Another Kid Hits Double Digits!!!

These first two pictures are of Anna-Kate, three years ago today. She turned seven. She gets very excited about her birthday. She loves choosing the menu for dinner and her own special cake or desert!

This year, as she turns ten, I am watching another little girl quickly turn into a young lady. I am so proud of her. She is a very special young lady. She is so wonderful with her little sisters. I can always count on Anna to entertain Wendy and Lily. She has a way of keeping them occupied and happy. Which can be quit a chore for their ages!

Anna has such a sweet heart and gentleness about her. She will make a wonderful mother someday. It is certainly bitter sweet to see another kid enter double digits. I am so thankful that God gave her to us to enjoy and have the privilege to " train up in the way she should go".

I can't wait to see what the next three years bring for Anna and all that she can learn. One of her goals is to grow her hair long enough to cut it and donate to Locks of Love. Click on the link and watch the video to learn more about her goal! Anna is very excited about this!

Anna you are one special young lady. Happy 10th Birthday. We love you very much! Mama and Daddy

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Who Needs IHOP...?

I'm always looking for ways to treat my family without breaking the budget! A meal out for nine people is just not practical when I could buy four or five bags of groceries for the price of one meal that only satisfies for a couple of hours. And frankly a meal out with a 1, 3, and 4 year old is not relaxing;) I do like a bit of a break from cooking once in a while though.

I have and answer to all of this with brunch on Saturdays. We hold off eating much until closer to lunch and whip up pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. YUM! It doesn't take much effort to make pancakes from a mix that you only need to add water. EASY! The strawberries come frozen, clean and already sliced. I just sprinkle with a tablespoon or so of sugar and let them thaw into their wonderful topping goodness. YAY! And I don't even "whip" the cream. WOOHOO!
We eat 'til our hearts content and I don't even think about cooking again until dinner. Homerun for Mama!!
Here's the math:
All the ingredients for a month of Saturday Brunches....
From Sam's Club(rounding up prices)

• Pancake Mix(just add water)-$6
• Frozen Strawberries-$9
• 3 large cans of whipped cream-$7
• total of $22.00
• $5.50 per meal for all of us (if I could think of another word to cap and ! I'd throw it in here, wink, smile)

This post is a part of Frugal Friday and Weekend Fun Food.

A New Little Cousin!

Ella Madeline

January 20, 2009

9 pounds 3 ounces

Lo children are an heritage unto the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Psalm 127

25 Random Things About Me

1. If a frog landed on me I would be more upset than if a spider got on me.

2. When I was a little girl, I wished I was Laura Ingles Wilder and would wear my robe tied around my waist like a little pinafore.

3. I could keep having babies until I was no longer physically able.

4. I love feminine, frilly things. But you would never know it if you saw me in Kroger in my sweats and tennis shoes.

5. I LOVE coffee. Just plain old coffee with lots of half-and-half.

6. My family means everything to me.. I am blessed.

7. I was saved at summer church camp and baptised in a swimming pool. I was twelve years old. I will never forget it.

8. I have loved being in church as long as I can remember.

9. I have nursed all of my kids and they have all slept with us for some period of their babyhood.

10. I dream of being a grandmother. I pray that my house will be filled with visiting grandkids.

11. I love peanut butter.

12. I struggle with the decision to grey naturally or color my hair.

13. I dream of owning a little property in the country, but I'm really more of a city girl.

14. I volunteered at a hospital for a couple of summers in college. I worked on the floor for the terminally ill. There were at least two times that I remember answering a call from the nurse's station to find to patient had stripped off their clothes. eeewwwwwww!

15. I loved my Mamaw and Papaw and miss them something awful. They were a huge influence on who I am today.

16. I love taking pictures of my family.

17. I think of cookbooks as good reads.

18. I used to be a ballerina and a cheerleader.

19. All of my birth stories are unique, but I am most proud of my two home births and wish I could have had them all at home.

20. I love a coconut candle. It reminds me of the beach.

21. I can be really grouchy and have to constantly keep my attitude in check.

22. I used to love roller coasters and want to go white water rafting. Now I'm too chicken.

23. I was asked in kindergarten if I was kin to the Beverly Hillbillies. I wasn't sure so I asked my Mom;0)

24. I grew up camping, but now you would have to drag me kicking and screaming.

25. I love God and want to do my best for Him!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday-
B-oatmeal, fruit, nuts
L-pink smoothies, tuna salad or peanut butter sandwiches
D-spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic toast

Tuesday-
B-eggs, toast
L-pbj, carrot sticks
D-baked chicken, rice(cook extra), peas, tossed salad
to do-make granola

Wednesday-
to do-make soup
B-granola cereal, milk, bananas
L-chicken noodle soup with carrots
D-calzones with broccoli, ham and cheese
to do-thaw turkey for lunches and soak beans

Thursday-
B-cinnamon raisin biscuits
L-smoothie, turkey and cheese sandwiches
D-chili and rice

Friday-
B-granola, bananas, milk
L-turkey and cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks
D-eat at church, no cooking!
to do-thaw fish and chicken

Saturday-
Brunch-french toast
D-baked trout, baked teriyaki chicken, slaw, homemade rolls

Sunday-
B-oatmeal, fruit, nuts
D-taco salad

Pink Smoothies

Rose is patiently waiting with her cup for a smoothie.

