January Doldrums...

I'm tired of January!  I'm in the dumps and everyone else around me is too.  We're grumpy because we're cold and it seems that the fun of Christmas left us about six months ago.... The weather is not helping the mood at my house!  Even Kate the big, black dog has taken to laying in her heated doghouse instead of chasing the birds and squirrels.

We need February!  I need hearts and chocolate and cherry pie!  It seems that February around my house is the month to eat.  While January is my month to do some of the things that I hate to do, like dust the top of the china cabinet, oil the woodwork in the hallways.  Yuck!  I need to come up with something fun and exciting to do in january!  While February has valentines day, mardi gras and President's day (think cherry pie, people), January has Martin Luther King jr day and the super bowl.  Big woop!  Those are not good days....MLK day is a day off from school but mostly it's just parades and oftentimes it snows.  The super bowl is on Sunday night! What good party have you ever had on a Sunday night?  I'm not in college anymore, I do have to get up on Monday morning, get everybody out the door and get to work!

Of course, January is fudge month for me so that's a highlight!   Maybe I'm just on a chocolate downer right now....but it just seems that the month of January is a big let down! I'll be thinking to come up with a great reason to have a holiday or party in January.....because right now, I'm just ready for February!

Fish Tacos

I've had several requests for this recipe and I can't seem to find it in the blog so now I'm just going to repost if I have already posted!  This is one of my kids favorite dinners and it is sure a lot cheaper than eating fish tacos out!  I don't like many fried, breaded things so I developed this recipe without frying the fish.  I think the secret is the dressing on the salad!

Fish tacos

1-2 pieces of frozen tilipia per person
1/4 cup lime juice
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
1 chopped jalapeno or serrano pepper (I use the frozen chopped ones I have from summer)

Place all the above into a ziploc bag and let thaw while marinating. Once the fish have thawed and marinated for about an hour, place all ingredients into a skillet and cook on low heat until the fish falls apart.  Stir it all together and cook off the water for about 5-7 minutes.

while I am marinating the fish, I make a package of Zatarain's spanish rice. I make it with a can of chopped tomatoes with chilis (Rotel).   Keep covered and warm as you stir up the salad.

Salad topping:
4-6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1-2 tomatoes, chopped small
1-3 tablespoons chopped onions (depending on how much you like onion) can be green onions
1/4 cup chopped red pepper

Mix together in a bowl and toss with dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoons lime juice, to taste
1-tablespoon taco seasoning
Stir until smooth and thin like salad dressing.
toss with salad

I place a bit of fish on a warmed tortilla, then rice and grated cheese and top with the salad mixture.  I usually make guacamole (or get it from the freezer) and serve with salsa.

My kids brag about this dish to their friends and people they don't even know!  I know I've hit on a keeper recipe when that happens!

Year of the Pie!!!

I like pie, cakes, muffins and brownies, not so much cupcakes.  Now I know some of you are gasping and hyperventilating right now because those little over-icinged delights are your favorites.  I'm not sorry, I don't like them!  To quote my daughter, 'by the time you get to the cake, you realize there is nothing there!'  Too much icing, too little cake.  Not enough substance for me. Kind of like some people I know.  By the time you get to what they are really like, you realize that there really isn't anything there but some pretty stuff on the outside. 

I also don't like the insane colors they put on cupcakes. Really? Who needs a red, blue, green mouth anyway.  You go to a party, you get handed a cupcake without a plate and then you get to struggle with the paper wrapper all the while knowing if you drop that little thing, it's going to ruin your entire wardrobe as it rolls off your lap.  Once you finally get the paper peeled off, where do you stick the paper?  It has icing all over it and crumbs all in it.  Too messy for me.  Give me a piece of square cake and a fork. 

I read last week that it has been declared the year of the pie.  Yeah pie!! I love pies, any pie really.  Except mincemeat.  That just kind of grosses me out.  Oh, and fake apple pie.  I think if you can't afford apples, just don't make pie.  I couldn't tell you my favorite pie, I pretty much love a lot of them.  They are messy so you can't eat them without a plate.  I love that.  No messy wrapper to dispose of  and if the pie is extremely good, you can just lick the plate clean.  My son does that, he learned it from my husband.  I was not pleased....

Kids learn a lot of things from their dads that don't necessarily please the mom.  Moms try to teach manners, dads teach kids to eat over the sink and drink out of the container.  Kids need both or we'd wind up with sissy boys who lifted their pinkies when they drank or sat at the table in their underwear licking their plates.  It's a good thing to have both!  Especially when mom makes pie!!!!!

