for Karen, currently residing in 'Bama

I could pass for a 53 pound watermelon if you painted my belly green, huh?

Yup, I am definately in the runnings for mommy of the year for this one...

a short time after I stopped working full-time I came across (with the help of an amazing friend) the Tightwad Gazette.
Now, many of you may or may not have heard of Amy Dacyczyn (A.K.A. the Frugal Zealot)but she is a super star in the world of living cheaply.

Anywho, I had a few leftovers today and I thought of her universal casserole recipe, so I took the thick volume off the shelf and looked up the page. Here is what I found.

1 cup main ingredient
1 cup second ingredient
1-2 cups starchy ingredient
1 1/2 cups binder
1/4 cup "goodie"
seasoning
topping

Main ingredient suggestions; tuna, cubed chicken, turkey, ham, seafood.

Second ingredient suggestions; thinly sliced celery, mushrooms, peas, chopped hard-cooked eggs.

Starchy ingredient suggestions; thinly sliced potatoes, cooked noodles, cooked rice.

Binder suggestions; cream sauce, sour cream, can of soup.

Goodie suggestions; pimiento, olives, almonds, water chestnuts.

Topping suggestions; potato chips, cheese, bread crumbs.

Thoroughly mix your combinations of the above ingredients. If it seems dry, add 1/2 cup milk or stock. Place in buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

So I used a cup of baked chicken and two slices of ham, onions, garden tomatoes and a can of peas, my homemade cream of soup recipe (thanks again clm), some cooked macaroni noodles and cubed cheddar cheese. I topped it with a few of the crumbles left in the bottom of the chip bag. I seasoned with my Tastefully Simple seasoning salt, so much for being frugal?!?! Of course it was twice as much as I needed so I had to add a little milk and I baked for 35 minutes at 350. The result was a fresh, light dish that the kids gobbled up. Well, the 3 year old picked out the tomatoes and the 5 year old picked out the onions, but otherwise they gobbled. I served it with apple slices.

Then for dessert (which you have to have on Sunday). Homemade chocolate cake with cocoa-mocha frosting. Mommy of the year, I am telling you...

the week in review...

There goes another week of heat, humidity, and crunching, dry, dead, grass under my feet. The other day I was walking the kids home from swimming lessons and listening to the crunch...crunch of the grass all the while dreaming of cool, fall days. I could almost feel the breeze on my cheeks and see the colored leaves falling from the trees. A big wet drop of sweat dripping down my brow brought me back to reality and I remembered this is still July (the hottest July I can remember) and I am still pregnant and I don't exercise like I should so walking home from swimming lessons easily takes my breath away, in the most literal sense.
My sister and her crew came this week and we had a blast. We did the thrift store thing and got a ton of great deals. We took the kids to the lake and everyone but me went tubing and boating. It was exhausting, but worth it.
The kids finished swimming lessons today. I was so proud of my little fish, I mean five year old. My three year old has some things to learn about the water, but he enjoyed himself.
It was my brother's birthday today, too. I got him the coolest UPS uniform at a thrift store and I think he loved it as much as I thought he would. So we spent the morning watching the parade in his little village and I got a few ideas for the parade that my village is hosting in less than a month. The kids got a baggie full of candy and spent an hour or so with their cousins so they were happy, too. My brother reminds me of my dad. He looks so much like him and his mannerisms are similar, too. It's sorta freaky. I often wonder what daddy would think of his 9 going on 11 grand kids if he were here today.
It is Saturday night, I went to church, the kids are bathed and daddy should be home from work any minute now.
We have a busy week planned with District baseball games(the Muckdogs are looking good:) keep tabs on the tourney at http://www.ballcharts.com/montrosemuckdogs), doing some vacation planning, and doctor appointments. Happy end of July everyone.

yet another dose of three year old wisdom...

I was getting dressed this morning when my three year old son comes into my room.

Looking into my mirror I stated, "Mommy has a big baby belly, huh?"

Without missing a beat, ds shot back, "and a big baby butt, too, mommy."

Yet to be named event planned for August 25th...here are some details...

