Megan goofing with Daddy

Christmas 2010

Making Christmas Cookies for Santa (yes, Patrick's eyes are closed...again)

Megan is in her element...usually she works in crayons and paints, but frosting is just as exciting! (yes, she is wearing fairy wings...she just can't help herself.)

I know your thinking a professional frosted these round cookies, but it was only me
...aaaahhh the skilll.

The kids saved their allowance and bought each other a present.
They were so excited to be able to get each other a gift.

AAAHHHHH - a flash....Mom stop taking pictures!!

Trying to get a good photo of the kids - these didn't make it

Logan the Cat

Patrick and Megan loving on Logan

Logan waiting for me to pet him

Logan hiding in the leaves

Escaping

Megan was the culprit who had covered him with leaves in the first place. He stayed in them for about 20 minutes.

Here are some free skirt patterns...enjoy.

Found this website which compiles lingerie tutorials. Thought I would share it with everyone...enjoy!!

Handmade Laundry Soap Recipe

I probably have the most allergic child in the world...poor Megan. I have tried every soap known to man. I have tried every laundry detergent. I even went to far as to use All Free and Clear which worked on getting the clothes clean, but unfortunately they don't smell clean.

I have been on the hunt for something new, and about 3 months ago I finally broke down and started making my own laundry detergent. It has a very light pleasant smell, and it gets the clothes clean. What is great, is it really doesn't cost that much, but it works better than most store bought detergents.

Here is the recipe:

2 bar Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated - I leave this soap in a very dry place for a few days so that it breaks down into tiny pieces when grated. I also use the finest grater.)
2 cup Washing Soda
2 cup Borax

* Mix well and store in an airtight container. I use a 1 gal pickle jar.
* Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

I keep an old Mason Jar by the washing machine. I put the 2 tablespoons of my laundry mixture in their with water, swish it around and then pour it into the machine. I then put the clothes in.

I have had no problems with Megan - she has incredibly sensitive skin and when she doesn't agree with something she will get angry red blotches on her skin and the skin will dry out. Which for my sweet girl is very painful.

Also FYI for those of you who get dry skin in the winter - we are now using a bar of dove soap. It puts moisture back into your skin. After we rinse off, I have a spray bottle full of baby oil. We lightly spray the baby oil on our skin, rub it in, and then rinse it off with water. This also helps the skin to maintain it's moisture.

Hope this is useful to you.

Pizza Dough for the Bread Maker

My children are very spoiled - I make homemade pizza. It is their favorite and one of the reasons is the crust. The thing that is so great about this crust is you can make it ahead of time.

Pizza Dough

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In bread maker put ingredients as follows:

1 1/2 Cups water (110 degrees)
4 Tablespoons Oil
2 Tablespoons Sugar
4 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons yeast

Set bread maker to dough setting and start.

When the machine has stopped, punch the dough down and put on a floured surface. The dough is a little sticky, just add more flour over the outside of the dough, and work it in a little. Then cut the dough in anticipation of getting ready to smooth it into pans.

If you want thin crust cut the dough in thirds. For a pan pizza cut the dough in half.

lightly oil your pizza pan (very lightly) spread dough out, working it into the pan.

When dough is spread into pan place in the oven for 8 minutes. Do this for each pizza. Let the crust cool.

When Crust has cooled place sauce and any toppings you choose on to the pizza and cook at 400 degrees for an additional 6 to 8 minutes (depending on how crisp you want the crust)

***You can also just take the dough and without cooking it first place, after you place dough in pan, add toppings and cook for 14 to 16 minutes at 400 degrees. But we prefer a crispier crust so I do it the other way.

I serve this at birthday parties, family gatherings, and just for dinner. It is great!!

Enjoy.

Cheesecake

This is the easiest Cheesecake recipe I have ever made...it always comes out beautifully.

My parents purchased a ceramic pie plate with the following recipe:

Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons butter - melted

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix crumbs and sugar. Stir in butter thoroughly.
3. Press into bottom and sides of pie plate.
4. Bake 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and cool

Filling

19oz - cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

1. Reduce oven to 300 degrees
2. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large mixing bowl
3. Add Vanilla
4. Beat in eggs one at a time.
5. Pour over cracker crust and bake 1 hour or until center is firm.
6. Cool and top with sweet fruit
7. Chill 3 Hours

This makes a very deep cheese cake. In the past I have purchased 2 graham cracker crusts and can fill them to about a 1/3 of an inch from the top of the crust which works out great when you put filling on top. I have also used the recipe to make individual cheesecakes with the foil cupcake you can purchase at the store. These are great because you can make individual cheesecakes and have multiple toppings. My favorites are cherry, triple berry, strawberry and lemon.