Getting colder....I'm tired of winter!

This week is supposed to be our first real snowfall in Oklahoma.  We had a little last week but not enough to even cause a rush to buy toilet paper and milk.  In Oklahoma, when the weather gets bad, everyone gets freaked out and makes a mad rush to buy toilet paper and milk.  I worked at a grocery in college and it would just crack me up!  We would sell a week's worth of milk in one night if snow was in the forecast! 

Now, I've said before, Oklahoma is not someplace you want to be in a snowstorm because we are worse than woefully prepared.  Our idea of a sand and salt truck is two guys pitching it out the back of a pickup truck! We just don't get enough to justify buying all that snow removal equipment that northern states have.  Another reason is that, even though it might snow twelve inches on one day, the next day may be sunny and sixty degrees! Remember, I'm from the birthplace of Will Rogers who said, 'if you don't like the weather, wait a minute."  Some attribute that to other famous people, but in Claremore, Oklahoma we say they copied it from Mr. Will Rogers. 

When I was a kid, I came to the Will Rogers Memorial Museum with my grandparents and I guess my parents.  I don't really remember them being with us.  I was probably twelve years old and in that 'I just wish my parents didn't exist' phase so I've blocked them out of the memory.  Anyway, I remember looking up at Will Rogers genealogical tree and my grandma pointed out a name.  Grandma said, that's your great-great grandmother, maybe she said great grandmother or great-great-great grandmother, I can't really remember.  All I can remember is that somehow, we were related to Will Rogers!  That sure made the museum more exciting!

What I found out later, was that Will's family actually blocked my family from getting indian land because of a family dispute and it ended up going all the way to the supreme court! Of course, my side of the family lost so we aren't claimed by the Oklahoma cherokee tribe.  So when people ask me if I'm indian, I say 'we are with the South Carolina cherokees!  Since the Oklahoma cherokees didn't want us, I'll just rejoin the South Carolina cherokees!

It's funny how history so long ago still hurts today.  To not be accepted into the tribe because of a family dispute! My grandmother was angry about that for many, many years and I guess I'm still smarting about it now! 

Oh well, snows supposedly coming tonight. To quote my famous cousin.....I think I'll just wait a few minutes.......

Years ago, I worked for a small, private school.  I loved the other teachers and kids, we were kind of like a big family.  I taught fifth through eighth grade science and math.  After a few years, it got really hard to see kids graduate from eighth grade because I had been their teacher for three years!  They didn't want to go and we, teachers, didn't want them to go.

I realized that the only way I could be a successful teacher was to see those kids go off to high school.  How could I hold them back from achieving their potential?  As my kids grow older and older, I can see how becoming a parent is very much like being a teacher.  If I don't let them grow and go, I will never be a successful parent.  They have to be able to stretch and grow, learning new things, experiencing new experiences and I have to be able to let them.

It's really hard, especially as they are getting old enough to be doing a lot of things without me.  I keep reminding myself that these two kids, who were gifts to begin with, do not belong to me.  They belong to my creator and I've just been incredibly blessed to be a part of their lives.  I can't hold them back because of my fear for them.  I have to let them soar!

So I bite my tongue when they want to try something that I wouldn't do.  I bite my tongue when they like things that I don't really like.  I need to let them become their own persons, not a miniature me.  I am sure that they will be successful adults.  I am proud of them, so very proud.  I just hope I can guide and not control my children.

High Maintenance - Not!

I have never been high maintenance.  I think I'm just too lazy. Plus, it really doesn't matter how much I work, it always seems that I look the same.  My hair is fine and it and I decided a long time ago that we just couldn't get along.  Even the two sides of my head can't seem to get it together, lets just say, feathered hair never quite looked feathered. 

I finally decided this week why I'll never be high maintenance.  It just boils down to I am too lazy and have better things to do! Like play with my kids, go outside and play with the dog, scrub the toilet!  I was having a conversation about the best kind of makeup.  This person was explaining all the steps they take to apply makeup each morning.  As they continued to explain, my mind began to wander.  How many steps did she take just to apply the foundation?  What in the world is a primer?  Is that like Kilz?  I buy that at walmart to paint on stains before I paint the walls!  Apparently, there is a primer you are supposed to apply to your face between the lotion and the foundation! Well, that's why I don't look so good each morning.  I just slap on some Olay lotion and some Olay tinted moisturizer and go fix my kids breakfast!


