January Yummies From My Garden

     Summer vegetables! Yes, my sweet and faithful baby bells and green bell peppers keep producing. They are still tasty (especially on pizza) and oh-so-colorful. I also picked these bright yellow cherry tomatoes I planted from seed toward the end of the summer. They were fabulous in a salad I ate today.

Yes, that is sour grass in the left corner. My girls pick it from our yard and delightfully munch on it!

My golden and red beets - fresh picked from the garden

      As for my winter vegetables I finally picked my rainbow swiss chard. It was beautiful. I also picked my tiny red and golden beets.I peeled and sliced my little beets, steamed them and then added them to the green tops from those beets and my swiss chard using this delicious recipe.Beet Greens Recipe | Simply Recipes I then made a cheese bread I adapted from my cinnamon roll recipe. I used a little less sugar in the dough and Leanne helped me rolled the dough with mozzarella and cheddar cheese and a little garlic salt thrown in. Since this is my first year attempting growing my own winter vegetables, these foods were new to my girls. It was a delicious meal and the girls ate our new foods without too much coaxing or, "Eww-gross!!!" faces. Tim raved about it. I've always said that man has good taste.

Leanne - my enthusiastic helper

This cruddy picture doesn't quite capture what a beautiful meal it was

         Last week I was delighted to finally pick this beautiful white head of cauliflower. It was tender and sweet! I added it to a homemade cheese sauce and some broccoli from Trader Joe's. Super tasty. I also cooked mashed butternut squash from my summer pickings (it stores very well in my cupboard) and mixed in some Parmesan cheese, butter, salt and pepper. I crunched up french-fried onions on top and heated it for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. It was quite popular with my dinner crowd, which included my niece and nephew that night. I served these veggie dishes with boneless pork chops baked with a spicy seasoning. A beautiful, healthy and mostly homegrown meal. So fun!

broccoli and caulifolower in a homemade cheese sauce - delicious!

     I'm going to try my hand at growing potatoes, onions, and garlic.(Beef stew anyone?) I've also set my sights on growing raspberries as well as expanding my strawberry planters that produce year round. I will most definitely keep you posted!

Knee-ding New Jeans

     Basic jeans seem to be the easiest choice of clothing for my elementary school girls, Leanne and Chloe. But, oh, how hard they are on the knees! Especially my super-industrious girl, Chloe. A quality pair of jeans in my estimation is a pair that I will pass down to the next sister, without holes in the knees. Hole-y knees might be fashionable, but I don't prefer them for me or my girls. I've tried all brands of jeans from Target, Old Navy, Gap, Levi's, JC Penny's, Crazy 8, The Children's Place, and Wal-Mart. I've had some excellent pants from Gap and surprisingly, Wal-Mart's Faded Glory line.
      So, one afternoon I was very  limited on time and money, but Chloe really needed at least one more pair of jeans. I thought about trying to swing by the thrift store, but only had time to go to Wal-Mart. At Wal-Mart I found a darling pair of sparkley jeans for only $8. I was so reluctant to buy more than one pair, because I've been trying to stick to my budget. As I've been praying regularly about how to save money, an idea popped into my head. I walked over to the sewing section and purchased two denim patch kits in different colors for the ripped up jeans at home. Each package cost $1.28, tax included. In the past, I've tried patch repair for jeans, but iron-on patches peel off after a couple of washings. I reasoned that I would just have to iron and sew the patches on. It would save me money in the long run.
     And did it! I was able to patch 4 pairs of jeans, and add some colorful thread as well, for only $2.56. It only took me about 2 hours to do all the patching. Since I spared the hole-y jeans from becoming summer cut-offs prematurely, I had 4 new pairs of jeans in essence. (They will eventually become summer shorts). I spent $8.78 (tax added)on one  pair of jeans and $2.56 on 2 packages of patches totaling $11.34 for 5 pairs of jeans. Each pair effectively cost me $2.27. I doubt I could have gotten this many pairs of jeans for this price even at the thrift store.
     It was a marvelous savings day. God does provide easy and creative ways to save money!

