SNOW DAY!

#3 was up bright and early today so I spent a little time surfing the net.

When I got off the computer I noticed it was snowing and I checked the local new station to find out school was canceled because of snow.

What do the kids want to do on a snow day?
Swim in the bathtub with their suits on, of course.

Dad stood at the door and in his eyes was that dreamy look from when he was a single, kidless man who went 4x4 baha-ing on snow days...

I went to work baking. My favorite snow day past time. I finally got a chance to make the sour cream cinnamon rolls that a friend sent me the recipe for. We are having stuffed manicotti rolls for supper, YUM!

The kids and dad went to work on an igloo this afternoon. They are about half way finished.

It turned out to be a pretty awesome snow day. Thank you Lord, for days like this.

Free inkjet cartridge refill April 2nd at Walgreens

FREE inkjet cartridge refills at Walgreens on 4/2/08. ONE DAY ONLY! They don't refill any epson or canon cartridges, but they do fill a good number of lexmark, hp and dell. I've attached a list for help OR call your local Walgreens to find out if they fill your cartridge. You get 1 color OR black free refill per person so if you need two cartridges filled, bring a friend or you have to pay for the second one. Also, this deal is VERY popular, so you may not get it back the same day, be prepared to wait a couple days!

This link is for my local Walgreens. If you want a coupon for your area click select another location...

Walgreens.com

Ink cartridge refills are available for the following printer brands:
Dell
Models: 7Y743, 7Y745, J5566, J5567, M4640, M4646, N5878, N5882, T0529, T0530
HP
Models: 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,25, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, 41, 45, 49, 56, 57, 78A, 78D, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98
Lexmark
Models: 1, 16, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 32, 33, 34, 35, 48, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 71, 75, 80, 82, 83, 85, 88
Okidata
Models: 52109301, 52109302
Primera
Models: 53318, 53319, 53330, 53331
Sharp
Models: AJ50C, AJC50B, UXC70B
Xerox
Models: 8R12591, 8R7879, 8R7880, 8R7881, 8R7882

Kris,
I need your help with my !@#@%^ header... I can't get it to fit...do you do html?

this is the best I could do...

an Easter shot of the kids before early morning church...

worn out

at the grandparents house for Easter...

Things to do...

so far this morning I have;

called to replace the glass windshield in two vehicles and repair the third

got show and tell ready for the kindergartener

committed to a substitute job

organized the game closet

bathed a 5 month old

made breakfast for the crew

paid some bills online

ordered some things online

ordered new insurance cards

talked to my mother on the phone

AND it's barely 9 am.

home economics

Strawberries 2.97
Bananas 2.04
1 cup milk .25

Lesson learned = if you don't like bananas, you won't like strawberry banana smoothies.

Good thing daddy eats anything.

new shoes

This morning #1 says to me "Mom, I NEED some rubber boots. Everyone has some but me. My feet and my socks get wet and then I have stinky feet all day. It's so embarrassing." (In case you are wondering two kids out of 24 actually have rubber boots, I believe she inherited my gift of exaggeration)
I tried to get her to wear plastic baggies in her boots for today, but she thought everyone would laugh at her. I think the is the first time she has actually refused on of my suggestions AND she is only six.

So I am online looking for rubber boots when I come across this...

http://www.mommysavers.com/deals/fashion_bug.htm
Fashion bug has a buy one get one for $1 sale going on. This is not only for shoes! There are also codes you can use to make this an even better deal.

776205502 for 25% of any order no minimum required

776185902 $20 off of a $50 purchase with your visa card.

This even works on clearanced items!!!

They also have some very cute Skechers at 20% off.


Stay focused, rubber boots, rubber boots...

Thank you mommysavers for tempting me...

Memories

Trying to keep up with the active attention span of a four year old boy while remembering I have more than a year left with him before kindergarten...exhausting.

Avoiding spit-up, changing diapers and keeping up with feeding a four month old while trying to also do laundry, make meals and tidy up...demanding.

Watching the four year old play 'I am gonna get you' with the four month old as she laughs hysterically...cherished.

