Cooking up some yummy breakfast treats.

EDIT: I baked some of my frozen cookies today. Here's a tip for doing that. When you scoop out your dough to freeze, flatten them slightly so they are more in a disc shape rather than a ball. They will cook from frozen better that way and get cooked all the way through without the bottoms burning first.

I just cooked some sugar cookies and the walnut cranberry ones together. The sugar cookies, which had been flattened first before frozen, got a little brown on the bottom but cooked all the way through with a couple of minutes added to the usual time. The oatmeal cranberry and walnut ones were simple scooped with a cookie scoop and frozen in a ball shape. They got pretty brown on the bottom but not done all the way through. While I like a slightly underbaked cookie, I wouldn't want this to be the only way these will come out. So next time when I freeze my dough, I will flatten the dough balls slightly so they will cook better. Or if you decide that is too much work, simple take the dough out of the freezer first and let thaw slightly before you bake. Just thought you would want to know.

So I hope you all have tried out freezing some stuff to make life a little easier during the busy school year or for any time of the year. I just popped 3 pie plates of cinnamon rolls in the freezer for breakfasts using a couple of great recipes and kitchen helps. First I made up a half batch of no knead whole wheat challah bread dough on Monday afternoon. Maybe it was Sunday afternoon. Anyway, then this morning I dumped it all out onto my silicone baker's mat and rolled the dough out into a large rectangle. Then I mixed up some of my King Arthur cinnamon roll filling mix (it's the best stuff out there although it does contain shortening) and spread it over the dough. Then I rolled the dough up into a pretty long log and then used my hand dandy dental floss to cut it into clean 1 inch slices. I put about 6 rolls in each disposable pie plate that I had sprayed with Baker's Joy and wrapped them well and put them in the freezer. Now all I have to do is take out a batch the night before I want to use them and let them thaw a little on the counter, then refrigerate them overnight. Or just pop them in the fridge right away and then get them out as soon as you wake up the next morning, before you head to the shower and get ready, for them to warm up and rise. If your oven has a warm setting, turn it on pop the rolls in lightly covered with saran wrap and leave the door open. I know it wastes a little electricity but those rolls need to rise. Then after your shower, preheat the oven to 350 F (take the rolls out first if you were using the warm setting) and then bake for 30 min. Whip up some simple icing with confectioner's sugar and milk or cream and drizzle over your hot rolls. Simple, divine and so much better than the mall ones or the pop open can ones and such. They are so yummy. The whole wheat flour in them is nutritious, and you can add in nuts, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, etc.

Here are links to the recipes I used and for the cookies I made up this weekend and froze already portioned out.

Link to whole wheat challah bread recipe: artisian bread in 5 minutes a day blog

Note: I only made half this recipe and used 1 egg and 1 egg white. I did not use the cranberries and orange zest. I used Smart Balance oil for my oil/fat.

Link to King Arthur baker's cinnamon filling

I used about 1 full cup of the filling and added enough water to make a spreadable schmear/paste. This does contain shortening in it, but it makes such a delish gooey filling and you don't indulge in these much, that I feel it's worth it.

Link to King Arthur silicone baker's mat: great for rolling out doughs with less mess and stick.

Link to Pumpkin cinnamon filled rolls:

Cookie recipes: oatmeal cranberry walnut (use to make all chocolate chip too it's that good), and sugar cookie

Time savers in the kitchen

Hey, there folks. Got some time saver tips for the kitchen and getting some yummy goodies on the table fast now that school has started. School means busier schedules unfortunately. It seems with sports and extra curricular activities, it's hard to sit down as a family for a meal. But I have some tips for you to get some yummy goodness on everyone's plate. The time saver: the freezer. Yes, you read that right, the freezer!!