I'm sure if I was as rich as Oprah, I would be more high maintenance.  I'd have my hairdresser, Cassandra, come over each day and fix my hair.  I'd have her put some primer on my face too.  Doesn't really look like I'm ever going to be as rich as Oprah anytime soon.  I'd honestly rather do anything than stand in front of the mirror and primp myself up.  I don't like disappointment and if I stood more than ten minutes fixing myself, I'd surely be disappointed.  I'd still look like me and I wasted all that time! 

I'd rather plaster a smile on my face with maybe a little lipstick and call it a day!

Taking stock of the pantry!

January means that I try to maintain a very frugal budget.  I believe starting off the new year this way sets the tone for the rest of the year.  One way I do this is to try and use out of my stockpile in my pantry.  It's time to clean out the pantry and wipe down all the cabinets.  I use as much out of the pantry as possible during this time and begin to purchase new items for the stockpile.

I have quite a few recipes that use out of the pantry stockpile I've created.  Taco soup, potato soup, chicken tortilla soup, just to name a few.  I also try to use up pasta and boxed meals so they don't get old.  Canned goods can live indefinitely in your pantry but I like to keep a rotation going so I'm not always leaving old things in the pantry.  When I purchase something, I place it in the back of the pantry behind what is already there.

I do the same thing in the freezer.  I am planning to use up the cheese in the freezer this month.  I've noticed that my local grocery has cheese on sale this week and I have coupons for the brand that's on sale.  I'll be going in this week and stocking up.  I'll plan cheese quesadillas and creamy tomato soup next week for dinner.  I'll also be making a few casseroles for the freezer that includes cheese.

I just recently cleaned out the freezer when we moved it into the new garage so at least I don't have to defrost and clean it!  That is one of those jobs that I absolutely hate to do!  As my stockpile of frozen berries gets smaller and smaller, I have more room in the freezer for storing quick meals for our family.  I cooked two beef roasts over the weekend; one with carrots and potatoes for dinner and one to freezer for later, I'm thinking barbeque sandwiches.  I have leftovers that will make a great hash later in the week. I took the strained leftover beef broth and froze it in one and half cups for making rice later.  I don't usually purchase rice mixes because I can use this leftover broth to make long grain rice and it tastes just as good but is a lot cheaper and has less sodium than the mixes.

January is always a month of getting things in order for me.  I'm starting this year in my kitchen!

Update on love languages!

Thought I'd update you on the love languages that my husband and I have been working on with the kids.  Now, I know it won't be smooth everyday but it really seems to be making everything around here work a little smoother! Each night we play the 'I appreciate that!' game that was described in the book.

It works like this, we go around the table and tell something that we did that day to help or show love to someone at the table.  It might be me cooking the meal or doing laundry or driving someone somewhere. It might be my daughter cleaning up her room or the bathroom without constant reminders.  It might be my son getting up without a big fight or bringing up wood without prompting.  It might be my husband who took out the trash or walked up the drive in the morning to bring me a newspaper.  It might also just be a kind word of encouragement or thanks.  The person who was affected by the act of service, touch, kind words or time says, 'And I appreciate that!'  It seems that simple little game gets everyone working hard to have something to say at the dinnertable.

It's a fun, easy way to remind each of us that our words and actions not only affect us but those around us. 

Like I said before, I'm sure it won't always be easy.  After all, I have two very hormonal teenagers.....but during dinnertime, it has given us direction and has lead to much laughter as we yell 'and I appreciate that!'

Eating from the Stockpile

I am a stockpile shopper.  I hate above all else to start making something and realize that I am out of one ingredient on the list!  I purchase things on sale and store them until we need them.  Now, I'm not one of those hoarders that you see on tv!  I don't have 100 shampoo bottles or enough cereal to feed us for ten years in my pantry.  I usually only keep a few extras because I have done this enough to know the sales cycles.  Retailers put items on sale in about a six to eight week cycle or a seasonal cycle.  For instance, facial tissue usually goes on special during the late fall/early winter, so I will buy ten to twelve boxes to get us through until they go on special again.  Cereal is about on a six week cycle so I only need enough to get us through six weeks until the coupons and specials are on again.

