My Closet and new fave scripture...

I just had to show you one of my morning friends. This is a red ruby throated hummingbird. They are the most fascinating birds in my opinion. I have three feeders and see them all the time. They are known to travel across the gulf of Mexico which takes 18 to 20 hours of non-stop flying. Their name comes from the humming of their wings.

I'm so glad that my name doesn't come from one of my characteristics. Can you just imagine? Bossy lady, first born lady, camera in hand lady, crazy for having so many children lady, chocolate lover lady, can't ever find anything to wear lady, need to vacuum again lady, change another diaper lady, mop lady, bad cook lady, good cook lady and the list could go on and on...

Wow - with all those names - I love this scripture! It has became true rhema (like the light bulb came on) for me the last few days.

James 1: 2 - 5, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

I'm going to place this in my closet so I will see it every morning. I love it! If you need wisdom, just ask of God - HE SAID, it will be given to ANYONE who asks! I love THAT!

He is not a man that He should LIE. (Numbers 23:19)

I hope this scripture encourages someone today, like it encouraged me!

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Mom - I have to go to the bathrooooooooommmm!

Okay, this has happened to us on more than one occasion. My 2nd Princess will have to go to the restroom and do business. I'm not sure why parents ask this question at the moment, but we all do it. The infamous, "Do you need to go number one or number two?"

My intelligent daughter responds, "Mom, I went number three." Yes, she knows how to count her "business" and this is my grossest blog yet!

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

A little fabric adds so much!

We moved in our home over 6 years ago. It was fixer-upper so we have had to do sooooo much to it.

I have never been happy with the style until recently looking at the blogging world. I have learned easy cheap tricks to make it more homey.

One trick was fabric. Curtains or cornices add the same element like eyeliner does to the face. It frames and softens the room. So, guess who I employed?

Careful, that is a staple gun! With his help, he made these. No sewing involved. 

• Cut the board to fit over your window. 
• Pad it with padding. 
• Staple it up. Easy as pie! (It would have taken me longer because I'm fraction challenged. Thank God, my hubby loves numbers. He also likes to use a staple gun. He bought it for me, HA!)

This one went in our library.(Top) The bottom pict was in our living room.Aren't they beauties? Eventually, I might add sheers to cover the "office look." But, for now they are essential. Oh, did I mention I got the fabric on sale? SWEET!
Next project will be my lamps!
This definitely works for me!

Blessings to you!!!  You are LOVED!!!

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Chinese New Years Celebration

As a family, we have decided to take a different country each month and learn a little more culture.

This month, we decided to take on China because of their new year and we love to celebrate with others.

To make it more alive, each child had to do some fun research.

10 year old had this research...

• Major types of religion practiced.
• Type of government.
• Population
• Is the country bigger than Texas?
• Is it smaller than Rhode Island?

8 year old

• What continent is the country located?
• What is the primary language?
• Find interesting facts by using library books.
• Major holidays?

6 year old

• Color the country's flag.
• Decorate the table for the party.
• Greet visitors and be a sweet hostess.
  

The other two children, well, I just needed them to be sweet for mommy. That was enough and kind of hard for both of them, at times.

To end the study, we had a Chinese New Year Celebration. We invited some fellow homeschoolers, to join us.

We also made simple Chinese lanterns. Our menu consisted of fried rice, mini-egg rolls, chicken nuggets, and green tea as we sat on pillows.
We let the children use chopsticks (they were better than most adults I've seen).
I can't wait until next month. It was so exciting for me as a mom to see the kids enjoy learning. So, Happy Chinese New Year!

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Menu - Jan. 26, 2009

If you haven't noticed I never follow a recipe to the exact.

(It's my way of being liberal.)

Monday

Mini-Meatball Soup

Tuesday

One pot creamy chicken and noodles

Wednesday

California Club

(like Jason's Deli)

oven roasted turkey breast, homemade guacamole,
tomato, sprouts, bacon, mayo on croissant

Thursday

Maple Oven Pancake, Bacon and Eggs

Friday

Crockpot Meatloaf with Salad

Saturday

Leftovers or hubby taking me out???