A little tricky machine sewing the patches, but quick overall

And of course, I had a helper

     I must post this picture of the prize winning, all-time most durable jeans I've ever purchased for my girls. I think I paid a whopping $20 for these Lee size 2T jeans at Sears when Elena was a toddler. That's a lot of money! BUT, they have been worn by every one of my girls - all six of them - when they were toddlers. Only now are they getting a little ragged in one knee and showing a little light through the material. I marvel at these little wonders. I might even frame them as an example of high quality clothing and for sentimental reasons. I love the toddler years! Despite the tantrums, failed toilet training attempts, and runny noses it is a precious and charming season of life.

The prize winner for most durable jeans EVER!

A Carrot Cake to Write Home About

     I really, really enjoy carrot cake. I especially like the cream cheese frosting. Growing up, our family's favorite cake was from Shaker's, The Bakery, or Wild Thyme all owned by the same company and located in South Pasadena and southern Pasadena. Their delicious, round, two-layer carrot cakes were always my favorite.
     Until recently. I found a simple, ultra-tasty recipe from my favorite recipe site Recipes - Allrecipes. In fact, at a baby shower two years ago I brought this cake and someone else brought one from The Bakery. Someone tasted both and said, "Yumm....I can't tell which one is better." Score! Mission Accomplished! And then my sweet husband has affirmed in no uncertain terms that my carrot cake IS BETTER than Wild Thyme and The Bakery. Okay. I've always said that man has great taste (and he's smart, too!). This Christmas I took it to a Christmas Eve function where it was savored and showered with compliments. This made me happy. I aim to please.
     The funny thing about this recipe is that it is so easy. I have made some modifications to it, however. Instead of three cups of carrots, I put in two cups. I also add a cup of crushed pineapple, 1/2 cup of golden raisins (I like the way they look better than regular raisins), and 1/2 cup shredded coconut. I also don't add the nuts into the batter. I sprinkle chopped walnuts, not pecans, over the the top. (This is to accommodate my non nut-loving kids.) To the cream cheese frosting I zest fresh lemon peel and squeeze about 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice into it. I attempted a four layer cake a couple of times and it turned out pretty well. Try it yourself and let me know how it turns out!

Frosting! Yum!

I baked the batter on a cookie sheet and then cut four equal pieces. I put those pieces  together with wax paper between them to freeze them for easier assembly and frosting.

I prefer small chopped walnuts with my carrot cake

This was my first attempt. I'm not accomplished at fancy cake assembly, although I would like to develop this skill. Pretty cakes taste better!

New Year's Project: "Snuggly Quilt" Times Four

     I had noticed how much my girls like to snuggle with warm, cozy, soft blankets. My older girls were getting special blankets they had requested for Christmas, so I decided to make my four younger girls blankets, too. I had some coupons to Joann's Fabric Store, so off I went one morning with Julia in tow. I returned later that evening with Leanne, Chloe, and Daisy to let them pick out the flannel backing for their tie quilt. When I arrived home, this is what my coffee table looked like when I had washed all the blanket material. I was good to go!

     I was finally able to start working on the quilts Christmas night. My goal was to have all four quilts done by New Year's Eve as a gift to my younger girls. Each quilt took about 8 hours of time and cost about $15-18 each. I did get them all done by noon of New Years Day and was pleased with the results.
      Judge for yourselves....

     As I was putting these quilts together, some prayer impressions came to mind. I began to pray for my girls and it was amazing what distinct impressions came to mind as I prayed for each of them. 

Leanne's quilt

      As I was making them comforters: Lord, I pray that they would know the comfort of your Holy Spirit throughout their lives. I pray that in those rough seasons they would cling to you and feel and know your comfort. I also pray that they would be skilled and sensitive in the much-needed grace of giving comfort to others.

Chloe's quilt

   As I was sewing the quilt blocks together: Jesus, I pray that you would hem them in before and behind. That your presence would be felt in their life and that you would protect them and care for them. Keep them on the straight path that leads to life.