During the month of January, I usually go on a 'don't buy anything unless I really need it or can get it almost free' diet.  I like to try to save as much as possible since we just finished the Christmas season.  Our property taxes are also due in December so after I've traveled to Bethlehem to pay the taxes, paid for all the Christmas gifts, and all the other expenses that December brings, I feel that I need to be extra frugal.  Plus, in Oklahoma, I never know how the weather will be so staying home is a good thing!

I made my menu plan this month using things I already have in the pantry and freezer.  I download and print my menu plans from this website.     http://moneysavingmom.com/downloads/meal-menu-planners
It has a monthly planner that I like.  It's blank so I just fill in the month and what I'm planning to have each night for dinner.

This week looks like this: Sunday lunch - pot roast, potatoes, carrots, green beans; dinner - homemade pizzas; Monday - shrimp lingune and salad; Tuesday - potato soup, homemade bread; Wednesday - roast beef hash(leftover pot roast), apple salad; Thursday - fish tacos, spanish rice, lettuce/tomato salad; Friday - cornbread topped chili casserole; Saturday - baked chicken and stuffing, broccoli.

The only thing I have to buy for this week is some lettuce and tomatoes for the salad.  I made two weeks worth of menus using just what we had in the pantry and I still have a few meals left for the third week.

January is looking like a good frugal start for 2011!

Apple Salad

During the summer, I don't have a problem getting my kids to eat at least five fruits and veggies a day.  We have ripe strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches and the list goes on and on.  We have tomatoes, squash, peppers, green beans and the list goes on and on!  Much of it comes from our own little four acres of heaven.  But when winter comes, sometimes I struggle getting them to each the winter fruit.  I make smoothies out of the blackberries, strawberries and blueberries I have in the freezer and I can get them to eat the fruit over pancakes, but when store bought fruits and vegetables don't taste the best, it is sometimes hard to get that all important five a day.

I keep a large assortment of canned citrus fruits in the pantry to add to green salads when the tomatoes at the store are $4 a pound and are as hard as tennis balls.  I buy apples, bananas, kiwi and little clementine oranges and the occasional pineapple.  I even resort to buying more juice in the winter to get at least a fruit serving at breakfast. But it gets to be a challenge because the kids get tired of the same old flavors.

My mom recently gave me a huge bag of gala apples.  Now, normally, when someone at our house eats an apple, it means that mom has cut it up.  The kids like it when I cut it up, take out the seeds and slice it thinly into a bowl.  At this house, it will get eaten if it's easy to find and eat.  It will not get eaten if it requires much work.  I keep peeled clementine oranges in a bag in the fruit crisper of the fridge.  If it's easy to see and reach and doesn't require much work, it will get eaten. 

I've been using the apples in my famous apple salad.  When I told my daughter this week that we were having stew and apple salad, I got the 'gross' look.  That's a look I see often when she isn't going to like dinner much.  She doesn't complain and she usually ends up eating it but I could tell that she thought the apple salad would not be her favorite part of the meal. 

It's really quite easy and stores well. 
Apple Salad
4-5 diced apples, cut up into bite sized pieces.  I don't peel them and I often use an assortment of colors and varieties
1/4-1/2 cup craisins or raisins or any dried fruit you like
1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans, or walnuts or any nut you like
6 oz. yogurt, this can be vanilla or another flavor.  I like vanilla.

Mix and serve.

This was my daughter's favorite dish of the week.  We've had it twice this week and I took the leftovers one day as her afterschool pick-up snack.  She said this is her favorite afterschool snack of all time!  This beat out cookies!

I'm planning to use up all those apples and work on getting my kids their five a day!

Love Languages and Teenagers

My husband and I over the years have taken various classes and workshops to help our reationship, teach us how to be better parents, yada yada yada....   We've learned that I am a lion/beaver and my husband is a lion/golden retriever. That wasn't very helpful in the long run!  But we had a good laugh! We've learned so much, I can't remember it all! Sometimes I wonder how much I've forgotten!

One course that we studied that I really thought was eye-opening was the Five Love Languages of Couples by Gary Chapman.  Once we identified our different love languages, of course, they were not the same, we learned to give each other the types of love that each person needed.  In a nutshell, you really need to read the book, Gary Chapman identifies five different love languages; physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, gifts and quality time.  Each person has a variation of these five languages of love.  A person whose love language is acts of service would feel loved if someone baked them a pie or cleaned up their room.  Those things wouldn't necessarily make a person feel love if their primary love language was words of affirmation. 

