I didn't follow any particular recipe, but mixed and matched from several different ones... Here's a *rough* recount of what I threw in...
2 cans black beans, not drained.
1 can great northern white beans, not drained
1 can corn, drained
1 small onion, diced
1-2 sweet bell peppers, diced
1-2 cups cooked roast, diced
16 oz salsa
couple sprinkles of garlic salt
a sprinkle of pepper
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of chipotle rub
sprinkle of italian seasoning
couple sprinkles of cumin
Cook in crockpot for several hours :-) I've heard the more the better!
I called it medium spicy. If you withheld the cayenne and chipotle, I think it would be mild.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
I can say this because it's my blog...
Yea ME! I won the Bean Queen cook-off!!! Woohoo!
(although I totally would have thought I had a better chance winning the baking contest instead of the chili one... ;-)
(although I totally would have thought I had a better chance winning the baking contest instead of the chili one... ;-)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Kids Chore Chart
If you like our plan to pay for above and beyond chores, here's our list of to-dos:
Feed Leo and Kerzon... .25
Feed Chickens & collect eggs....25
Sweep and Vacuum Ziva's room......25
Wash Ziva's floor......25
Wash dining room chairs......25
Sweep Kitchen/ dining room.....25
Make Mommy's bed........25 (no, I am not slacking- they enjoy doing this, especially Kiera, so it's a gimme for her to do it :-)
Help Mommy w/ Daily cleaning.... 25+
So far, rewards are as follows:
Treat (yogos, capri sun, cookie)....50
Confiscated toy (something they've left out and I picked up, such as jewelry or other small items they need to remember to pick up before Isaac starts crawling)....$1
Anything I purchase for them... The actual retail value, to the nearest .25.
I am starting with quarters so it's not too confusing for them to get. After we are good with those, I may add some cheaper treats, and more expensive chores. I don't know what yet... but praying for wisdom to keep it exciting :-)
Feed Leo and Kerzon... .25
Feed Chickens & collect eggs....25
Sweep and Vacuum Ziva's room......25
Wash Ziva's floor......25
Wash dining room chairs......25
Sweep Kitchen/ dining room.....25
Make Mommy's bed........25 (no, I am not slacking- they enjoy doing this, especially Kiera, so it's a gimme for her to do it :-)
Help Mommy w/ Daily cleaning.... 25+
So far, rewards are as follows:
Treat (yogos, capri sun, cookie)....50
Confiscated toy (something they've left out and I picked up, such as jewelry or other small items they need to remember to pick up before Isaac starts crawling)....$1
Anything I purchase for them... The actual retail value, to the nearest .25.
I am starting with quarters so it's not too confusing for them to get. After we are good with those, I may add some cheaper treats, and more expensive chores. I don't know what yet... but praying for wisdom to keep it exciting :-)
Eight Days later...
Our computer got a bug. Several bugs. Annoying.
Anyway, I am so thankful that Gabe has the patience to figure out which bug it is, and how to fix it. And while I didn't like spending the $ at the time, I am thankful that we have the laptop so he can go online to find the information he needs to do so.
A lot has happened the last week. Here's a few update :-)
Daily cleaning list: I like the way this works. I only have to focus on one thing per day, and it keeps the house tidier overall. The problem I am encountering is that the days when Gabe is sleeping, I have a hard time fitting in the routine in that room. And at some point every two weeks, Gabe is sleeping every day. I have not yet found a solution to this hindrance.
Chore Chart: We are instituting a chore chart for the girls to use to earn money, which they then can use to buy snacks, confiscated toys, and special items that we will purchase and then they can earn $ to purchase from us. This morning they were so eager to get started! Kiera washed the dining room chairs and then helped Melia finish Ziva's room. Melia swept, vacuumed, and washed the floor in Ziva's room. They each earned .50. Kiera promptly spent hers on snacks, as expected! And Melia had picked a few things out of the AVON catalog which she wanted to save up for- so she's saving hers. I like this. I am encouraged by their enthusiasm.
