overwhelmed much?

Sometimes I wake up and think is this gonna be a good day or a bad day...With a one year old theres no telling. So as I washed my face put on my sweatpants and headed across my house I prayed for  good day. I swooped up my son prayed with him and headed for our day of play. After almost burning breakfast trying to find something to occupy him on the potty. I grabbed craft supplies to teach him colors,before I can finish I have a half naked boy hanging on my heels crying. I rush to the diaper bag to find fig newtons and spill them all in the bag. I couldnt help but to laugh..after much thinking I realized I dont have it hard think about my son.Here is learning to use he potty,talk and learn things like colors. He cant get his thoughts across because he cant form sentences. Alas he always gets tired and has to take a nap while momma stays up and "has fun" (really cleaning.) All this to say dont forget how easy it is to teach. We need to learn colors so with cardstock,markers and crayons I cut and he colored. There it is and in 1 day he knows red,blue,yellow and orange. I love it!

~lane~

chinese newyear

We are a part of a most wonderful homeschool co-op! I teach Pre-K/K so that my sweeties can take classes like geography, art, science and P.E.  Well, my 10 year olds geography teachers were so very precious in putting on a Chinese New Year party for the students. This is my sweetie all decked out in his celebration outfit

homemade mayos back!

So my hubby completely despises grocery shopping,he likes the food but hates when I shop. Like in the movie Tangled I cant help thinking hes at war with himself.....lol So we came up with a plan he told me to run into the store buy food that last and don't spend a lot of money. Great plan eh? I would have to say easier said than done. So after pulling my hair out at the store due to little money and lack of time I finally arrive home feeling accomplished. The boys are starving so I had a brilliant idea burgers and fries( turkey of course and sweet potato) I'm in the south don't judge me.lol Any who after preparing my meat for the burgers I realize I forgot the mayo.Here I go Spazing ,thoughts running through my head. How could you forget the mayo,how you gonna tell hubby,you don't even have coleslaw left over!!!...???.Finally I had the thought of the thoughts (I know how to make mayo duh.) So out came the blender on high....In flew...
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
and about 1 cup of oil * keep adding oil a bit at a time until its as thick as you want it.
Dump in jar and throw in the fridge.
God came through on that 1 because it may just be GA talking but whats a burger without mayo....????
~Lane~

Amy Speaking: First off, I LOVE my sisters mayo. and thik that she is awesomely creative! I am a bit more of a purist (or freak, whichever you prefer) when it comes to food. We both LOVE to cook and have small budgets, so we're inclined to be quite creative :-) Anyway, into my blender goes: 1 egg, 2 egg yolks, 1T. lemon juice, a little sea salt and pepper, 1/2 c. of coconut oil and 1/2 c. olive oil.

Either of these recipes is much healthier than the stuff in the store. Take note on how short our ingredients list is and how all the ingredient names are recognizable.

Lanes Mayo

Amys Mayo

fireplace cover

Its been a little chilly lately here in Ga and so we are doing everything to keep the heat in. We were sitting in our living room the other day and were wondering " why on earth it want getting warm." I mean we had the heat on high and the entire downstairs was warm except the living room. Then my husbands said there is a breeze under our fireplace. low an  behold the vent under the fireplace was letting in a breeze. Im a bit different than my husband so when he mentioned  throwing a blanket in front of it that didn't fly with me.So a craft began  ( sorry moms my son wasnt invited to this one)I measured the width and length of the vent and began all I did was cut cardboard the size I needed ,grabbed some fabric and began gluing until it was complete. I was finished in a matter of minutes and glued some magnets on the back so it would stick. If you fireplace vent isn't metal you can always use Velcro in the matching color I had a blast and it looks way better than a folded blanket I think!

Lane

BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAREST NEPHEW! I love you!