When the kids were little, I read the five love languages of children.  I felt that we had pretty much figured out what the kids primary love language.  For my son, it was physical touch.  For my daughter, it was gifts.  Now that they were teenagers, I began to wonder if I was missing something.  I found out that Gary Chapman had written the five love languages of teenagers.  I have been reading it this past Christmas break. 

I had the kids take the test that identified their love languages.  Boy, that was fun!  My son kept calling me Angie from the George Lopez show.  He has been teasing me all week as we play the 'I appreciate that!' game during dinner.    They laughed and laughed while taking it, made funny little remarks about mom and dad, and kept saying, 'I know I'm loved, why do I have to do this?'  Anyway, they finally got the test taken.

It was kind of eye-opening.  They each had different love languages that I had thought!  The ones we thought they were, were actually close seconds but each of them had a different love language.  My sons primary language is now a three way tie with gifts, acts of service and quality time.  My daughters was quality time and words of affirmation.  It was an eye-opener to me.  My husband and I are now going to try to give them more of those languages. 

I'm pretty sure my kids know that we love them but sometimes I think they need to see my husband and I try hard to figure them out.  I'm not sure it that is an act of service or quality time.  Oh well, I'm sure that they appreciate us trying!

Days are Getting Longer!

I swear the days are already getting longer!  The sky stays pinker and pinker each night.  As my seed catalogs start arriving, I begin to hallucinate about spring.  It's a gardeners mind-game we play.  We can already see the daffodils and green onions sprouting and it's the first week of january!

I know that we'll probably have several days of snow and ice here in Oklahoma yet.  We've not seen any so far this year and only an okie fool would think that we won't be seeing any!  But as I look out my front window at the bright sunshine and the many variations of brown on the landscape, I just know that spring is out there.  I see a bright blue male bluebird checking out the house my husband has put up for him.  He's thinking spring.  He's thinking girl.  Maybe we'll have little bluebird eggs in that house in a couple of months. 

About the time the daffodils begin peeking up......

Simple meals

Well, we're back into January. Christmas and New Year's is past.  It's time for simple meals again.  Soups, stews, pancake night and simple one pan meals.  Simple, low calorie, low fat and low cost meals to once again get us back on track after all that rich, fattiness of December. 

One of my favorite meals during this time is chicken and noodles.  I also like chicken noodle soup and chicken and dumplings.  All of these require chicken broth.  That can add to the cost of the meal if you purchase canned chicken broth.  I simply make my own.  I either use a crockpot chicken or if I've purchased a rotisserie chicken, I use it after I've deboned it.  Whichever type of chicken you use, it's really easy to make homemade chicken broth using your crockpot.  Just dump in the chicken bones, skin, and everything that isn't meat!  Cover with about eight cups of water and turn on your crockpot to low for six-eight hours or overnight.  I usually don't add any seasonings because I season my chicken during cooking and the rotisserie chicken usually comes heavily seasoned on the skin. 

After cooking for six-eight hours, I let the crockpot cool and place it in the fridge to congeal the fat.  I then skim off the fat and strain the broth.  Now, I pick out the bones and let Kate, the big, black dog, have all the chicken parts except the bones.  She loves me extra special on that night!  After straining, I place the broth in freezer bags for noodles, soups and in containers to cook rice in.  If I have leftover chicken, with a fourteen year old boy in the house, that doesn't happen often anymore, but if I happen to have some, I'll go ahead and dump it into the labeled bag so all I have to do is thaw, season and add noodles or dumplings and veggies. 

Making my own soup broth allows in me to control the fat and sodium content in our foods.  I am really trying hard this new year to reduce those two things in our diets.  Not using prepared foods is a great way to start!

Looking back....

About a year ago, I started this blog for something creative to do and get some much requested recipes to friends.  I was a stay-home, home-schooling mom and felt I needed desperately to put feelings to words on a page or go insane!  I'm still a home-schooling mom, who now works part-time from home as a virtual school teacher.  I've not been as  diligent at posting since I started working, in part because it seems once I spend four hours a day on the computer, I just don't have the need to stare at the screen anymore!  I want to be face-to-face with a person, or Kate the big, black dog!