Daisy's quilt

    As I was stitching the pieces of fabric together with yarn: God, I pray that your word would be the seams that hold them together throughout the tough times of their life so that they hold together strong for your glory. I pray that they would know your word, memorize your word, love your word, and DO your word. 

Julia's quilt

     As I pondered the idea that this blanket was a covering: Father, I pray that your blood would cover their sins and that they would know of your great salvation. I also pray that they would be covered spiritually by always being part of a bible-believing church. Give them godly friends, husbands, pastors, and a network of caring believers to anchor them to your purposes for their lives.

Happy children = Project Completed!

     It is one of my New Year's goals to repeat these prayers over my children as I lay them down to sleep each night. These quilts have been a great project for giving them a practical, personalized item as well as a daily prayer motivator for me. My next project is to make summer quilts with and for my older girls. This should be a prayerful, mother/daughter bonding project as well. I'm looking forward to it. I'll keep you posted!

Holiday Hosting Hurrah!

     I've been hosting back to back holiday parties of 20 or more in my home since Thanksgiving. With Tim's birthday in mid-December and both of our families living close by with an occasional friend or two who needs a "host home," my house has been quite full this past month. I love it - every single minute of it. My house gets organized and clean, I get plenty of exercise (almost 22,000 steps one day!), and I get to share my home with friends and family. What a privilege and a blessing of the highest order. 

     But it's a lot of hard work with six kids, and a very active toddler at that, and a husband who works long, tiring days. Even so, I really enjoy the holidays and wanted to share some snapshots of this past weekend's events. My family's Christmas get together was this past Saturday. The following evening, we took our yearly trek to Stats to marvel at all the holiday glitz and glory (I've been going there since I was a kid!) followed by a chocolate fondue party at our home. We had a festive and scrumptious time!

singing with Grandma Karen

treats for the kids

A fun game of "If, then" with Brent and Phelecia

A picture with our kids and Grammy J (Tim's mom) at Stats

I just can't stay serious for too long!

Fondue fun!

Hard to resist!

Bananas, pineapple, apples, and oranges - marvelous dipped in chocolate!

Priceless smiles! Why I do all I do. So worth all the effort....

A Very Smart Activity

     This last weekend was full of busyness. Leanne and Chloe had friends over for a better part of Saturday while I baked most of the day. I drove to Old Town in the late afternoon to pick up Elena and Camille who were helping their aunt out at a Christmas tea her dance studio was hosting.We then went to Stats for a while. Tim and I went out later for a date and some Christmas shopping. The following day at church most of us went to both services and served in the second service. We were at church from 9 am to 1 pm. Then, we came home and scurried about getting our house and food ready for Tim's family birthday party/Christmas get together. I made  labor-intensive enchiladas with beans, rice, and taco sald (Tim's request). The food was delicious, however, if I don't say so myself.
     The next day I simply collapsed. After spending time reading to my little girls to reconnect with them, I dozed off for just a short nap near the girls. This way I could keep an eye on them and not fall too deeply asleep; Julia and I had a speech therapy appointment in about an hour.

    

   I was trying to get to bed a little early that night. No go. Christmas shopping and just "stuff" kept me up later than I had hoped. I dragged around for another day or so. And now a new weekend is upon me. This weekend guarantees to be super busy, too. Lots of friends and family, though. All good, all fun, so worth all the effort. Monday morning will probably find me dozing on the couch again.....

Leanne's Business Project

     Leanne, my 4th grader, was studying a unit about business in her class. A very open-ended project assignment came home about a month ago instructing her to demonstrate her knowledge about business - any aspect of it with a report, collage, skit, oral presentation, etc. Leanne typically needs lots of ideas. She's very bright and observant in many ways, but not given to creativity and "out of the box" thinking. So, being very busy, I put off reminding her about the assignment. I finally got around to making a couple of suggestions, she chose something, then we tossed some more ideas back and forth. Finally, we came up with this idea and the project followed.

(That white spot is my camera's glare! Never mind that!)

     It was a fun project!