Snowman Family 2008

Find the butterfly...

I knew that they said the snow was coming. I just didn't picture it happening so fast. When we woke this morning there was a thick blanket of the white stuff all over and it is still falling like huge puffy cotton balls from the sky. So I am glad we got to pretend for a few hours this weekend that it was summer in the hot, balmy, flight room at the butterfly house. The kids really loved it, although the only photo I got doesn't really prove it. The littlest one was more concerned with trying to grab and eat the vegetation and the middle guy kept running from the bugs while the oldest sat forever like a statue waiting for one of the precious creatures to land on her. She was so patient but alas no luck...I was producing quite a bit of perspiration considering the attire needed to hide my post baby jello belly was a down vest and long sleeve t-shirt! It was so humid! They keep it above 80 and my brother kept saying he wanted to see the heating bill. Did you know the life span of a butterfly is only about two weeks?

I think I almost have it...

You would think that French bread would be more difficult that regular homemade bread. But I think it's easier and more yummy!

I tried a few recipes before I found this one that works pretty well. It makes two nice long crusty loaves.

It's recipeZaar #101476 in case you are wondering.

Crusty French Bread Recipe
by PCrocker
50 min | 20 min prep | 2 loaves
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
5-5 1/2 cups bread flour

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water (110 degrees) and sugar in large bowl; allow yeast to proof or foam (about 10 minutes).
2. Add salt, oil, and 3 cups flour; beat for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in 2 cups flour to make a stiff dough.
4. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
5. Place in oiled bowl, turn dough to coat all sides, cover and let rise until doubled.
6. Punch down and divide in half.
7. Shape dough into two long slender loaves. (I pushed the dough into large rectangles and rolled them up into slender loaves. I think that yields the best result...)
8. Grease and sprinkle with cornmeal on large cookie sheet.
9. Place loaves in pan and cut diagonal gashes on top of each loaf
10. Cover and let rise until doubled.
11. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
12. Note: You can sprinkle or spray water on the loaves during baking if you want a really crunchy crust.

Before and after...

I spent a good hour trying to get the rat's nest out of my daughter's hair from playing outside all day on Saturday. I never want to do that again. So we decided to opt for a new do.
It is sorta sad to see the long stuff go. But now she looks neat and clean and can wash and comb it herself again. What a blessing. I think I got it pretty even. I will probably be snipping the mistakes in the next couple of days...

Sunny delight

It's just cold today. The kids have been playing outside the last couple of days because of the warm weather (temps in the 40s+). Today they were out again early this morning and I caved. I gave them their Easter presents, tennis shoes with removable wheels so they could ride across the street at the church parking lot. It was too cold by mid morning for the baby to be out so we stayed here and watched from the window. It's really awful being tempted with that gorgeous sunshiny warm stuff only to feel the last wrath of winter a day or two later.

If I wasn't used to the roller coaster weather here in South Dakota I'd blame it on global warming that we are going to get more snow in the next few days. Last year we had a HUGE snowstorm in March, the kids dug forts in the backyard. Hard to imagine since most of the snow is gone now.

I gotta go turn the fireplace on. It's chilly in here...

i hope this is gonna be simmering for supper...

Papa al Pomodora

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 small onion chopped
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (i used my canned stewed tomatoes from the garden)
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 quart chicken broth
4 cups (3/4 lbs) day-old bread(torn in pieces)(french bread works great B!)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat a stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic and 3/4 of onion.
Cook 7-8 minutes, then add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add
broth and turn the heat up to make the soup boil. Reduce heat to a simmer
and add bread. Stir soup as it simmers until it thickens to a stew. Add
seasonings to taste.

variations: add 2 cans white beans or a leek, use veggie stock instead of chicken:)

updates

The scan was pretty much normal. What's there will will work itself out anyway. No worries.

I didn't have surgery to remove the port because I had a fever and wasn't feeling well. I will have to reschedule. Instead made a big pot of chili and sat in a blankie all day. It was good.

Enjoying a daddy day today.