The reason I am putting this on my blog, is every year I misplace my recipe, and at least if it is on my blog I would find it.

Making bread and lovin' it

It has been awhile since I posted...with my camera DOA it is difficult to post without pictures. But life goes on and soon tax time will come and I can get a new camera.

I just wanted to share a recipe with everyone, I have been making bread (a lot) and decided to share this great recipe I found. I find myself using my bread machine to make bread, but decided I really needed to make it from scratch using my own muscles. I found the following recipe, and I am hooked.

Amish White Bread

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. (I mix in 5 cups of flour and then I knead the last cup of flour into the dough. I found that this gets all of the bubbles out of the dough) Knead dough until it is smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

This bread comes out beautifully - it is slightly sweet and wonderful with butter. I find myself making 4 loafs a week. The kids love it, and when it gets a little dry we make croutons out of it.

Enjoy!!

Messenger Bags

Making Christmas gifts is hard, because it is difficult to try and figure out what would be good for them. I found this fantastic tutorial online about making messenger bags. I decided that I would make Patrick, Megan and Jason each a messenger bag and fill it with"adventure items" I have completed the bags and they have turned out adorable, I am just waiting for the "adventure items" to come in the mail. I will be placing binoculars, magnifying glass, small flashlight, notebook with pencil and a clip compass. I am covering the notebook with fabric and putting a little pocket for the pencil on it.

I am so excited about this project. I am using fabric that I bought at the thrift store (so it was about $2) and I bought all of the other items through oriental trading company. I can't wait to see the look on my kids face when they open these bags. I am sure they are going to want to start checking out the yard right away.

Jason's bag

Patrick's bag

Megan's bag

I left the front flap blank, and I need to put in the fastener, but for the most part they are done. The bag goes together easily and quickly I finished 2 bags in an hour. Cutting them out was harder because I never know what kind of fabric I want to use (indecision always rears it's ugly head)

Once again....I have been hunting down patterns when I happened to come upon this site. This boasts to have over 100 purse patterns. I checked it out, thought it was cool and decided to share it with all of you. Enjoy.

Aprons - Aprons - Aprons

I found this website that has 52 free apron patterns. I am always looking for apron patterns, I think they make great Christmas gifts. I loved this website as it gave so many different options, that I just wanted to share it with everyone. Enjoy.

I don’t know if this happens to most kids, but my parents were always paying us to leave the house. It always happened in the same way...My father would come up to me and say “Hey Jen, don’t you want to go see a movie today? Why don’t you take your brother’s. "

My response was always " Uh...I don't know, Dad."

"How about I give you $40 and you take your brother’s to the movies” he would say.

“Uh, sure Dad” I would reply

We’d call the movie theater find a movie that was starting soon and go from there. At the time I had a sinking suspension that my parents wanted to have “Mommy and Daddy alone time”, but wasn’t entirely sure. They were old…maybe they didn’t have those feelings anymore….lol.

The year was 1989 it was Thanksgiving Day. My Dad had come up to me with $40 and the line about all of the kids going to a movie. We decided on Back to the Future 2. I didn’t realize that it was opening week for the movie, so the theater was packed. In fact right after we bought our tickets, it sold out.

We bought popcorn, soda and candy, we were lucky enough to find seats in the center of the theater, center of the row. I remember sitting right in the middle of my brothers. Josh, John, Me, Jason and Nathan. That is how we were sitting. Time was really dragging…it seemed like we had been sitting there forever listening to people chatter, popcorn crunching, the rustling of candy wrappers.

Jason stood up and I immediately moved me legs up so he could walk by, but he just stood there. I waved my arm at him as if to say “hey…go ahead and pass”. He grabbed my hand and started singing “You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling”. I was mortified. The entire theater went still and quiet. My jaw dropped and I started to slide to the floor. Jason however, was very strong and he kept hauling me up so that I wouldn’t hit the floor. He sang the first verse with the chorus. When he finished the theater exploded in cheers and claps. My face must have been purple…it had gone beyond red. The house lights started to dim, the crowd came under control and the previews started. I watched the movie kind of slouched down in my seat. After the movie we were milling out of the theater and people would come by and smack Jason on the back – congratulating him on his singing..

I was embarrassed – mortified – worried about what people would think. I think back on it…and it just makes me smile.

Patrick and Megan decided that they needed hair cuts. We told Patrick that this would be his last buzz cut of the year. For fun, I decided to give him a mohawk. He liked it so much that we allowed him to keep it for the last few weeks. You would not believe how many people come up and touch his head.

Megan having seen Patrick's hair cut decided that she needed a hair cut as well. So now she has a cute bob.