I've learned a little about myself this past year.  I like to work from home.  I'm planning to do this gig as long as they let me!  I can be a workaholic if I'm not watched closely.  Because of this type A personality I have, I have never moved into the type of career that could easily invade my family life.  Working from home very well could so I just set a timer in the kitchen and walk away after a certain time.  I like simply being a wife and mother too!  I learned this year that if I don't have an 'outside' job, I still have a very important job.  I care for my family, I schedule my families time, I do maintenance for the family, I clean for the family and I am great at all those things!  I had fallen into the trap of believing that if I didn't 'do' something, I was unimportant to everyone.  What I found out this past year is that I am invaluable to three people in this world, my husband and my kids.  Everyone else can replace me, they could never replace me! 

When I came to this conclusion after several months of soul-searching, I gained a peace that I hadn't had in a very long time.  I no longer looked at housework as drudgery.  I no longer hated laundry day. I looked at serving my family as my ministry and my attitude and those around me were blessed!

It seemed once I came to that conclusion, I got offered this part-time job.  It was as if God wanted me to understand that what I do isn't as important as who I serve.  I realized that my family needs to always come first, even if that means no vacation for the year.  At the end of my life, I will not embrace my job accolades, I will embrace my family. 

I was told this summer at one of the numerous camps that I sponsored that I was an encourager.  This person pointed it out as I encouraged young people to try new things or follow their dreams.  I had never thought of myself as an encourager before!  It opened my eyes a bit about myself.  I have always been a teacher, even when I didn't plan to be.  Teaching just always seems to draw me back.  Good teachers are encouragers.  Good teachers get you to stretch yourself to try things you didn't ever think you could try.  Great teachers show kids that you can get knocked down, get the breath knocked out of you and still stand back up and try something new!  Great teachers show kids that it's ok to fail if you gave it your best. 

I don't think I'm a great teacher yet.  I'm still  a work in progress but I hope that I'm becoming a great teacher to my kids.  I want them to be able to reach their goals, get knocked down and get back up again.  This past year has been an interesting journey.  I can't wait to see where this year will take me!

Happy New Years!

Hope your next year is full of joyous experiences and happiness!  For my family, it's time to start eating simply again.  I'm making black eyed peas and ham today on the woodstove for supper.  Supposed to bring you luck in the new year.  I don't really believe in luck, I just like black eyed peas!

If you don't want to cook an entire pot of peas, this recipe is good for a quick salad.

Two cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
One can corn, rinsed and drained
1-2 tablespoons diced green onions
1-2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup italian dressing
Mix together and place on a bed of lettuce.

I sometimes add a tomato if you can find a good one right now. 

Home Sweet Home

We're home now from our whirlwind trip to Missouri.  It was fun, had nice weather and got to see both family and friends.  Saw Oklahoma State cap off the football season with a record eleven wins.  I'm so glad we bought season tickets this year! 

But now, I'm glad to be home with nothing but cleaning to look forward to in the next few days.  My daughter and I took down the ornaments and lights on the tree and my husband helped me wrestle that thing into it's bag and out the door for storage in the barn.  I almost had a heart attack when something grey jumped out of the bag in the middle of the living room floor but then realized that my cat, Josie, had crawled into it while we were wrapping bungee cords around the tree.  I'm always afraid that something will move into the tree during the summer and I'll bring it into the house.  She sort of looks like a possum/lemur cross so she startled me quite a bit when she came jumping out of the bag!

Next, I'm doing the real cleaning.  Vacuuming up all the junk that has settled out of the tree over the last month.  Christmas trees, whether dead or alive are just really messy when you let them live in your house.  Although, I'll miss Christmas, I won't be missing the mess!  Now, I just have to contend with the woodstove.  It's messy but oh, so wonderful on those cold days! 

Since tonight's New Years Eve, my kids both have plans.  I'm not much of a late night person so my husband and I probably will just go to the movies and come home.  My daughter has a slumber party, my son is having a friend over for a night of video games and food.  Perfect boy stuff!  I'm making Chinese to eat.  The boys requested it. 

I haven't really given any thought to my new year's resolution yet.  I usually don't do much.  One year, I resolved to get the family to eat five fruits and veggies a day.  We usually now get that done.  One year, I resolved not to purchase anything for the house that I didn't want to dust the rest of my life.  That one still keeps me from buying cute little things.  This year, I think I need to resolve to not get all stressed out about the little things, to take ten minutes out of each day and just go outside with Kate and play.  I need to thank my family for the things they do that I generally don't notice or think they should be doing them anyway.  I need to laugh and dance more and frown less.  I need to realize that I'm no longer a parent of little kids, I'm the parent of two pretty great teenagers (one almost a teen). 