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

One Pot Creamy Chicken and Noodles

3 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube (if you boil the chicken beforehand you might not need this.)
8 oz wide egg noodles
1 cup frozen veggies
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 can of cream of mushroom (I use whatever I have on hand, not usually mushroom but cream of chicken.)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 cups of cooked chopped chicken
Dash of pepper

Bring water and bouillon to boil. Stir in uncooked noodles. Cover. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add veggies and onion. Simmer for 5 minutes or until noodles are tender and most liquid is absorbed. Add soup, cheese, and milk. Stir in chicken and pepper. Heat then Eat!

I like to have a HUGE salad along the side.


©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Crockpot Meatloaf

I'm not too big of a fan of meatloaf but this recipe looks to simple to pass up.

2lbs ground beef (I'll use turkey.)
2 eggs
2/3 cup quick oats
1 package dry onion soup mix (or 1/2 onion if I don't have that)
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 cup ketchup, divided
(I might add a pinch of brown sugar to make it a little sweet.)

Combine all. Shape into loaf and place in pot. Top with remaining ketchup. Cover and cook low 8-10 hours on low or 4-6 on high.



©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Ouch! That gotta hurt!

No, he didn't get in a fight with his sisters or brothers. It was his bike.

He learned how to kiss the concrete...and the concrete WoN!

Ouch - gotta hurt! He's a little proud of his battle wound.

Joys of having rough boys. OIY!

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Look what we found...a real life prowler.

My hubby and I were sitting in the living room watching a late movie. All the kids were down for the night, asleep. All of sudden we heard a strange noise. So, we follow the noise to our sons' room.

This is what we found...

The baby has climbed up to the top bunk and is playing with toys as his eldest brother is sound asleep beside him. Joys of having a 2 year old.

{He then got to stay up with us and watch the movie.}

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Another milestone...

Wow - another milestone in our household. My 4 year old has learned to ride a bike without training wheels - YEAH!!!

She had a jacket on but it was so warm on Monday.

Just needs a little push from Daddy...

And she's off...
Way to go Princess!!!

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Creamy Chicken Casserole aka Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

This was a hit for my kids and sooooo simple for this mommy!

3 cups cooked chicken
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 (8 oz) sour cream
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 cup crushed Ritz (around 40) buttery crackers
1/4 cup butter

Combine first 4 ingredients; spoon into 11x7 baking dish. Combine crackers, butter and sprinkle over chicken mixture. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (Double if you have family of 7 - learned the hard way!)

Serve with a green veggie - Yummy!

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Texas Taco Pie

I got this recipe a while back. I have never tried it but it looks great!

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I'll use turkey)
1 small onion, chopped
1 tube crescent
2 cups crushed corn chips
1 package taco seasonings mix
1/2 cup water
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
lettuce
tomatoes
salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat with onion. Press dough into bottom of deep dish pie plate. Spread 1 cup of chips on dough. Stir in seasonings into meat mixture with water. Simmer 5 minutes. Layer beef on top of chips. Next spread on sour cream then cheese. Top with corn chips. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until dough turns golden. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa.

Note: Put foil around edges to avoid over-cooking.

Enjoy and let me know if you try it!


©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Rags for Cleaning only

Okay, I heard this one somewhere else many moons ago. I thought to myself, what a genius, whoever came up with this brain child. Then, my mom improved on the idea. (Way to go Mom!)

Are you ready? It is so simple. Have one color washrag for your cleaning i.e. bathroom bathtub, toilet, etc... That's it! Never worry if that rag your wiping your face with, wiped up something that did not hit the toilet. If you have boys, well, we all know what happens there.

Marvelous, uh? My mom improved on the idea, by saying make them white only. That way if they get bleach on them, they are still white and you can turn all the rags white eventually.

