whatever

i am feeling grateful.
i am so happy we live in kansas.
while living in chicago
i missed this so much.

i missed this all around me…livestock and crops and farms.
wide open spaces.
it’s not that i want to touch these cows…
but i enjoy seeing them
and being aware of all the hard work behind farming.
i admire these animals every time i drive to the gym.

in chicago i remember seeing the guy shouting religious things
into a megaphone on the corner on my way to the gym.

never saw this in chicago parking lots…

i can’t recall goats at preschool in chicago either.
ms. trey brought in another baby goat this week.
she was named clover.
so precious.

i know it’s not for everyone of course.
and i love chicago dearly
but i am really happy to be here where we are.

here are some other random things i am grateful for…

happy spaces for toys and books.

licking brownie batter from the bowl…i do it too.
but usually i wear more clothes.

our bird, sunlight.
she gets out of her cage all the time now
and we all dodge her as she flies around he house.
i am happy for her to be flying instead of trapped.

sam’s club…getting stocked up.

family dinners.
they are hard work and tiring
but happy memories are being made.
(i hope)

and spring bursting out.

what are you happy and grateful for today?

what to do on a snow day?
1. stay in bed as long as your five children will allow without fist fighting.
2. make a whole pot of coffee.

3. wake up slowly by reading email and checking blogs.
4. let kids watch their 3rd hour of tv before 10:00 AM.
5. decide to go take a bath (because shower is broken)
6. realize how dirty bathtub is (very dirty) and decide to clean it.

7. clean out the bath toys (throw away half)….
cover tub and walls with soft scrub with bleach.
8. take off clothes because of the bleach
and scrub the tub in my bra and underwear.
seriously.
9. turn on the water to clean off soft scrub.
10. discover that the drain is clogged.
craig had fixed it the night before but now it was worse than it had been.
11. spend 25 mintues trying to fix it myself??
because i am so skilled in plumbing….
still in my bra and underwear.
12. finally get it to go a tiny bit….
enough to have a big cupful go down without stopping.
13. clean off the walls and tub one cup full at a time.

14. run my bath and discover my daughter has used all my bubble bath.
15. settle for other soap and take a bath…
with only four interruptions…there is no lock.
16. get more coffee (and a snack).

17. take a long time getting dressed & drying hair…
to avoid being needed by children.
18. paint toenails.

19. remember the valentines i bought 2 weeks ago.
20. provide an hour of tv free entertainment for 4 of my children.

22. continue day with same old stuff…washing loads laundry in my freezer laundry room…feed the kids lunch…snacks…more snacks…clean up valentines…make dinner…sweep up container of glitter off kitchen floor….bring the rabbit inside…take the rabbit back out…email…send kids off to wednesday night church.
23. relax?
yeah right.

note: i am not complaining about this crazy life.
i just thought it was an extra crazy day in my usually crazy life.

today the plumber had to come and work on the drain.
he tried four different things and then said “oh…that’s not good.”
water pouring all over the dining room floor.
ugh.
it turns out that our plumbing that was put in 100 years ago is getting old.
imagine that.
he called his boss.
there was one thing left to try other than replace plumbing…
(something with a shop vac and a plunger?)
and it worked!

now i have to clean the tub again.

*****************************************************************
annie asked during the memory game this morning….
“can the plumber play memory with us mom?”

today my heart felt full.
happy.
content.
grateful.

the sun was shining!
what a difference that makes.
and other random happy things…

super bowl parties are fun.
even if you never watch one second of the game or even a commercial.
i didn’t burn down the house (almost) when i made these.
they were so yummy.
in my opinion…
and everyone brought lots of other good yummy stuff.
30 kids and nothing broke…that i know of.

i took annie with me to this antique store.
it’s a small store that is packed…
like my giant purse almost knocks things over at every turn.
first you wind through the store of all the breakables & things in glass cases
to get to this….
open the back door to his garage.
(angels singing…bright lights)
this kind of stuff gets me so giddy.
there is so much stuff in there. good stuff.
we were the only people in probably all day i am sure
so he gave annie the grand tour.
he plugged in the electric piano and let her play it.
it lit up when you hit the keys.
he showed her the baby pianos…like Schroeder.
(can you hear the charlie brown music in your head?)

then he showed her the cuckoo clocks.
she burst out in squealing laughter.
i think she made his day.
he gave her a quarter on the way out.
she shouted “bye…hope you has a dood day!”

these were there.
old railroad nails? they looked so graphic.

lauren has a ball game today.
it’s very enjoyable to watch her do something she really likes.
it’s good to see her work hard.
she’s the one touching the ball.

annie is really good at memory.
seriously.
scott quit playing with her yesterday mid-game
because he realized he was going to lose.

and this isn’t really a happy thing…
this wallpaper is awful.
it doesn’t want to leave.
but what IS happy is that there is only one wall left.
it’s ridiculously strong for as old as it is.
jenny…i fear your room won’t be done.
will you still come anyway?
i promise not to wear my $2.34 tinkerbell pajama pants when you are here.
if that helps my plea.

and this was the picture lauren took of me at the super bowl party.
she said “i want a picture of you in your apron.”
hmmmm…what is odd about this photo?
yeah.
where’s the apron?
and why black and white?
i don’t know…she’s 13.
today.
birthday pictures tomorrow.

which reminds me…
i have to make a birthday cake now.

i hesitated posting this recipe
for fear you’d see how simple i am.
but maybe one of you has never made this…
and so this is for you.
as i was making it i was reminded of how much we love it.
i had to share….
easy cream puff squares.

gather your ingredients.
and you will also need…3 squares of baking chocolate.

you start by melting the butter in the water
bringing it to a boil.

