One of those days....

Ever have one of those days? Had one on Wednesday so I was happy to be home yesterday. Well, today is another one.

Calgon take me away!!!!!!

Every once-in-a-while, I wonder just why I had kids. LOL

I love them but want to run away from them right now.

Yet I get the joy of going to a harvest party tonight with too many kids along with my own.

I think this means I'm stopping at Starbucks on the way.

I already ate 3 Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Thank heavens for chocolate. :D

Home sweet home

I have to say, life is busy. I try to be diligent with homeschooling but then life happens and it gets put on the side. Yesterday was such a day. Wednesdays are usually pretty quiet except that I have a new mom's group that I run at church from 1-3PM and then I work at church from 6:40 until around 9PM. So the rest of the day I'm able to do homeschooling and housework. But yesterday I had made an appointment for my son who's been coughing a lot - just like 2 others in our family did last week (DH and my littlest one) but this was not clearing up and getting worse if he exerted himself or went outside so I figured it was time to go in. I figured maybe post nasal drip but I was wrong. Totally wrong. DS has walking pneumonia. Wowza!! So he's now on Zithromax and an inhaler.

So after yesterday's busy day (doctor, barber, church, grocery store, drug store, home, high school, home, church, home), today I'm reveling in staying HOME! I canceled horseback riding because I'd need to take Robby with me and I just don't want him to get exerted any more and the air is pretty chilly AND he's allergic to the horses so I don't think that will help much. DH will be picking up my oldest from the train station and my second daughter will walk to work from school so I don't have to leave until possibly tonight. But that will be OK.

I love staying home. I much prefer to be home all day over doing most anything else. Yeah, after being home for 3 or 4 days, I like to get out but now with a college student, high school student, both of them working jobs, doing stuff at church and doing things with the littles as well as the 2 days of riding means that I have no day to just be home anymore. So I'm savoring today. I'm loving today. I'm thanking God that Robby is fine and getting better and that we all can just stay home.

SIGH

In honor of Reformation Day - Reformation Study Bible for donation

The dear brothers and sisters at Ligioner Ministries has a great deal going on right now. For any donation to their ministry, they will send you a brand new leather bound ESV Reformation Study Bible. I have this Bible right here next to my computer and I really like it. It's my "home" Bible because it IS a bit big and when carrying a purse and all of the kids' stuff, it gets to be a lot but I've found the study notes to be solid and Biblical and I LOVE the English Standard Version. So head on over and give a donation and get yourself a new Bible. This would make a GREAT gift for someone or just for yourself.

http://rymoffer.com/

Happy Monday!

So, I turned on the heat and what happened? We had frost on Friday morning - it was FREEZING!!! I drove my high schooler to school so she wouldn't stand at the bus stop with a wet head. Saturday morning? 65 degrees. LOL So the heat hasn't been running since Friday although we're due to drop tomorrow and by Thursday, the high is going to be 48 degrees. That's pretty chilly. But we're ready now. :D

I just finally got DS's winter clothes out so he's all set. I put away all of the summer stuff, organized his winter stuff and I feel really good about that. All I need to do now is to check on winter boots and see if I need to buy any (probably not - we're usually good on this since I buy gender neutral colors for the big girls which then gives us lots for hand-me-downs for the littles. Oh!! I was so happy! I bought the big girls Patagonia fleece coats over the years and I just couldn't find them for the littles. I knew I had each size for them but they were all missing. Well, I found them last week so now the littles have great fall/early winter coats all set. These coats are amazing because they're so well made and very dense so that they're surprisingly warm and cozy. They don't look at all like they've been through 4 kids by the time Joanna is finished with them. I just passed the size 4 to a friend of ours and she was amazed at how good it looked. :) So while they were pricey (around $60 each), when you work it out, it's only $15 per child AND I can pass them on to another family. Not too shabby, huh??

So I worked out most of my menu for the week and I think this is it:

Monday - Crockpot pulled pork, rolls, cole slaw and carrot sticks
Tuesday - Roast beef quesadillas, salad
Wednesday - Cranberry, chicken and pear salad (we call this "good salad" - it's yummy
Thursday - Cranberry pork roast in the crockpot, rice, broccoli
Friday - Harvest Party at church - AND it's Robby's birthday!! He'll be 8!
Saturday - Family dinner for Robby - roast chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, salad, rolls
Sunday - Chicken soup, homemade bread, salad

We'll see how well I can stick to the menu. LOL

Oh - If anyone can tell me how to put the Organized Junkie "Menu Monday" thingie on my blog, I'd be forever grateful. :D

One vote

Well worth taking 4 minutes to watch

click here

I crumbled ....

The heat is on. It was 56 in the house this morning when I got up. When the car was warmer this morning than the house, then it's time to turn it on. I pushed it to 64 but then turned it back down to 62. It's comfortable.

Whew. Thank God for furnaces!!

Kicking and screaming but I think I have to give in

OK - I admit it - I'm COOOOLLLLLDDDDD!!!!!! Today is 50 degrees outside and my house is 59 right now. I'm freezing. I wanted to hold off until next week before I turn on the heat but I think I'm going to have to fold. My nose is froze, my toes are froze, my ears are froze... (think 101 Dalmations). My fingers aren't even working properly! I went to church before and it's so nice and toasty there. LOL

So I think I just may fold and turn on the furnace. Maybe I'll start the pilot light this afternoon.

OH! Yesterday the house was freezing too and I decided to make a huge pot of stew for dinner and have my dad over. It's one of our new favorite recipes because it has such a great flavor from the balsamic vinegar! Try it out!

Beef Barley Stew
From Allrecipes

1 lb. Beef stew meat, cut into ½” pieces
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 (14.5 oz.) can stewed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef broth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. Salt
¾ tsp. Dried thyme
¼ tsp. Pepper
1/3 cup uncooked medium pearl barley
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cold water
1 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
minced fresh parsley

1. In a dutch oven, cook beef in oil until meat is no longer pink. Add the carrots, onion, celery and garlic; cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, stewed tomatoes, water, wine, broth, bay leaves, salt, thyme and pepper.
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add barley; cover and simmer 45 minutes longer or until barley and meat are tender.
Combine flour and cold water until smooth. Gradually stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Discard bay leaves. Stir in balsamic vinegar just before serving. Sprinkle each serving with parsley if desired.