A New Found Love

While in Target yesterday, we went through the kitchen goods (one of my fave sections of any store) and saw a donut maker machine for the home.  I immediately started coveting it and I am sure that it will become a member of my kitchen appliance family sometime in the near future (hint for Birthday/Christmas present).

Whoever invented this for the home is an awesome person.  I can just taste the day that when the kids answer the daily question of, "What do you want for breakfast?"  and they scream excitedly, "DONUTS!"  I won't cringe at the thought of going to the store, buying some donuts (paying an arm and a leg) that have been fried.  I am not a fried food kinda person.  Now, I do make some muffins that taste like old fashioned donuts, and boy, are they YUMMY!  You can find the recipe for these scrumptious donut muffins here. But, sometimes the muffins just don't cut it with my brude.

click on the picture to take you to the site where you can purchase it, if you like to shop online, or just head to your local Target or other retail store, to see if they carry it.

Brewing Apple Cider Time

Horrible... cold feet

Lovely... warm blankets and quality time with the family

Here is what I am up to this fine Sunday afternoon, while Nat is taking a nap after his 12 hour work day last night and while the kids watch Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

Homemade Apple Cider

the BIG stewing pot is full of...

APPLES and spices!  This is before the 1 hour of rapid boil (it is almost there) but the smells that are already coming from the stove is making my mouth water.

With the rain and the wind howling outside, this is the perfect afternoon to make such a treat.  It sure is beginning to feel, and smell, more like Autumn weather.I am beginning to think that this IS easier than making applesauce... I didn't have to peel and core the apples.



OH, the smells that are coming from my kitchen... I wish there was smell software for the computer, so you could add them to emails, blog posts, etc... The aroma that is filling our home is soooo much more enticing than a little candle that has the scent of apple cider can offer and provide (and I LOVE burning scented candles in our home).

after an hour of boiling.  Now it's time to cover and bring down to a simmer for 2 hours.  The house is smelling sooooooo scrumptious now.



after two hours of simmering.  Now it's time to take off the heat and cool down

finished product!

And the verdict?  It was a hit!  Nat says that it could be a little sweeter, but I like the tartness to it.  We added a caramel to it, and that was an even better treat, almost like a caramel apple

Valentines Breakfast

I wanted to do something special for my family for breakfast on this fine Valentine's Day, instead of the usual muffins, hot cereal, or pancakes/waffles and eggs, I made (with Nat's help)...

Breakfast Sundaes

made with homemade yogurt, homemade granola, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and chopped almonds.

Here is what the finished product looked like...

How Many is Tooo Many?

That is the question of the day...

While we were out this morning running errands, we went to one of my favorite stores... our local  Hospice store.  I always make it a point to go in there to see what they have when we are on that side of town.  Well, as we walked in the door, we saw this HUGE sign saying that everything in the store was 1/2 off.  My eyes went from brown to GREEN dollar signs.  I love sales, especially at second hand stores. 

So, anyways... we have been using plastic bowls and plates since the kids were very young.  I have had it about up to my eyeballs, I am so done with using plastic.  We do have a dish set that is ceramic and black, which I love, but they are my 'good' dishes and don't want to use them, 'cause I have a fear of them breaking (as I can't replace them, and I can't stand having miss-matched anything and odd numbers).  Well, I found a set at the Hospice... not all pieces are there (just short of a a complete set), but hey, they are 1/2 off, no biggy.  Now, I just need to donate all the plastic ones to a well deserving family.

Now, not only will I have these beauty's with the fruit theme,

I also these,  my 'good company' black ones,

 and this flowered set from my grandmother. I remember eating off these plates when visiting my grandparents.

I have come to realize that I need to let go of some of my OCD and that it is OK, to be unique and have an eclectic style, and have WAY to many dishes.  But, some of my kids are like me... a klutz, all thumbs, so I need lots of them.  I like variety and I am pretty sure that I won't be getting bored looking at and using the same set of dishes over and over and over again.

Service and Love

Just when I think he wasn't listening...

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Two times within the last few days my dear sweet husband has done me a great service, surprise and shown his love towards me. I had mentioned what I would like to have in my kitchen, like some spice racks that hang on the wall (thank you Ashley for the idea), and some more counter space. Well, I came home from my knitting group on Thursday night and totally missed this (this is where the fridge is supposed to be, but ours won't fit here)... but hey, it was late and I was tired. But when I woke up and started my day on Friday, I did see it and was pleasantly surprised. Then, on Saturday, while I was out grocery shopping, he showed his love for me once again. I came home and found that he had been a carpenter once again. Now he just needs to make a few more so I can have more of my spices within reach. Along with my long awaited Kitchen Aid

Worm Composting

We are trying to be more earth friendly as well as more self reliant. We have started some container vegetable gardening. It all started last week after visiting Whole Foods for a field trip here in town. Since Earth Day was Wednesday, Whole Foods celebrated it on Saturday for the whole community. The kids wanted to go, so we went...

One of the tabled was Red Worm Composting. Of course the kids just had to have one, so we got one and had to set it up once home, to give the worms their proper home. Well, we couldn't really have a compost bin without a garden to put it in, right? Oh, did I tell you... the compost bin is here in the house, can't you see my skin just crawling? So, we planted ourselves a garden. We have some herbs, veggies, fruit and even some flowers to go it it. We don't have a lot of space, so we are doing container gardening (this way, when we buy our house - our first house, we can take our garden with us). We will be adding to our garden some fun things like, windmills, bird houses, and some bird feeders. We are getting and using the ideas from the book "Green Thumb".