Mahalo very much to the hospital previously know as Sioux Valley

Once upon a time, my dh won a trip from his employer.

After much deliberation and research we have finally decided to use the 'gift' he received and take an anniversary trip to Hawaii.

We leave April 22nd and make a quick stop in Oakland, CA to watch the Twins play. Then it's off to Hawaii to see a couple of islands and we return home on the 30th.


This should be an exciting time, right? I mean I just bought the tickets for the game and I should be feeling little butterflies of anticipation in my tummy, but I am not.

All I can think about is the kids. We went back and forth and sideways trying to figure out what to do and where to go and whether we should take the kids. Finally, we decided that after 10 years we really "needed" a little husband and wife time. It has been a crazy couple of years and our life has been turned completely upside down. My dh is really excited and he keeps saying, " I wish we could leave today..." I just smile and sigh. I hope that in 50 days I can really walk away and feel like I am going to be able to relax and enjoy the special time with my best friend whom I haven't really talked to in ages. What on earth are we going to talk about for 8 days?

I just can't stop thinking about who is going to sing to the baby when she is getting her diaper changed and who is going to gently remove the booger from her nose when she has one. Who is going to rock a bye her at night when she can't get herself back to sleep. It's eight days and I keep thinking she is not going to remember me when I get back. Who's gonna rub her gums and put a cold apple slice in her mouth to help her teethe? Who's gonna make sure the 7 folds of skin under her chin are clean? I worry about the fact that I wash her sheets every night and make sure she has a dry bib on every few hours. I worry about the fact that my son likes to snack every other hours and he loves a nutritious lunch of cheese tacos and apple slices. I worry about who is going to check off the tooth brushing chart for my kindergartner and who is going to read to the kids for 20 minutes a day. And how am I going to remember to tell whoever we convince to take over that the baby loves to watch her older siblings wrestle in the living room. It's the only time she laughs out loud. Will I remember to tell the sitter to lay her down on her back but tilt her slightly to the left or right, alternating sides so she doesn't have a flat head? Will I remember to tell the sitter that when my son says he wants to wear his "handsome clothes" he means his suit and tie? Will whomever we get to watch the kids have the patience to play connect four and trouble for 3 hours straight without a break? Will the sitter have the patience to sit at the computer and play Webkins with the oldest because she can't quite read yet? I know you think I am going crazy but this is just the beginning. I have to remember to tell them that if #1 doesn't leave by 8:10 she will miss morning recess and on gym days she likes to wear short sleeves and a hoodie so she can take it off when she gets overheated. Oh, and the preschooler loves to wait outside the elementary school door until both lights turn green so he can open it himself before preschool. After school can be really stressful if you don't have snack ready and supper is best when planned early because it seems like between 3:30 and 6 time ticks twice as fast. If I miss bedtime by less than 30 minutes the morning routine is extremely difficult. Who is going to put #1 back to bed when she is sleep walking or calm her down when she has night tremors and rub #2's legs when he has growing pains at 3am? Do I write a book and hope that the sitter has a few days to read it or just let her fend for herself? A baby can change so much in a week, maybe she will need to start eating veggies or go up in a diaper size? ARRGH!

So do you see now why it's not really a vacation? It's a lot more work. I love you, honey, but is it really worth it?

the old grind...

*sigh*

Things are looking as close to normal as possible here at the homestead.

Dad works three day shifts this week and has already picked up two shifts this weekend.

Gotta dig up something for sharing at Kindergarten on Wednesday and that same day the boy brings snack for preschool.

#3 has a check up on Thursday and so does the boy. There is no school on Friday so I scheduled an appointment to seal #1's teeth.

So, when my surgeon's nurse called this morning and asked if Thursday morning worked for me to get the port REMOVED I didn't hesitate a bit and said, "Sure!" Right after his morning heart surgery he will reopen my incision, clip the stitches and remove it and I should be outta there by noon.

Sure hope the hubby doesn't mind running the kids to their check ups...perhaps I should have asked him first...

I should probably find another thing or two to add to the planner this week, eh?