Ezri: Ezri died this morning. I was suprised yesterday to find her suddenly weakened, as in a state of organ failure. I recognized this because right after Gabe and I were married, my cat Spook took a very sudden turn for the worst, and Ezri had the same look in her eyes. This time it was easier on me though- I knew that if I took her in to the vet, I would probably get the same reaction as I did when Spook died. They basically said there's nothing they can do. IV's with fluids, force feeding Nutrical, but Spook died within 2 days, so I knew Ezri was not going to recover. I brought her in the house, put her in a box with a cushion and water, and tried to keep her comfortable. It's hard emotionally, especially with not knowing what went wrong. But it's done now. At least the suffering is short with whatever causes this sudden illness. So these two kittens are the last ones we will have. And I'm ok with that too. Having kids and kittens is pretty difficult, so it's alright to be done. Although it may be harder to let them go...*sniff*
Anyway, I am so thankful that Gabe has the patience to figure out which bug it is, and how to fix it. And while I didn't like spending the $ at the time, I am thankful that we have the laptop so he can go online to find the information he needs to do so.
A lot has happened the last week. Here's a few update :-)
Daily cleaning list: I like the way this works. I only have to focus on one thing per day, and it keeps the house tidier overall. The problem I am encountering is that the days when Gabe is sleeping, I have a hard time fitting in the routine in that room. And at some point every two weeks, Gabe is sleeping every day. I have not yet found a solution to this hindrance.
Chore Chart: We are instituting a chore chart for the girls to use to earn money, which they then can use to buy snacks, confiscated toys, and special items that we will purchase and then they can earn $ to purchase from us. This morning they were so eager to get started! Kiera washed the dining room chairs and then helped Melia finish Ziva's room. Melia swept, vacuumed, and washed the floor in Ziva's room. They each earned .50. Kiera promptly spent hers on snacks, as expected! And Melia had picked a few things out of the AVON catalog which she wanted to save up for- so she's saving hers. I like this. I am encouraged by their enthusiasm.
Ezri: Ezri died this morning. I was suprised yesterday to find her suddenly weakened, as in a state of organ failure. I recognized this because right after Gabe and I were married, my cat Spook took a very sudden turn for the worst, and Ezri had the same look in her eyes. This time it was easier on me though- I knew that if I took her in to the vet, I would probably get the same reaction as I did when Spook died. They basically said there's nothing they can do. IV's with fluids, force feeding Nutrical, but Spook died within 2 days, so I knew Ezri was not going to recover. I brought her in the house, put her in a box with a cushion and water, and tried to keep her comfortable. It's hard emotionally, especially with not knowing what went wrong. But it's done now. At least the suffering is short with whatever causes this sudden illness. So these two kittens are the last ones we will have. And I'm ok with that too. Having kids and kittens is pretty difficult, so it's alright to be done. Although it may be harder to let them go...*sniff*
Monday, September 21, 2009
Gift Wish Lists
There are
numerous items on Amazon.com on Denaye's wish list for most all
members of the family, Melia's book list is under my list. It looks like you should be able to get to Gabe's list through mine as well, but I'm not sure.
Gabe
L-XL clothes
(roomy)sporting goods gift cards (Hooked On Toys, Big 5, Bimart, Walmart)
Denaye
silicon baking
liners2 cup glass measuring cup
mini whisk
bamboo cutting boards (examples on amazon)
Fred Meyer, Costco, Coffee, Amazon, Target gift cards
classical music cds
chalkboard paint
new waffle iron
crossbow :)
Melia
Joanns' or Hobby
Lobby gift cards (knitting, jewelry)
Academic Toolbox gift cards
Schleich animals/horses
Hair design book/ideas/braiding'
Palace Pets (Pipkin preferably)
maybe a jewelry making book?
Size 10-12 clothes
Socks (shoe size 4)
PJs
Kiera
Schleich bunny
setAcademic toolbox gift card
Caroline American Girl Mini Set
Stretch pants/clothes size 7-8
socks (shoe size 13)
PJs
Isaac
race cars and
trainswatch (spiderman, Cars, Trains are all ideal)
Size 4T clothes, pjs.
New water bottle (ideas on amazon)
Caleb
Toddler socks (18 mo+)
size 18 mo clothes winter
size 24 mo summer
new water bottle (ideas on amazon)
Friday, September 18, 2009
Melia's rendition of John 3:16
John 3:16
For God so loved the world He gave His only gotten Son, Whoever believes in Him Should not be punished but have everliving lasting life.