There has been a lot of talk about bloggers taking other bloggers thoughts and storied & coping them and posting as their own blog. That is rude. This post may seem like you read it before over @ Adventurous Instruction... that's ok, I did plagiarize, but hey, that is my homeschooling blog, so, I am aloud to do it.

On Hiatus

Where the heck have I been? Geez, it's been awhile.

Well, nothing much has been happening here in Stampsland. We've been pretty low key. We did have Charlie's Pinewood Derby a few weeks ago (I will post pics later & give details). Last week, we went to see our homeschool group perform "Annie" the musical, the kids really loved that.

Well, I have been pricing pasta makers for a while now, liking the prices on some, and not likiing the reviews on others, but, I did finally find one... Today, I am embarking on a new adventure. I am making my very own pasta. This is something that I have been wanting to do for awhile now, but couldn't bring myself to do so... well, I jumped and here we are! Nat even made me a pasta drying rack as well. He & the kids are excited about trying some homemade pasta tomorrow night for dinner.

This is my assembly line of handcrank machines... pasta maker & my wheat grinder

Close up of the newest member of our appliance family

Here's my pasta dough, just after resting, and before I start to make our first ever homemade pasta.

This is the pasta drying rack that Nat so lovingly made for me last night, after I promised him some homemade pasta for diner.

And, last, but certainly not least... the finished product of homemade spaghetti.

I would post pics of me making it, but the kids were all over the place and got them blurry. Ya don't believe me, here are a few...

Why am I Nesting, is the MILLION dollar ?

Yes, I am in the 'nesting' stage. BUT, I am not pregnant.

The kids have gotten into the cleaning too (much to MY urging). Take a look @ their pretty/handsome rooms...

I would have posted B4 pics, but you all would have gone RUNNING for cover, screaming! and asking yourself, "how on earth did she put up with THAT?"

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No, I did not lift a finger in their rooms, they did it all by themselves. I just pushed the broom around the rooms when they were finished. (it only took a GOOD 4 hours or so, but I may be exaggerating just a little). .

Excuse the unmade beds, they are about to make forts.

If you have ideas why I am cleaning, cleaning & doing more cleaning, please let me know.

I'm on a Roll

Since I am in the mood to be cleaning. Spring Cleaning to be exact! After going through and doing a major cleaning job on my living room (dusted baseboards even) and washing all the windows (outside only, so far), NOW, onto a real job... THE PANTRY. I try to keep it swept and organized (some-what), but, I think I will be doing a lot of dusting, washing, throwing away, and RE-organizing.

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Here are the Pantry BEFORE pictures

Don't worry, we are BIG on recycling. All the cardboard on top of the cabinets & next to it will be taken to the recycle center. I am also lucky to have an entire room dedicated to the pantry (for now anyway). Now, I just need to restock my food storage.

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Here are the AFTER pictures

Imagine that, I clean and straighten, and I GAIN 2 full shelves! Whooooo Whoo!! I even moved our aprons so they aren't always falling on the ground by constantly bumping them while walking in and out of the kitchen/pantry.

Choices, Choices, Always Choices!

Picture from http://www.wpclipart.com/

I am one who doesn't like to use chemicals in or out of the house to clean, so, I use all natural cleaning porducts. Needless to say, since switching over (its been about a year now), the kids, Nat & I haven't been sick as often as we used too (I also contribute that to homeschooling as well).

Anyway, to the point of this post...

I am in a CLEANING mood. I am starting off with the living room. I dusted, and washed all windows, and pictures. Now, I need to polish my furniture, but after scouring my cleaning supplies, I come to find that I have no furniture polish. So, I get onto my classroom (the computer, what else). Have I told you how MUCH I LOVE the Internet? All I did was type in 'homemade furniture polish', and a bunch of links came up.

Here are just a few: EHow, DIY, TipNut, Frugal Living, and many many more!

So many to choose from, what to do, what to do? But, I think I will make this one:

Furniture Polish Recipe I (from frugal living) INGREDIENTS: White vinegar Lemon juice PREPARATION: 1. Combine equal parts white vinegar and lemon juice in a bowl or spray bottle. 2. Use a clean cloth to rub a small amount of the polish into your furniture. 3. Wipe dry with another cloth.

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-or, maybe this one:

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Homemade Furniture Polish (from EHow)

Step1 Measure out 1/2 a cup of baby oil using a plastic measuring cup. If you don't have any baby oil, olive oil works just as well. Step2 Pour the baby oil into a disposable plastic bowl. A bowl not used for food items is best. Step3 Add a few drops of lemon extract or fresh lemon juice to the bowl of baby oil. Use 3 to 5 drops of lemon extract but you can use more if you like a stronger scent. Step4 Stir the polish mixture with a kitchen spoon until the lemon extract and baby oil mix evenly. Step5 Cover the bowl of homemade furniture polish with plastic kitchen wrap until ready to use. Stir again with a spoon just before using to reactivate. Step6 Use polish by dipping a dry clean polishing cloth into the mixture a little at a time. Gently rub polish mix over wood surfaces to give a clean non-toxic shine that smells fresh. Step7 Store homemade polish covered with other cleaning products in a dry safe place.

All these choices. How is a girl to choose?

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Update: I did the first one. I might as well disinfect at the same time as polishing the furniture, right?