Make good use of your freezer. Freeze meals ahead of time to pop in the oven or defrost a day or two ahead and bake them off. My favorite freezer goodies: spaghetti sauce (make a big batch divide it up in ziploc bags and you are good to go for a quick plate of spaghetti, lasagna, or stuffed shells and cheese), stuffed shells filling, mexican lasagna (I make up the meat mixture and sauce mixture, put the grated cheese and corn tortillas in separate zip loc bags and freeze them together), taco meat already cooked, meatloaf, chicken pot pie mixture with a frozen pie crust or puff pastry sheet, no knead rolls, muffins, and desserts.

Know the secret to hot out of the oven cookies (so you don't eat the whole batch in two days cause they are all staring at you from the cookie jar or zip loc bag you store them in)? Bake off a dozen when you make your cookie dough--- wait I need to say a thing or two first about cookies. Please, please don't buy that ready made cookie dough in the biscuit section of the grocery store. You know the stuff I am talking about. It's got so many preservatives and really, how hard is it to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough? Not hard. You take 15 min. tops. Okay enough about that. Anyway, make your cookie dough and then scoop out a dozen and bake them off. You need those cookies for today cause you just can't help yourself, you know. Next, scoop out all the rest of the dough and place it pretty close together on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place dough balls in the freezer uncovered so they get firm and partially frozen, about 15- 30 min. Now take those frozen balls of homemade goodness and dump them in a zip loc freezer bag. Freeze. Now you can just pull out a half a dozen or so cookie dough balls at a time and bake them off so the school kids have a yummy gooey warm treat when they walk in the door and you don't eat them all. :) You get one or two with the kids.

Now the other things that you can make ahead are breads: yes, you can make bread. Look for the no-knead kind from King Arthur's website and recipe gallery and from Pioneer Woman's recipe site. I have tried them and they are yummy and super easy.

So hey, make the use of an hour or two on the weekend or while the little ones/big kids are at school and make your busy life easier. Your family will get homemade goodness during the week and you'll be better prepared for the busyness of life.

Our first week of school

Just thought I would talk a little about our first week of school. Overall it has gone pretty well. We have accomplished more this week than any other week of school so far. We have done it all in less time than it took us last year to finish a day. I have used time limits, written out the assignments so they know what is coming, and have started grading their work. I grade based on correct answers but also on how much they finish based on their time limits. Hopefully a bad grade received because they fool around and don't complete an assignment will help them be more focused and diligent. They usually do all math problems and stuff like that right when they actually get around to it. So accuracy is not usually the problem, it's procrastination and not focusing. We have done Science this week which is new to us as we never seem to get to it and we even did an experiment. We blew up diet soda with Mentos to introduce chemistry this year. Fun!!

Overall, I am pretty pleased with this week. WE still need to pray for focus for my littlest on Math, but he did have one good day. Today is not that day. We will gradually build up our schedule to include more stuff. I didn't want to overwhelm them the first week back. I am also thinking of implementing a ticket system for asking for help. I get called for "emergency help" when it is really not needed. They get instruction and clarification at the beginning of their work but I can't hold their hand through it all. The tickets would be given at the beginning of an assignment and once the receive instruction and I walk away, any time they ask for help they will need to give me a ticket. Of course they won't have that many tickets, so they will need to learn to problem solve on their own and not ask so much.

Just thought I would share.

Oh, and you need to check out Christian Paper Crafts website and check out their work and join the group. It's a great ministry.

Just to chat

Hey, Everyone. I hope you are enjoying your summer. Just wanted to share a few words. Nothing really important. What do you think of the new blog header? I created that with Stampin' UP!'s new My Digital Studio. I am very slowly getting the hang of using their digital crafting software. It's fairly intuitive, but I am a slow learner. It doesn't help that I don't get on it enough to really practice. I need to so I can teach John and Nathan how to use it for scrapbooking and school projects. I need to do some Christmas presents on it too.

