Sun fried Momma

Whew! Talk about hot weather! I told the kids to come water me down every five minutes. Luckily the garden is doing okay. It could be better, but it's still producing. The herb garden is looking wonderful and I have already dried more rosemary for bus driver and teacher gifts. The flower beds are needing a good weeding and the rose bushes. We really need rain.

School starts tomorrow for one daughter and for myself.

Jasper has been at it again. So has Tiger. They have chewed on books, tried to eat a plastic fly swatter, and more. Argh!

Yesterday we attended another fair and our youngest brought home a gold fish. Adding more animal in the house. At least it doesn't need brushed and doesn't need a litter box.

Christmas Teacher Gift Ideas - Handmade/Homemade

This year I am contemplating teacher gifts early. One gift may be dried herbs in a cute glass spice jar or recycled jar. I'm drying rosemary for these cute jars I found in clearance. I grow rosemary in my herb garden without chemicals. What's better than home grown?

What do stay-at-home Moms do all day?

If you are a curious reader, and have been wondering what stay-at-home mothers do all day, then you've come to the right place. You can put the stereotype that we are all couch potatoes, watch soap operas and eat bon bon's all day, into the toilet. We are all different. We all have a different size of family and the demands and responsibilities are all different. I can't even say there is a "typical" day for us either. To give you a sneak peek into my day, this is what today amounted to. We've had zucchini for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Now it's time for Braised turnips over brown rice or barley. See how the day went:

1. got up showered, dressed, ate breakfast
2. made bed
3. wrote for 2 hours (my time)
4. put laundry on the line outside
5. vacuumed
6. watered outside plants
7. did dishes
8. called financial aid office regarding application
9. cleaned up bathroom floor
10. went through yesterday's mail, sorted and shredded etc.
11. put cushions out on the back patio
12. cleaned off kitchen table
13. put more laundry in the washer
14. cleaned up utility room floor
15. cleaned off kitchen counters
16. checked library on-line for items due and items in
17. swept off front porch
18. ran vacuum in bedroom
19. picked up kids flip flops laying in hallway floor
20. ran dishwasher
21. sent e-mails to sister, mom, brother, and friends
22. make chicken and cheese Quesadilla for lunch
23. put corn pudding in the crock pot for dinner's side dish
24. checked garden for any veggies - pulled turnips for dinner, beets, and zucchini
25. put away dried herbs that were drying on the herb rack, cut more to dry
26. read Bible
27. swept kitchen
28. worked on handmade Christmas gifts (keeping the it frugal and budget friendly this year)
29. put more laundry on the line
30. put more laundry in the washer
31. got the mail
32. delivered a healthy meal and fresh zucchini to Mom
33. took one daughter to a doctor appointment
34. picked up needed items and attempted to get prescriptions (that's a whole story in itself)
35. drove home and wrote another article while eating my dinner
36. drove to the gas station to fill up the van
37. took towels off the line
38. washed my face and got ready to go to bed
CRASHED!

Update on Finding the Crocheted Slipper Pattern

Regarding the crocheted slippers with the button closure:

I could not find the pattern on-line. Here is the link to other free patterns that are in the same issue of "Makin' Hay" and other issues - Mary Jane Butters Patterns and Instructions.

If you have access to a fram supply store such as a TSC store (Tractor Supply), you might find the Aug-Sept 2009 "Makin' Hay" Issue of this magazine. In it, you find patterns for knitting and for crocheting the slippers.

Healthier Eating

All of this healthier cooking and baking, has allowed us to lose weight, even when we forget or have little time to exercise. Ever since I started making heart healthy meals, I've noticed most of us slimming a bit, and having a lot more energy.

I love doing research, so I'm spending quite a bit of time reading about every food I cook with, and learning the benefits to our bodies. I've researched and continue to research about the foods we grow ourselves. I've learned a great deal about the affects of sodium and how we were including way too much of it with canned foods.

I've taken a free home study course on how to preserve foods, and passed the course. It was fun and I learned something new. Next year, I will be canning - something my grandmother used to do. I've learned to blanch my cut zucchini before freezing, and so much more. It's been fun!

All of this has led me to write so many new articles. On eHow I wrote how to register for the free home study course (which i found out about in MaryJane's Farm Magazine), and I've written an article on Helium about how to add fiber to your diet. I've added articles on eHow how to make our Refried Beans, and my famous "tades" as my 7 year calls them. The more garlic flavor, the more she'll eat. And through it all, we are staying healthy.

Meet "Marley" the Kitten

Jasper (black tiger) and Tiger (gold Tiger)

I've been working on handmade Christmas ornaments and each one requires drying time. Each morning, for the last two days, Jasper (dubbed Marley) has taken off with my Seashell Milk Ring Ornaments. Grr! Luckily, I've been able to rescue the ornament, but that kitten can still find trouble.

He's taken off with my son's earphones to his MP3 Player, he's knocked over 2 plants and has successfully broken one pot, he's dug into each and every plant in the house, and he's pulled curtains down off the windows. This is all minimal damage compared to other things he's capable of.

I've used an entire roll of masking tape to tape across the tops of all the plant pots that are left. Even though it's there, I still find dirt outside the pot - Grr! Masking tape has not worked, mothballs have not even bothered him, and a spray with jalapeno sauce onto the plants has not worked either. He's unbreakable. He went around the house and took a nibble of each and every mothball he could find, and threw it all up the next morning. Luckily, he's okay and back to his frisky self, but mothballs???!! Hence the dubbed name "Marley".

And now that I know he gets into my room and drinks directly from my water cup, I now have a refillable water cup with a straw that closes down. No more kitty spit in my water!

Yesterday I pulled a desk drawer open. I heard paper crinkling, but didn't see anything, so I pushed the drawer shut. All the sudden I heard something in that same drawer. And this drawer is very narrow, not your typical drawer. So I open the drawer, and out pops Jasper!

In the morning, if someone doesn't get them feed soon enough for him, he'll tip one of the dogs food bowls over, let it spill out onto the floor and have a snack. Our dogs dishes are up on racks for their convenience, but Jasper things they are part of a jungle gym.

Yesterday I cleaned off the counter tops around the computer area. Every day both kittens jump up onto my papers and the floor gets decorated with pens, papers, paper clips, markers, highlighters, and anything else that's within their paws. I just have to remember to put the drying Christmas ornaments some where else for the night.

All of the mothballs are now in the trash, but we stay alert for Jasper's next move. Now I'm wondering what will happen to the Christmas tree this winter. Gulp!

Preparing for Another School Year

My 12 year old is baking a quadruple zucchini pancake recipe. We will be freezing them for the upcoming school year. We are taking advantage of the overload of zucchini so that when school starts, I won't have to buy frozen waffles. These will be much more healthier and are absolutely delicious! The kids and I can just pop them in the toaster or microwave to heat them up in the morning. The recipe link is in the zucchini recipes post.

My computer area is cleaned and organized now too. I have a family life planner and I'm getting ready to add more pages to it. I love the weekly meal planner sheets. They are wonderful to keep my meals organized. It saves us money too.