By the way, where I come from, we call a towel that is used to dry cups, a cup towel. Not a dish towel. I am interested to know if this is my family only or does anyone else call it this?

For more great ideas, click on the Works for me Wednesday photo above.


©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Menu - Jan. 19, 2009

I'm running a little behind this week on posts. It's really Wednesday. ;)

Monday
Creamy Chicken Casserole (Some may call this Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole) with steamed broccoli
We didn't have this last week. I learned I needed to double the recipe. My kids are growing too fast.

Tuesday
Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas with rice

Wednesday
Wendy's Chili in a crockpot

Thursday
Ham and Cheese Potato Bake

Friday
Sloppy Joes with oven fries

Saturday
Mandarin Orange Spinach Salad

Sunday
Texas Taco Pie
Peach Cobbler

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Lawsuit...Free Makeup or goodies.

I just got back from our crazy mall. Since we live where 2 nations go to the same mall, I hardly ever go to this place. I would rather pay shipping for a product.

But, being a Tuesday and free products - I was there, with all 5 grumpy children!

Here is the link, I don't really understand all the details but I did get free perfume and I know that I was eligible. But, hurry if you are going to go - because quantity is limited.

This website actually explains what you could get.


©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Cultures Collide

My darling hubby and I have been married for 11 plus years. He is my best friend and I just genuinely like him, most of the time. ;)

We are from different cultures, mostly in our speech. Sometimes, this is because we were from different parts of the country, how we were raised, or that he is 5 years older than me. So, sometimes communication gets a little blurry. It comes out mostly when we are not expecting it.

Sometimes, it is not from being from different cultures but just because I can't remember cliches. He, however, can remember songs and their tunes from the first time he hears them. (I can't remember the Itsy Bitsy Spider.)

We make light of our differences and tons of funny looks.

Here are some of OUR examples:
She said, "Honey, can you go make a pallet for one of the kids?"
He thought, "My wife wants me to go put wood together, wouldn't it be easier to use a blanket and pillows?"

Southerners say "Cut on those lights, would ya'?" or "Mash the button!"
Northerners say "Turn on the lights." or "Press the button!"
(Southerners are just more violent.)

She says, "Hand me the cup-towel, please."
He says, "I can't find the cup-towel, but here is the hand-towel."
(I think this term came from my family. My Grandma is Czech maybe this is a loose translation.)
He says, "Welcome back Cotter!"
She thinks, "Who is Cotter, is this his ex-girlfriend?" (Again, our age difference.)

My favorite is a conversation I had with his sister.
Sister says, "Lana, would you like some tea?"
I reply, "Please."
Sister says, "Lana, would you like some tea?" (Thinking Lana must be deaf.)
I reply again, "Please." (Thinking she must be deaf.)
Sister says again, "Lana, do you want some tea?" (Now, thinking Lana is just rude.)
I say, "YES, Please." (Thinking what kind of family am I in?)

In the South, I would have said "Ma'am?" if I were asking to repeat something.
Up North, they say, "Please?"
Lesson learned for both of us...."please" can be used different ways.

I love my life and wouldn't change one thing except for maybe having a full time hand-maiden. I love my family and my hubby's family. I love how our differences makes us laugh.


©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

I love toile!

I love toile pronounced like "twal". I love the way the pattern usually has a story.

When I was a child, I loved to make up stories in my mind. I loved paintings and picture books. This is probably why I still love art and have toile in more than one room of my house.

(This is a toy box lid cover that I made with a staple gun. I don't sew.)
Besides most toile is timeless. It comes in many shapes, forms, colors and designs. I also have it in my girls' room but since it was not in order, I will post a picture later.

(My kitchen curtains again with my Princess model.)
When I mention to people that I love toile, some make funny faces, like they have never heard the term. So, if you ever hear the word, I want you to be educated.