add in the flour all at once.
stir about one minute until it looks like this…

remove from heat and let stand five minutes.

place in a mixing bowl
and add in eggs one at a time;
blending throughly between each one.

now you will have a thick yellow batter.

spread it in a 9 x 13 pan.
if i were you…
i’d use a much nicer pan than this throw away aluminum one.
i am using it because i brought this to friend’s party.
and to be polite i planned on leaving it there.
(secretly hoping they would beg me to take it home)

place it in a preheated oven (400)
for 20 minutes.

when you open your oven in 20 minutes…
it’s so exciting!
it looks all puffy and fancy.
prick it with a fork about 10 times,
then stick it back in for another 5 minutes
until it’s golden brown.
the first time i made this…i thought i was an amazing chef.
it sure felt that way.
let crust cool completely.

for the filling…
add cold milk to a mixing bowl and add in pudding mixes.
whisk about 2 minutes until thickened.

fold in 2 cups whipped topping.
(this is almost the entire container minus a few T. for the topping)

spread the pudding mixture on top of the beautiful golden brown crust.
refrigerate 1 hour.

after time in the refrigerator
cut cream puff into squares.
(don’t bother to cut small pieces…no one can eat a small piece of this)

now for the topping.
melt chopped baking squares and cool whip in microwave
for 30 seconds.
stir until smooth.
if you cook it any longer…it will scorch.

place a small ziploc bag over a glass
(like how you line a trashcan)
or if you have someone to hold the bag…go for it.
fill the bag with the melted chocolate.
close the bag.
cut the very bottom corner off of ziploc bag.
(homemade pastry bag)
decorate each cream puff square with some chocolate.
***now you could skip this whole step and use chocolate syrup…
but it’s not nearly as good. serioulsy.***

ENJOY!
keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

craig loves this dessert.
and so do i.
once i made this just for the 2 of us and we ate the whole thing over a weekend.
easily.

*recipe in the sidebar.

i took the morning off.
i got a sitter for annie…left craig sick in bed…
and got to barnes & noble as fast as possible.
do you know how quiet it is there at 10 AM on a weekday?
blissfully quiet.

luxury to me.

i slowly looked through these books.
sipping my coffee
and soaking in the beauty.
my mind was overflowing with so many ideas.
for the house…for crafts…for the garden.
this book was my favorite.
on the cover is a fire pole in the house
and a slide alongside the stairs.
how fun!
ms. kristin and lorel…you’d love it.
i wrote down 2 sheets of notes in my idea book.

the rest of my day was a breeze…
since i ‘d had a taste of freedom.

i baked.
a quadruple recipe of pumpkin muffins
my favorites.

i arranged flowers.

name that movie….
“it’s a 12 lemon centerpiece gary.
i can’t make a 12 lemon centerpiece with 3 lemons.”

look how cute the gerbera daisies are all cozy in their hairnets.

i brought color back to the kitchen
trying to fight those winter blues.

scott remains healthy.
last man standing.

not that craig is anything like this…
but it is funny.

every time i make these
everyone loves them.
or at least they say they do.
and i love them…so that’s what matters i guess.
this recipe was out of a magazine years ago…but i don’t know which one.
they are spicey…but so good.
recipe is in the side bar…with other yummy stuff.

so gather your ingredients…mostly generic is my preference.
but if you want to pay for kraft cheese it may not be as fancy as mine
i am sure you got it on sale…i bet you watch the sale ads…
and cut coupons…and stock up when things are cheap.
you are so smart.
i am so disorganized…in my head.
maybe someday i will get it together enough to cut coupons
and then actually remember to take them to store when i go.

cut up your chicken
if you had a food processor i’d think you could use that?
i usually use 4 or 5 chicken breasts….

use your blender to mix the salsa, water and half the sour cream.
then mix in the rest of the sour cream, cilantro, peppers, chilies, garlic
and cumin and 1/4 c. of the cheese with the chicken in a bowl.
(i have never used cumin…because i have never purchased cumin)
so…it will still be good if you don’t have cumin.
and my family does not like red peppers so i don’t use those either…but you could.

pour about a cup of the green sauce into your 9×13 pan
to keep them from burning on the bottom i assume.

then warm up your tortillas…to help them bend easier…
especially if they are a bit old and stale…like mine were.
don’t tell.
fill each one with about that much chicken mixture…1/3 to 1/2 c.
not too full but not skimping…that may to the one you put on your plate.

fill them all and it will look all sweet and snug like this.
like you tucked them all into bed.
goodnight enchiladas.
as if you don’t say goodnight to your dinners before you bake them…
it’s just the nice thing to do.

pour the remaining sauce over the entire pan.
it’s all full and floaty.
bake for 35 minutes uncovered.
then take it out and cover it with the rest of the cheese.
bake for another 15 minutes.
i realize that this recipe says 1 c. of cheese…oh my.
i use at least 2 cups if not more…because it’s cheese.
so you do what you want…
but we all know cheese makes everything better.
more is more.

totally off the subject…
these salsa jars are perfect for little flower vases.
i love their size.
if you were going to see a new baby or a friend in the hospital…
you could stick some zinnias in there and tie a ribbon around it…perfect size.
i admit that that is why i buy this brand of green salsa.
okay back to the yummy food.

take it out of the oven when all your friends are standing in the kitchen
so they will start to drool.
the husbands get in trouble when they tell their wives to get the recipe.
i have heard more than once…
“i thought you liked my enchiladas?!”
“i do…but these…are really good…and so are yours but…”
so now you have the recipe…he doesn’t have to ask.
just doing my part to help your marriage.

even though it’s full of sour cream….i always serve this with sour cream on the side too.
it’s dairy…we all need more calcium right?
you will love this recipe.
everybody does.