comes a rollin' around, is not much help.

I did an inventory of all my meats and planned on how to best use them. I also figured out how much frozen bananas, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini and squash puree I have left. I don't want any of them left when the new crop comes on so I formulated a baking plan.

I am planning on cooking a bunch of our favorite recipes and some new ones too, and then checked my cupboards to see what I already had for ingredients.

Then, a shopping I went, to grab the ingredients that I was lacking.

I'm full steam ahead cooking.

One of the things that I cooked up was pancakes.

These freeze really well and can just be popped in the toaster for a quick breakfast.

I use the extra large ziplocs and cut a bunch of freezer paper to fit in between layers. When the bag gets emptied, it is put back in the freezer for storage until I need it again. I use them for french toast too.

Here is the recipe, which I have modified a bunch of times. The quantity feeds my entire family with leftovers, just so ya know. In other words...it's a whole lotta hotcakes.

Our Favorite Pancakes

8 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. honey
1/3 c. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. salt
8 eggs
6 c. milk (I make instant milk for this, it's cheaper)
4 c. plain yogurt
1 1/3 c. bean puree

You can substitute:

Sugar for the honey and then omit the baking soda
Sour cream for the yogurt
Butter for the bean puree

You can also add blueberries, either fresh or frozen.


Also, I want to thank you all for your sweet, funny and informative comments. You guys seem like such a fun bunch and I can't wait to finish my cooking so I can check out your blogs.

Happy Cooking!

Still waiting to get used to this

Went and bought a bunch of fruit...

5 bags apples
2 bags oranges
8 pounds strawberries
6 bunches of bananas
4 pineapples
2 sacks of pears

10 days later...

This is all that is left...

I know that I shouldn't continue to be horrified by this.

But I can't seem to help it...

Beans, beans, the musical fruit...

Am I the only one who learned the "Musical Bean" song as a child?

My dad used to sing it...

Beans, beans, the musical fruit.
The more you eat, the more you toot.
The more you toot, the better you'll feel.
So, lift your leg and let them peel.

Ah....

Childhood memories.

Did I ever mention that I was kind of a tomboy?

Anywhoo...

Fast forward to the present day.

My family loves beans.

This was a major factor in our decision to put the teenage boys up in the third level.

Where you can't see them or smell them.

But...

Back to beans.

Do you know you can replace butter in your recipe with bean puree?

Yep, I don't lie. on this one anyway

I take small white beans (mine were Great Northern beans) and follow the package directions in cooking them.

Once they are all cooked up, I stick them in my food processor (blender works too) and puree them until they look like butter.

Talk about saving money and tons of fat grams!

I replace the butter in my recipes with a 1:1 ratio. So far, I have tried it in pancakes and my banana bread recipe and I have been thrilled with both results!

You can also freeze the bean puree, either in 1 cup measures (in ziplocs) or in larger containers if you will be doing a lot of baking.

If you are not used to eating a bunch of beans you might be "musical" for awhile.

But you can always sing along.

Happy cooking!

Eggs

60 eggs.

About now you are thinking, "60 eggs? That's 5 dozen, right? That's not a big deal."

Ok...

I'll be honest.

I'm talking 60 dozen.

In my defense...they were on sale after Easter.

And we go through a lot of eggs.

So, I started loading up my cart. As I did so, I became aware of a background noise.

I stopped to listen.

I realized that it was the faint sounds of my fridge, at home, starting to hyperventilate.

So, I stopped at 60 dozen.

Buying 60 dozen eggs is apparently not something that is done every day.

People tend to notice.

And stare.

It's embarrassing.

Almost as embarrassing as the time that I took eight kids with me to the store and bought a pregnancy test.

Good times...good times...

Anywhoo...

I've been freezing the eggs.

It's super easy to do.

You have to crack each egg and beat it just a wee little bit.

You can freeze each egg individually.

I do them in muffin tins.

Once they are frozen, I lift them out and put them in a bag.

Put them promptly back in the freezer so they don't stick together.

I also did 24 eggs and threw them into a gallon freezer bag.

They will be used later for scrambled eggs or for french toast.

Easy peesey!

Happy freezing!