I used to serve smoothies most days of the week. Now that I'm serving nine, it's more of an occasional treat. I may be able to serve them more if I can get back into making yogurt or keifer (a yogurt type drink).

Ingredients:

frozen strawberries

bananas

vanilla yogurt

milk

Add one and a half bananas and four spoonfuls of yogurt. Fill the blender halfway with milk. (orange juice makes a great smoothie too) Blend this until smooth. Add about four handfuls of strawberries. Blend until smooth and serve right away.

We make this twice to serve everyone.

This is so good. Making it with milk makes it taste like a strawberry milkshake. Add a little whipped cream on top and you've got yourself a gourmet desert.

This post is a part of Kitchen Tip Tuesday , hosted at The Finer Things in Life.

Why do they do this.....

It starts out so innocent.....
Ok, she has your attention.....

Now, if I can just reach that "little punching bag".....

Ahh-ha, GOT IT...

Gaaaaaaaaaag..........

No worries, I recover quickly, I'm fine now.....really.

Back to dinner, Mama makes good spaghetti.

***picture credit-Anna-Kate***

Homemade Thursdays

All my girls except for Anna have been blankie girls. Wendy and Lily have been very attached to their blankets. Wendy has a pink Martha Stewart blanket, from my Aunt Barbara, that has been worn so thin it is barely in one piece-thinner than a dryer sheet with big holes. She loves it still and says it is beautiful. I bought her a similar but thicker blanket when she was 2 to see if we could "replace" the grubby one. She wanted nothing to do with the new one I offered, but thankfully Lily took right to that one and it did not go to waste!

I crocheted this blankie size blanket for Rose for her first birthday. It may not become her favorite. We'll just have to wait and see. Click here to see the pattern. I used the softest yarn I have ever felt! It is this bamboo yarn from Micheal's. If you are into yarn, you must check out this squishy, wonderful yarn and find something to make with it!

We also made this sweet little card for my husband's co-worker that had a baby boy this week! I picked up the stamp of baby foot prints at Wal-mart several years ago. It is my favorite for obvious reasons:)
Go join in Homemade Thursdays!

Snack For Little Hands...

Some of you will remember my post on cutting melons. The same cutting steps apply here. Wendy and Lily love oranges, but they can be quite messy. I usually cut their oranges in circles or wedges. They usually miss a good bit of fruit and the juices too. All those little strings seem to get in the way of them eating all of it also.

At this point, just slice the fruit long way into four quarters and slice into bite size pieces.
Less waste, less mess, happy kids, happy Mama!

Clementines are also a very manageable snack for little ones. I can usually get oranges cheaper:0)

This post is part of Kitchen Tip Tuesday and Help For Growing Families. Go read tons of great advice for Mamas! If you have young kids you will want to try the recipe links from Mother Hen!

Menu Plan

Monday-
B- cheerios, bananas
L-ham and cheese sandwiches
D-beef hot dogs, left over chili, oven fries

Tuesday-
to do-start soup
B-oatmeal, fruit and nuts
L-chicken soup with rice and carrots
D-quick pizzas (basically any bread with pizza sauce and toppings toasted)

Wednesday-
B-biscuits and gravy
L-pbj and apples
D-calzones with ham, cheese, and broccoli
to do-(soak beans, two crock pots, cook one for weekend)

Thursday-
B-eggs and toast
L-potato soup
D-chili, chips, and cheese

Friday-
B-granola cereal, bananas, milk
L-left overs
D-penne pasta with alfredo sauce, mixed veggies

Saturday-
Brunch-pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream
D-meatloaf, potatoes, gravy, peas

Sunday-
B-oatmeal and toast
D-taco salad with cheese salsa and sour cream
desert-preacher cookies

Preacher Cookies
1/3 c. cocoa
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 stick of butter (real butter tastes the best!)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. oatmeal (I use old fashioned, can use quick)
1/2 c. peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
Mix cocoa and sugar in a heavy pan. Add milk and butter. Bring to a rolling boil for1 minute. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and peanut butter. Stir until melted. Add oatmeal. Spoon on waxed paper or cookie sheets sprayed with cooking spray and let cool.