Some Events for the day INCLUDE

Potato Digging Contest 8:00 a.m.
Lawn Mower Poker Run 9:00 a.m.
Parade 10:00 a.m.
Motorcycle Poker Run register 8-10 a.m. run starts after parade
Potato Salad Contest 11:00 a.m.
Pot Luck Noon Meal 11:30 a.m.
Bean Bag Tournament register 11:00 a.m. tourney start 12:00 noon
Tator Tot (kids) Games 1-4:00 p.m.
plus Inflatables, Greased Watermelon Race, Bingo, and Dunk Tank for the older kids
Cow Pie Bingo 3-6:00 p.m.
Kick Ball Tournament starts at 4:00 p.m.
Potato Bar Supper 6:00 p.m. includes Music by the Dakota Gaels
Live Music by: NEO Johnson 8p-12a

Booths Welcome!

WANTED

Parade Entrants

For the currently unnamed first annual community event held on

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25
10:00 a.m.

Do you have a unique vehicle?
A business you would like to advertise?
An interesting talent (like potato juggling)?
Can you prove you are a creative couch potato?

JOIN IN THE FUN!

Call Rani or Janel by August 20th to register!

Wanna name the event? The name should embrace our Irish community culture,have something to do with potatoes and include how the whole town is celebrating together. Leave me a comment and I will forward your name and suggested event title to the person in charge of the name the event contest...happy creative thinking!

STOLEN, with permission...Read this, it could save your life!

Stolen from toddler planet website

We hear a lot about breast cancer these days. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes, and there are millions living with it in the U.S. today alone. But did you know that there is more than one type of breast cancer?

I didn’t. I thought that breast cancer was all the same. I figured that if I did my monthly breast self-exams, and found no lump, I’d be fine.

Oops. It turns out that you don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer. Six weeks ago, I went to my OB/GYN because my breast felt funny. It was red, hot, inflamed, and the skin looked…funny. But there was no lump, so I wasn’t worried. I should have been. After a round of antibiotics didn’t clear up the inflammation, my doctor sent me to a breast specialist and did a skin punch biopsy. That test showed that I have inflammatory breast cancer, a very aggressive cancer that can be deadly.

Inflammatory breast cancer is often misdiagnosed as mastitis because many doctors have never seen it before and consider it rare. “Rare” or not, there are over 100,000 women in the U.S. with this cancer right now; only half will survive five years. Please call your OB/GYN if you experience several of the following symptoms in your breast, or any unusual changes: redness, rapid increase in size of one breast, persistent itching of breast or nipple, thickening of breast tissue, stabbing pain, soreness, swelling under the arm, dimpling or ridging (for example, when you take your bra off, the bra marks stay – for a while), flattening or retracting of the nipple, or a texture that looks or feels like an orange (called peau d’orange). Ask if your GYN is familiar with inflammatory breast cancer, and tell her that you’re concerned and want to come in to rule it out.

There is more than one kind of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is the most aggressive form of breast cancer out there, and early detection is critical. It’s not usually detected by mammogram. It does not usually present with a lump. It may be overlooked with all of the changes that our breasts undergo during the years when we’re pregnant and/or nursing our little ones. It’s important not to miss this one.

Inflammatory breast cancer is detected by women and their doctors who notice a change in one of their breasts. If you notice a change, call your doctor today. Tell her about it. Tell her that you have a friend with this disease, and it’s trying to kill her. Now you know what I wish I had known before six weeks ago.

You don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer.

toddler planet website

P.S. Feel free to steal this post too. I’d be happy for anyone in the blogosphere to take it and put it on their site, no questions asked. Dress it up, dress it down, let it run around the place barefoot. I don’t care. But I want the word to get out. I don’t want another young mom — or old man — or anyone in between — to have to stare at this thing on their chest and wonder, is it mastitis? Is it a rash? Am I overreacting? This cancer moves FAST, and early detection and treatment is critical for survival.

Thank you.

gotta lotta squash?

Thanks to a great friend I found this site with extremely simple instructions (including pictures)! http://www.pickyourown.org/freezing_summer_squash.htm

How to Freeze Summer Squash (Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Crookneck, Pattypan, Straightneck, White Scallop, etc.)

If you like frozen squash in the winter, just imagine how good it would taste if you had picked a firm, fresh squashs yourself and then quickly froze them at home! It is also one of the simplest ways to put up a vegetable for the winter. Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and completely illustrated. The squash will taste MUCH better than anything you've ever had from a store.

Good Luck!