Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY~March 15, 2011
Outside my window... sunny, with a promise of spring coming!
I am thinking...that spring flowers would be such a wonderful sight right now!
From the learning room...fractions, reading a book for a book report, outlining, more, but my brain isn't really working yet to remember!
I am thankful for...a great time with family this past weekend to celebrate Stinkerbelle and Sunshine's birthdays
From the kitchen...sadly, I'm not sure yet...our oven died last night, so I am waiting for a repair man to let me know if he'll be able to fix it today.  If not, it may be a soup and sandwich night.
I am wearing...jeans and long sleeved t-shirt
I am creating...a quilt for Sunshine.  We will be moving him to a "big boy" bed much to soon, so he'll need a quilt for that bed
I am going...to get to the library~either today or tomorrow!
I am reading... Bible and reading Old Town in the Green Groves aloud to the kids
I am praying...for my grandma who had a bone marrow biopsy yesterday, a young man who lost his mother yesterday, and of course all that is happening in Japan
I am hearing...Sport practicing his guitar
Around the house...not much going on..still planning my spring cleaning day for next Saturday
One of my favorite things...sunshine and the warmth it brings!
A few plans for the rest of the week...play practice for my daughter's 8th grade play, music lessons, school musical for Spud on Friday, and Stinkerbelle's birthday on Thursday!!
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

blowing out candle's for their birthday's

Thanks for stopping by!  For more daybooks, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook.  Have a great week!

Blessings,

Feeding a Large Family

I recently stopped at my niece and nephews house on a late afternoon.  When I walked inside, the house smelled wonderful.  I made a comment about how yummy it smelled, and my nephew said that my niece had a lasagna in the oven.  As I left their house, I started thinking that we needed to have lasagna soon for supper.

But I was also thinking to myself about how things have changed as our family has gotten larger.  My niece and nephew are just starting their family and have only one child who is 3 months old.  She made lasagna for supper, but there was going to be lasagna for lunches for a few days also.  We rarely (if ever) have enough leftovers of one meal to last several lunches.

I started cooking for my family when I was around 10 or so.  I had 3 hungry brothers at home, not to mention my truck driver dad, so when my mom started teaching me to cook, it was always large meals.  When I learned to cook a pot of chili or soup, it was a large pot.  When I made casseroles, it was made in an 11x15 dish.  After we were first married, I know we had many meals that would last us all week until we were completely sick of it and didn't want to see it again for a very long time!

I don't think that I cook much differently now than I did when we were first married or when we just had 1 or 2 babies.  What has changed is how I present these meals to our family.  I have found that my food budget has not increased as much as our household has.  So I needed to get creative with meals.  I still basically make the same sizes of meals, but I have found things to go with the meals.  When we had a smaller family, I would just make a pan of lasagna for dinner.  Now I will make that pan of lasagna along with a salad or a loaf of homemade garlic bread.  I still make the same casserole, but now we have some applesauce, vegetables, or fresh fruit along with it.  We have certain staples in our house that make great sides for meals.  Fresh fruits, veggies, salads, breads, or applesauce (I make a ton in the fall).  I also add "fillers" to some of our meals(usually casseroles).  Lentils or beans go VERY far.  So does brown rice.

Get creative and you can make your food budget stretch!  Have a great day!

Blessings,

Still Sick...

We are getting very frustrated around here.  Hubby and I both still have this cold that is dragging on although hubby seems to be getting a little better.  Sunshine also seems to be turning the corner.  I had hoped that I would be feeling better by today since I've been on the anitbiotics for a few days now.  I still can not talk.  My chest and throat are sore, and I am just too tired to do anything.  It is so frustrating.  How is it that the person who hardly ever gets out of the house is the sickest??  We  have family coming over tomorrow for a birthday party for Sunshine and Stinkerbelle and I am praying that I will at least be able to talk by then.  Thankfully, everyone is bringing something, so my duties in cooking are only few.  I would like to get the house cleaned up a bit, but I'm ok with the fact that it just may not.  I feel like such a whiner, and I know that I still have a lot to be thankful for.  Sometimes I think God graces me with these trials to remind me of the blessings I have.  It is so easy to get caught up in my own life and what is interrupting "my" plans that I need these reminders.  So I am choosing to be thankful for the good health that we do have (even through the coughing spells (o: ), and pray for this illness to pass as I know it will.

I pray that you are also in good health and will have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Sick of Being Sick!!

We are well into our second week of being sick around here!  So far everyone but one child has gotten it~yes, we know what his odds are!!  Hubby and I are both sick (not good!) right now.  We've had the colds, cough, congestion, just feeling yucky stuff going around the house.  We had to take Stinkerbelle in this weekend because her ears were so infected that she was in terrible pain.  I have almost completely lost my voice~and I'm not so sure everyone thinks that is a bad thing!!

I had read earlier this fall that elderberry syrup helps keep a person healthy, and helps if you do get a cold.  I had been making it all winter, and we have had a pretty good winter with not getting colds.  I ran out of honey and didn't get any more right away.  So we didn't have elderberry syrup for a while and now look what happens.  This is enough proof for me that it really works!  I made a batch the other day and was teasing everyone that we would be drinking it by the glass full!  I will share the recipe when I am feeling better.

I hope you are feeling better than we are and have a great day!



***UPDATE*** I took myself and Sunshine to Urgent care clinic tonight.  I have an ear infection and STREP throat!  Sunshine also has an ear infection.  Guess we both had a good reason for feeling so bad!  We've both started on antibiotics and I'm praying we'll have better days ahead!

 Blessings,

Under Construction...

Thanks for being patient with me as I try to "personalize" my blog.  If you have stopped by over the past couple of days and are wondering just what is going on...I'm trying to find something I like.  I have wanted to add pictures of the kids, but I am not the  most "techy" person on the block.  I keep changing, deleting, moving, or re-arranging something as I go along.  Let me know if you have any suggestions for me!! 

I have been debating about whether to use our kids real names or their nicknames, and I think I've decided on their nicknames for now.  The short story on all their nicknames is that after we had our second child, we realized that both their nicknames started with the letter S.  So...we've been keeping up with the S nicknames through all the kids.

I promise to have this finished soon.  Have a great weekend!

Blessings,