I think mostly I need to just lighten up a little more each day.  At the end of the day, I need to see more humor, love, patience and grace in my life directed to those I love the most.  I'm going to start everyday with prayer for my kids, not just on the days when I have time.  Everyday.  First thing in the morning I'm going to bath my family in prayer.....

Summertime Picture

My favorite picture of 2010.....

Branson - Here We Come!

We're on our way to Branson today to visit Silver Dollar City with our kids, and my brother, sis-in-law and their two kids.  I'm really looking forward to seeing all the lights and riding rides! 

I'm a little kid at heart and I love big roller coasters.  SDC or as some our local friends call it "Steal Your Dollar City" has just enough roller coasters to make mama happy.  I usually have to ride by myself since the kids are too old to walk around with old mom and dad anymore.  This was the first year we let them go off together and I was really sad.  Luckily, my son gets a little sick before my daredevil daughter does so I end up riding with her after she's worn him out.

We'll probably spend a lot of time in the kiddy area with my nieces too.  I like the kiddy area because it's fun to watch them have such a great time riding all the rides. 

Best of all, no laundry, cooking or pesky pictures to download while your out of town.  Branson used to just be a little bitty nothing town until about 15 years ago.  I used to ride up with my parents and grandparents when I was little.  There was really nothing in Branson except SDC and a few music shows.  It is now a thriving little city with more family stuff to do than you can do in a week!  This summer, we spent four days
 lounging around the lake, going to shows and shopping and having a great family vacation close to home. 

We're going to get to see SDC all light up in the Christmas lights.  I'm looking forward to it........

Why Are Women Responsible For Pictures?

Dumb question....why is it that in every family I know, the woman is solely responsible for organizing the pictures of the family?  I guess I'm just cranky now that Christmas is over and I know I've got a week of taking down to do.  I don't like to organize pictures.  Never have.  I don't make cute little scrapbooks.  I called my kids baby books 'guilt in a box'. 

I like to look at pictures and I'm glad that over the years, I have always spent time to put each and every picture into an album.  Our entire married life is categorized in chronological order.  My daughter can pull out 1997 and look at her cute face.  She can pull the book titled 2008 and look at our family trip to Hawaii with my entire side of the family.  My husbands family doesn't do group trips.  They don't do much of anything together but we have pictures of birthday dinners and Christmas get-togethers.  My mother-in-law is really good about making the kids scrapbooks and she keeps adding to them each year.  I'm not.  I don't like it.

I'm spending time today, hours actually, downloading pictures, uploading pics onto a website and trying to order pics to place in the albums.  I know that my kids appreciate that I spend this time doing this.  I just wish that it was something someone else had to do.  I'd rather be plucking my eyebrows!

All in All

All in all it was a very fine Chistmas.  We didn't get the blizzard like last year and for that, I am thankful.  My daughter got me up at seven in the morning, it was still dark but she just couldn't stand it anymore.  We had to drag the boy out of bed.  Since he's fourteen and a half, getting early is not as much fun as it once was on Christmas morning.

Last night, after my daughter went to bed, he just kept hanging around in the living room.  I finally got tired and took their stockings down and went to my room.  He followed his dad around and finally asked, 'is this about when Santa comes?  I want to see him!' My husband took him into our bedroom and sitting on my bed was Santa! She even had on a red hat!  He laughed and laughed and went to bed....if I'd have known it was that easy to get him to bed, I'd have done that years ago!

My in-laws came over this morning for our traditional breakfast.  It was relaxing to sit and just visit for a few hours.  They went off to pack for the trip they are leaving for in a few days.  We goofed off for several hours, playing with all the toys and picking up.  It's fun to see the kids play with the new things they get every year.  Now, it seems, that mostly it's electronics but that's the age they are now.

 When we sat down to eat our late lunch, it was baked ham with cherry sauce, twice-baked potato casserole and salad; we thanked God for allowing us to be together.  It was a quiet Christmas dinner at home.  We decided during the meal that after we'd cleaned up, we'd go into town to our church and help out a bit.  Some our church members host a Christmas dinner and give-a-way for those that need it in Claremore.  It's for people in our church who don't have a family close or those in the community that need a warm meal.  The church donates mostly kid stuff for people to 'shop' for after they eat. 

It does amaze me that there are needy within my community.  I tend to forget that not everyone has a warm home and as much 'stuff' as they can stuff into their surroundings.  It felt good to help out in the small way we did. 

All in all, it was a very good Christmas!