I also wanted to show you the "shelf". This shelf is one that we "found" in our garage when we moved here. My hubby wanted to throw it out, but I begged him to keep it. We painted it a few years ago and all the paint began to flake off. (We've learned many lessons about cheap paint through the years.) So, when Christmas was over, we decided to rearrange a few rooms including the play room. Well, we decided to spray paint it black. However, black paint doesn't forgive mistakes very easy. Although, you can't tell that in the pictures, they are there.

So, now I'm looking for the "right" look. I want to modge podge scrapbook paper to it. I just need to find the right paper. I let you know what I decide in a future post. (It just might be toile.)

I wrote this post in January but I still LOVE toile so I decided to participate in:

TOILE Party at Pretty Organized Palace.

All that toile - that sounds like fun to me!

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Menu - Jan. 12, 2009

I found something that makes me super organized in the area of meal planning. So far, it is working out just fine.
I have a recipe box (it holds 4x6 index cards) that I don't leave home without. One of my hobbies is to read recipe books. I love finding that super easy recipe with very few ingredients.

I would find that I couldn't remember where I put the recipe that was on my menu. So, now I write the recipe down and it goes in the recipe box. Then once a month, I plan my entire menu for that month by going through my recipe box. It makes it where I never repeat a recipe and therefore makes my family happier. Plus, it saves on the pocketbook.

Monday

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tuesday

Quick Carbonara

Wednesday

Turkey Tacos

Thursday

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Friday

Stuffed Chicken Rolls

Saturday

Cheeseburgers/ Mary Lou Retton's Coleslaw

Sunday

Paula's Deen Hummingbird Cake - I only planned desserts for Sundays.
(Hopefully, my hubby will take the hint and cook something fabulous.)

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Mary Lou's Retton's Coleslaw

I have NO idea where this recipe came from. If Mary Lou Retton reads this and says she has never heard of it and hates cabbage, well, I'm sorry. Maybe she will forgive me because I was her one of her biggest fans growing up. :)

The salad is so delicious. YUMMY!

1 (3 oz) chicken flavor ramen noodles
6 cups shredded cabbage
4 green onions (chopped)
1/2 cup toasted sunflower kernels
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup veggie oil
2 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp celery seed

Crush noodles. Combine noodles, cabbage, onions, sunflower kernels, and almonds in large bowl. Set aside. Combine contents of soup seasonings and remaining ingredients. Whisk until blended. Pour over cabbage mixture and toss gently to coat. Cover and chill.




©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Partying with:
Kelly's Korner

Crustless Spinach Quiche

I found this on a brochure when I first got married. It has been a classic around here, mostly for breakfast. But, on Thursdays, we get to have breakfast for dinner, or supper depending where you are from. :)

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I use canned.)
1 Tbsp veggie oil
1 pack (10 oz) frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
2/3 cup finely chopped cooked ham (I use turkey ham.)
5 eggs
1/8 tsp pepper
3 cups (12 oz) shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

In a large skillet, saute onion and mushrooms in oil until tender. Add spinach and ham. Cook and stir until excess moisture is evaporated. Cool slightly. Beat eggs; add cheese and mix well. Stir in spinach mixture and pepper. Blend well. Stir evenly into a greased 9" pie plate or quiche dish. Bake 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until knife is inserted is clean.

This is a rich dish and I would suggest it served with fruit.

©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com

Quick Carbonara

I think this came from Southern Living Cookbook, but not too sure.

1 (8oz) spaghetti, uncooked
8 slices of bacon
2/3 cup chopped green onions
1 (4oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
Dash of pepper

Cook pasta. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, reserving 3 Tbsp drippings in skillet. Coarsely crumble bacon and set aside.

Cook green onions and mushrooms in drippings in skillet over med. heat for 2 minutes. Drain pasta and place in serving bowl. Stir in egg yolks into HOT pasta immediately after draining it. Stir in bacon, green onions, mushrooms, cheese, and pepper. Toss! Serve immediately.
4 servings.

I serve a HUGE green salad with this. My kids and hubby loved it!


©www.ilovemy5kids.blogspot.com