For Halloween this year, Megan is going to be Rogue from the X-Men. She saw the first X-men movie and proclaimed that she needed a Cloak with a hood if she was going to be Rogue. I finished it yesterday and she has been wearing it everywhere since.




She is so funny....we went to the Grocery store this morning and when she didn't want to talk to someone she just hid her head in the hood.

Life at our house right now.

This is the side of our house. What happened you say? Well the county has decided to put water and sewer lines down our little peninsula. Which is great because then I don't have to worry about my well working or my septic over flowing. WHEW!! But between my property and the property next door (which is just a forest and pond) there is an old county road. They are using that road to lay pipe to get to my house and some neighbors behind me. So needless to say it has been very loud outside my bedroom window for the last few days.

Here is the back yard and what they have done there. There is a boulder sitting on the grass by the pipes. That is a small one that was pulled out of the ground next to the house. The largest one was 5 feet long by 5 feet wide and 1.5 feet tall. HUGE!! It was awesome watching them pull it out of the ground.

Here they are tearing up the street to lay the pipe in front of my house. They have us coming and going right now. My dogs have gone horse from barking at the workers. It is hilarious they can barely bark, so now they just lay next to the house and watch the CAT work. The one nice thing about them tearing everything up is they will level the ground and reseed the side and back yard. YEAH!!

Megan is my little artist. She is constantly coloring, painting, cutting out to make things. This is a picture of her "Coraline". She dug out some card stock paper and created a Coraline using tape, buttons, elastic and paper. It is adorable. She is so proud of it that she carries it with her when we go out.

Another view of Coraline - if you look closely you can see some tiny yellow square cut outs on the "jacket" those are buttons.

I know I told you all about "Element" the kitty, but she came to a tragic end. She escaped the garage and walked into the yard with the dogs. I found her laying next to Bessie. I figure she ran herself to death. It was horrible. Megan was devastated. We immediately got another cat, but this one was a street wise cat. His name is Logan and he lives in the back yard. He is the best cat I have ever had. He is loving and sweet, but he likes his space and wants to run around the back yard.

Here they are - Belle (white) and Bessie (dark) our dogs. They have been wreaking havoc on the construction workers because not only are they annoyed that they are there, the girls are in heat and the boy dogs won't come by because of the construction. Poor Girls.

I guess that is it for now. I am sure there has been a lot more happening, but I can't remember what it is just yet. Started Home Schooling again with the kids yesterday. Two days in and going strong. WHOO HOO!

Congratulations to Holly on the birth of her beautiful baby boy.

My everyday fairy wings

I made a set of these for Megan about 2 1/2 years ago. I agonized over it because she is such a tom boy that I was afraid if I bought her those gorgeous nylon wings, we wouldn't have them around for Halloween. It took me about a week to figure out what I wanted to do, and I made them. I really haven't thought anything about them until a woman stopped me and told me how she loved the wings, where did I get them.

I of course told her I made them, and then I told her the best part...they can be washed and dried!! I am selling these in both my Etsy and ArtFire store. Well, at least I am selling a PDF pattern with instructions on how to make them.

Megan has been wearing wings everywhere since I made 2 sets for my PDF pattern.

This set was made with a cotton poly blend and it took me about an hour. I love the way they stand up. TOO CUTE!!

Megan lost her first tooth

Megan has just been dying to lose a tooth. And, being as she is 6 1/2 it is about time. As soon as she could wiggle her tooth, she worked on it endlessly. I will never forget, her Aunt Tracey was visiting with her children and Megan came into my bedroom and asked if she could have an apple. I said sure and didn't think anything of it.

She came back in with an adorable grin and said "Mommy, my tooth is gone"

Okay...I kind of freaked because I thought she had hurt herself. But there she was with her apple and her little tooth stuck in it. She loves that she was the one to get it out, and she is already working on another one.

Forgive my picture, but she just couldn't keep her eyes open and her mouth opened at the same time. That is entirely too much work.

Going to the Lake

It has been very hot in Missouri these past few days. So hot, that with heat index it has been close to 100 degrees. YUCK!! Anyway, Jason had spent the night and we were all kind of stuck in the house when Chris said "Hey, let's take the kids to the lake"

I said "Okay" and we decided to go. We told the kids that they could walk along the shore of the lake, but to not get themselves or their clothes wet. Wishful thinking on our part.

Here they are completely content at the Lake. The Lake is a half mile from our house. If you go down our street, you will run into the lake.

This is Megan, she has "fallen" into the lake. Yeah, right!! You can't go to the lake unless you wear your pretty pink high heel sandals.

Okay...this is the three of them complying with our wishes by not getting into the water.

Patrick is trying to coax Megan into the water - like that was a hard sell.

A complete and total disregard for what we said. Oh well, they're kids, what can you do?