Um, on a totally different note, can I say I love the Pioneer Woman's recipes. So straight forward, non-fussy, but totally de-lish. I just made her meatloaf on Friday. Super yum, but I would suggest using only half the amount of salt and seasoning salt she calls for. I learned my lesson about salt in most recipes with another meatloaf recipe by someone else. Can we say way tooo salty. So I usually err on the side of less salt. I also made her Rosemary rolls. Oh, my. Yum, yum, yum! Okay too yummy cause I ate like 3 of them. I so do not need to eat three rolls at any time. Hence my walk around my neighborhood and the one down the hill this evening. It felt good.

On a homeschooling note, I think I am dreading this school year already. We school pretty much all year, but I do a very very light schedule in the Summer: math and reading. We got behind on our history reading this past year, so we have been catching up. Please tell me someone else's sons take 1 1/2 -2 hours to do their math. Now I am not talking about hard stuff here. We are talking basic addition and subtraction for 1st and 3th grade, basic multiplication and division for Nathan too. And can anyone tell me why my oldest can speed through this in less than 30 minutes one day , and then low and behold it takes him 3 times as long the next two days? It's getting ridiculous. John just sits and twiddles his thumbs, looks at the wall, pays attention to Nathan, or whines. I'm sorry but math is not a flashy thing. It's not something you can make too super exciting. You just have to learn the basic facts.

How in the world are we going to get through our school day and do writing, history, Bible, math, current events, science, field trips, co-op classes, and what not if they can't do their work promptly? I need electric shock therapy on their chairs, so I can gently zap them when they are idle. Okay, I am totally joking about that. :)

UPDATE: well, my boys have been brought back to me and the alien imposters have gone back home. Wednesday both boys did their math in under 30 min. John who has been the worst at dawdling got his done in 15 minutes!!! Nathan finished his problems (he had quite a few and he has to write them down too) in a little less than 25 minutes. Hallelujah!! I told them they had 30 min to get it done and they were to keep that pencil moving, head thinking, and no talking. We'll see if they can repeat that tomorrow. Oh, I pray they do. I told them that what they did on Wed. needs to be the new normal not the exception. We'll see. God, please let that become the new normal!!

I am praying for guidance on how to sell my handmade goods. I really really want to sell my cards and gift ensembles. I am running out of room to put stuff I have made too;). I have so much fun making stuff, but I know I need to keep my focus on God, my family, homeschooling and the like. I need a very flexible venue for selling that has good visibility but very low fees. My other blog isn't cutting it, cause no one visits it. Can you spread the word about it? Please, please, pretty please! See my header or sidebar to find it. Oh, but wait, maybe no one visits here either. :(

Etsy.com gets a lot of hits, but I need a way to distinguish myself from the rest. One of the reason's I worked on new Title header graphics here was to prepare for maybe using that venue. I want it to look professional. And then there is the dilemma of shipping. I hate that it costs so much to ship something 3-D. Card shipping is relatively cheap, about $1.50 or so to ship in a small padded envelope. Add another $.50 for each additional card. But to package up a gift ensemble or stationary set and you get into some fairly good expense; at least $5 minimum. I just want to cover the cost of my supplies when selling this stuff and a small profit to allow our family some fun money; you know, money for a meal out, movie, outings to parks like the zoo or a national park/cave, etc. Play money. But no one has a lot of extra money for getting stuff shipped. I know I only buy stuff online anymore unless they are running free shipping with another discount promo.

Any ideas would be helpful on how to do this. Etsy.com charges a fee to list each individual item, and then a small fee on sales. The listing fee is for 4 months. So if an item doesn't sell in 4 months, you have to pay the fee again to keep it listed. I guess I could put up my best cards and see what happens. I just need a good way to get the word out about my store, whether it's my blog or Etsy.com or Ebay.

UPDATE: I decided to donate most of the cards I had for sale to my church for the senior sunday school class to use. They send out birthday cards and other cards to all church members, so I figured they would appreciate them. I am going to focus on making more gift items for my friends and if I made an extra or two I might post them on Etsy or something to sell.

Okay well I gotta go to bed. Been up way to long already. Talk to you soon later. Thanks for letting me ramble. Not sure who is out there looking at this blog, but I am glad you are there. Good night.