*grin*
For God so loved the world He gave His only gotten Son, Whoever believes in Him Should not be punished but have everliving lasting life.
*grin*
NGJ Order Here!
Ok, so for those of you who wrote earlier this year that you wanted some of the NGJ products, I have you down. If anyone else is interested, let me know. I arrived home on Wednesday to find a box bigger than me on the deck :-) It was like Christmas! So fun, and I can't wait to explore the goodies that I haven't read or heard yet!
And... Friday's Cleaning Job done.
Today was a little harder. They hate picking up their stuff. Not even the ominous "If I have to come in there, I'm going to throw everything on the floor away" works on Kiera. She just says, "My toys go in the garbage." Onery thing she is- trying to use reverse psychology on her mother. Hmph.
But we finished. It was bigger today, as it will be for this first week. And now they are happily eating juicy pluots :-)
But we finished. It was bigger today, as it will be for this first week. And now they are happily eating juicy pluots :-)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
What Works For Me: I don't know yet, but I am trying...
Yesterday at Co-op, I discovered that 3 of the 4 hours I am in the nursery (to be expected) and the other hour I am a hall monitor. Now, when I first learned of this "job," I was less than thrilled. But now, I am more than thrilled. I basically get to sit by myself for 55 minutes in the hallway, being a monitor. Sound fun? I know- but it is SO NICE! (Can you tell I am just up to my ears in chatter every day? :-)
So, again, yesterday I was sitting in the hall wondering what I was going to do. All I had with me was my attempted "brain" notebook, so I decided to start making some lists. I have three dividers: TO DO, TO BUY, TO REMEMBER. *grin* I know, but hey, this is my life right now. And you know how I said those messies emails just weren't cutting it? I set out to form a new plan.
Here's my plan:
Weekly (deeper) cleaning list
Monday: Dining, Master Bed, and Living Room... Wash sheets.
Tuesday: Kitchen
Wednesday: Family Room, Door, Living Room... Vacuum
Thursday: Girls Bathroom and Both toilets (no shower)
Friday: Living, Dining, Girls Bedroom.. Wash sheets.
Saturday: Master Bath, both showers, (no toilet)
Sunday: Computer Desk and Surrounding area
This looks painfully obvious, but I hope it will help to restore a little order to our lives, instead of the chaos that comes with cleaning "what I feel like at the time," which often means that which demands the most attention.
Today I accomplished the Thursday job- and feel great about it. The girls were so excited. We talk a lot about how we need to clean the house... but getting them to do it is less than easy. But today was a different story. I did most of it by myself, but they were right there with me watching and learning.
A trooper friend told us one time that what makes a good trooper is when the offending party thanks you for giving them a ticket. I say what makes a good momma is when the 3 year old asks when she will be old enough to clean the potty. *GRIN*
So, again, yesterday I was sitting in the hall wondering what I was going to do. All I had with me was my attempted "brain" notebook, so I decided to start making some lists. I have three dividers: TO DO, TO BUY, TO REMEMBER. *grin* I know, but hey, this is my life right now. And you know how I said those messies emails just weren't cutting it? I set out to form a new plan.
Here's my plan:
Weekly (deeper) cleaning list
Monday: Dining, Master Bed, and Living Room... Wash sheets.
Tuesday: Kitchen
Wednesday: Family Room, Door, Living Room... Vacuum
Thursday: Girls Bathroom and Both toilets (no shower)
Friday: Living, Dining, Girls Bedroom.. Wash sheets.
Saturday: Master Bath, both showers, (no toilet)
Sunday: Computer Desk and Surrounding area
This looks painfully obvious, but I hope it will help to restore a little order to our lives, instead of the chaos that comes with cleaning "what I feel like at the time," which often means that which demands the most attention.
Today I accomplished the Thursday job- and feel great about it. The girls were so excited. We talk a lot about how we need to clean the house... but getting them to do it is less than easy. But today was a different story. I did most of it by myself, but they were right there with me watching and learning.
A trooper friend told us one time that what makes a good trooper is when the offending party thanks you for giving them a ticket. I say what makes a good momma is when the 3 year old asks when she will be old enough to clean the potty. *GRIN*
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Doing the wrong thing...
Melia: "Mommy, when I do something wrong, it hurts my feelings, and it rips part of my heart off. You just don't know how it feels."
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