Birthdays are always so special to me,but I can remember just like it was yesterday holding my baby nephew in my arms and singing him to sleep. He is now in the double digits and I will never forget those baby cuddles. Now Im blessed to have a son that reminds me so much of my nephew.

coleslaw

I just received a home grown cabbage from a family member which was great. After utilizing the majority of the cabbage on meal,soup ,side,chicken and pasta I had just a bit left. So I decided coleslaw of course. Thanks to my sisters post Quick & Easy sauerkraut I got an idea. I had just enough mayo for my coleslaw so I just chopped the cabbage and dumped it into the mayo jar. After adding the rest of the ingredients I just shook shook shook and voila coleslaw. I love it because I didn't even have to find a bowl to put it in and after its gone I can just toss the container in the recycle bin.So Thanks Sis for the great idea!

*Lane*

simple fun

If you know me you know I am the queen of putting something together for children. I remember my 14 yr old telling me I love being with you because  you always have something to do. That made my day but as we were sitting in the house one morning I said ok  Jr your  to make your breakfast.( thinking I'm gonna kill 2 birds with 1 stone) It was a good thought though I forgot about the messiness of a 1 yr old. lol so I set out on a new venture an easy breakfast of French toast and egg. You really can't mess that up. I let him do everything except the hot stuff. He had a blast,who am I kidding I had a blast. Got to say watching a 1 yr old boy make breakfast is  better then doing it yourself.I'm going to do this much more often,I hope you will too

Have fun!
Lane

Quick & Easy Sauerkraut

What do ya do with all that extra pickle juice after you've eaten all the pickles? Make sauerkraut of course!

I like to find a quick easy way of doing things & since I had all this cabbage (don't judge us; we're a cabbage eating family) and of course a whole half jar of pickle juice after pulling out the last pickle, I decided some sauerkraut is just what we needed.

Just shred it up and throw it in that pickle juice. It's krautie (my own word) after about a week.

Fermented veggies are SOOOOOO good for you! More on that to come ;-)

Valentine Craft

Handprint Bouquet

This Handprint Bouquet craft is a unique and personalized craft to give or keep. Write your own message to the special someone who will receive this great work of art!

Level of Difficulty: Easy


Here's what you'll need...
• Construction paper
• Glue or tape
• Scissors
• Pencil






Here's how you make it...
1. Trace and cut out a handprint, including the wrist and part of the upper arm. Glue or tape it on a piece of construction paper, only glue the arm and palm parts, do not glue any fingers!


2. Cut out green stems and leaves, and colored flowers (you'll have to do this ahead of time for the younger children).


3. Glue or tape your stems into the palm of the hand print and put flowers on top of each of them.


4. Glue or tape each finger over top of the flower stems. Double sided photo mounting squares (used for scrapbooking) work really well for this step. Just stick one on each finger tip and younger children just have to press them in place. But glue and tape work just as well!
5. Write on a special message if you want, Happy Mother's Day, Happy Valentines Day, I love you, be creative!

sock football

 Well its been cold outside and whenever were inside  I feel  of bad because I feel children need to run and play. Well I was  doing laundry and I caught myself constantly saying  no no no.  So as  I was finishing up my son looked so bored so I  tossed a pair of rolled up socks his way.... then it began. Sock football!!! We tossed around all the rolled socks ,it was fun ,simple and an energy waster. We stayed in my closet so my 1 yr old didn't get hurt it was nice how we were  to turn a chore into a game.

Yummy Muffin in a Mug

Try this using diffeent flavors like cinnamon & sugar swirl, banana nut, etc...  Great thing about these is that your kiddos can make their own (age 4 +)


Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp.Almond Flour
• 2 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. Coconut oil
• 1 Large  Egg
• 2 Tbsp. Cocoa

Directions

1. Whisk egg and then slowly drizzle in the melted coconut oil in a coffee cup
2. To the egg and oil add almond flour, flaxseed meal and salt. Mix well with a spoon.
3. Sprinkle with baking powder and mix one more time.
4.  Microwave for one minute.
5. Remove from microwave and dump muffin onto a plate
6. Once cool, split in half and enjoy!