Happy July 4th. It's America's Birthday!!

It's America's Birthday so to speak tomorrow. I am so honored to live in a country founded on the Godly principles of freedom, liberty, life, and the opportunity to pursue happiness. I am very saddened these days by the bent of our Federal Government to go against these principles. They have been traveling in that direction now since the early 1900's with President Woodrow Wilson and all who have followed him. Our Federal Government has become a lot like the King we declared our independence from in 1776. Our Federal Government today does not listen to us. They enact laws whose intent is to take away our freedoms, our rights to life, and the pursuit of happiness. Our President and our elected representatives and senators do not listen to the will of the people when we call them, write them and tell them that we do not want higher taxes, Healthcare/Obamacare, Cap and Tax, Financial Reform (aka punish business owners), and the confirmation of nominees to the Supreme Court who are clearly activist and unqualified to sit on the Supreme Court. They snub their noses at we the people. They are not interested in upholding our rights, protecting us from foreign threats and threats in our own country (securing our borders and fighting terrorism). Instead they are only interested in their pursuit of power and creating an ever more centralized and socialized government that seeks to confiscate our property, our hard earned income to redistribute to those they think have been slighted, and punishing us for our country's success and accomplishments.

We need to seriously think about another Revolution of sorts, not to get rid of the government that was established in 1776 and after the Revolutionary war when the Constitution was drafted and ratified, but to reinstate it as the law of the land again. We need to repeal several of our amendments, like the one that allows Senators to be elected directly by the people so as to reassert states rights and checks and balances in the government, the amendment that gave Congress the right to a federal income tax, and also the provision that makes our country legally bound by provisions of treaties made with foreign countries. We need to get out of the UN and disband that bastion of terrorism and anti-American policies.

Read the Declaration of Independence and our Founding Father's grievances with the King and England. See if a lot of those things don't ring true to what is going on with our own President and Congress today. They are doing the very same things to us. How long will we let them bring us under tyranny. How much will you allow us to suffer before we say, "ENOUGH" and "NO MORE!" ? It's time to rally around our founding principles and tell Congress we aren't going to let them continue in their tyranny. It's time they get their powers from the consent of the governed again, instead of taking it through unjust laws and policies. It's time to wake up, America and live as a country UNDER GOD, self governing ourselves according to biblical principles.

Happy Birthday, America! May God reign in our country again and restore his hand of blessing and grace.


IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there!!

Found this precious poem on Lauren Meador's blog today. Super sweet and too true. I thought it was neat. Although some days are tough as a mom, it is by far the most rewarding job ever. If we could all just embrace this role and make the most of it, just think what a difference we would make in our homes, our communities and the world if we did this job with all our heart and enjoyed every moment of it. God has given us a great blessing to be mom's. It is a hard job, but because of it, we influence so much more than we ever could out in the work force. You leave a bigger imprint, have much more creativity, have more power (given by God), and more precious memories than could ever be found by doing something else somewhere else. We need to keep our hearts at home in God's hands and embrace the beauty of motherhood.

I am so thankful for my mom, who truly embraced and loved every minute of being my mom. She still embraces being a mom and now a Grammie to my two sweet boys. I am so thankful for her tender loving care, her bright smile, her cheerleading, her sweet and giving heart, and her confidence in me. She is the best and I can only hope to be as good a mom as she was to me. Thanks, Mom for all you have done for me and all the sweet memories we have yet to share. I love you.

Here is the poem I found. Enjoy. Have a great Mother's Day.

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do

tests

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to

put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I

couldn’t

stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so

much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -

I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn’t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry

baby.

I didn’t know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn’t know that something so small could make me feel so

important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10

minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the

heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much, before I

was a

Mom.

MDS practice card

Here is a quick little practice card I just created using My Digital Studio. Kind of neat. Just getting the hang of this. It's supposed to be simple, and it is kind of. Thought I would share.