WW: Just how exhausting is it to get the 8 kids, including the twins, ready for church?...

This exhausting...


Alma 7:23: And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times....

I am pleased to list this post at 5 Minutes for Mom's "Wordless Wednesday" and Wordless Wednesday dot com.

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Vegan Calico Beans

Vegan Calico Beans (Serves 16)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegan butter spread
4 medium onions, chopped
1 can green beans
1 can white beans
1 can baked beans
1 can kidney beans
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
Step 2: In a frying pan, saute onions in in vegan butter spread. Thoroughly drain onions
Step 3: Drain green beans and white beans.
Step 4: Combine green beans, white beans, baked beans and their liquid, kidney beans and their liquid, and onions.
Step 5: In small bowl combine brown sugar, vinegar, garlic salt, mustard powder and pepper.
Step 6: Pour over beans and mix well.
Step 7: Pour into a 3-quart casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.
Freezes well either before or after it has been cooked.

(Vegan adaptation of a recipe by Debra Call)

Enjoy!

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Homemaker Monday: Ode to a Seam Ripper

Welcome to the 47th weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs. (By the way, if you have been featured on Homemaker Monday in the past, your name is on my left sidebar. Check it out!)

YOURS: This weeks "YOURS" goes to Katie at Kitchen Stewardship! She posted a beautiful article about balancing our lives as far as cooking, cleaning house and spending time with family. One of the quotes that struck me the most was...

"If I serve a meal with a crabby demeanor, it doesn’t matter what’s on the plate or how power-packed the nutrients are. The family feels poorly when they leave the table because of Mommy’s attitude."

How true is this? How many times have we served meals to our families with a not-so-becoming demeanor because of the difficulties it took to make the meal in the first place, only to ruin what we've worked so hard for?

Katie also writes about the inportance of working together with our family, posting some lovely photos of her family working together, in this particular case, picking strawberries with extended family...


Take the time to read this post. It's well worth it. Click HERE for the link. Thank you so much, Katie! I love your blog and I learn so much from you every time I visit!

MINE: This is a seam ripper...


...and so is this...


This is the 14-year-old girl, and after taking a home ec class this semester, she has developed a liking to the sewing machine. This warms my heart, as I have had a love of sewing since I was a dirt-poor military wife nearly twenty years ago. Unfortunately, however, I have had to put the sewing machine aside for the past four years due to moves, remarriages (or, I should say a remarriage), babies and more moves.

The 14-year-old girl started out her sewing career by constructing a duffle bag, then, while we've been in the states visiting my mother, I encouraged her to try to do a skirt, as we finally had access to fabric stores.

The thing that struck me the most about the 14-year-old girl as she taught herself what to do was her immense patience. She made mistakes to spare on her first skirt (shown above), but she wasn't afraid to use the seam ripper and start all over. Also, to her immense chagrin, when she had to walk away from the machine for more than three seconds, her little brother would deftly jump in front of the chair and push the pedal as hard as he could, causing the machine to stitch, willy-nilly, on the fabric she had left under the needle. Again, she would patiently rip out the new, unwanted stitches and get back to work.

To me, this signified the development of good character. I certainly do not credit myself for this, as then I would have to accept the blame for my children's failures, but this is refreshing to see. How many times in life do we make a mistake, but are not willing to take the proper steps of repentance (i.e. a seam ripper) to make things right. Do we tend to want to try and hide our crooked or puckered "seams", hoping nobody will notice them, or do we really try to rid them from our lives, taking the time to examine them, rip out the offending behaviors, and truly repent of our faults and try to change, letting our unpolluted beauty shine through?


As I watched my daughter rip out the mistakes (or her brother's mistakes) over and over again, I developed a real appreciation for the young woman she is becoming. I want to be more like her, with her patience and enthusiasm, and I want to sew skirts, too!


Here is what she made...

First of all, we purchased this pattern...


We liked it because of it's versatility and summery designs. Here is the first skirt she made, the one with the most ripped seams...




I loved it because of the three contrasting fabric patterns all in the same color scheme. We especially loved the antiqued eyelet lace that finished it off...


Next, she made the following...


What's totally awesome about this skirt is the button fringe trim. We purchased this at Hobby Lobby (it wasn't cheap either) and we agree that it is just precious as it jingles and sways as she moves...


Here, look at it...


Isn't it too cute?

Next, she sewed the following to give to a friend...




This is probably my favorite (and I wish she had made one in MY size). I love the pink pleated ribbon that finishes it off. To me, it looks so dressy...


Last, she put together the following, also for a friend...


I love, LOVE, LOVVVVE. the colors of this fabric. It couldn't be prettier with the white pleated trim...


So there you have it, how the 14-year-old girl is developing her character. Now....to figure out how to inspire the 17- and 12-year-old boys to get busy and stop playing so many video games! Any tips? Thanks for listening and have a great one!

OURS: Okay, what do all of you awesome homemakers out there have for us today. I can't wait to read your tips, recipes, how-tos and inspiration! Thanks for joining us today!



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Let Me Reiterate...

I have a tofu recipe that you won't believe. This evening, upon seeing what I was about to cook up for dinner, the 9-year-old boy gleefully shouted, "Tofu!". I swear. It was with glee. For the recipe, click HERE. Just wanted to share.

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Popular Posts of the Past: Losing a Husband, Twins, and a Mannequin

It's been a while since I've posted, I know, but I've been stressed. I decided to spend a week with my mom, and during our stay, I have realized just how twin-proof I have made my own home. We've tried to make adjustments for them, but some things we just can't change. For instance, her couches are lower than mine, so they can climb on them, never allowing me a moment's rest with my laptop without eight limbs climbing all over me. We've put up three gates, but two of them are so tall that it takes our greatest gymnast skills to get over them every time we need to go to the bathroom. So, yes, I'm stressed. With that, since I've neglected you, my readers, all week, I have decided to post a few links to my most popular posts from the past. Here goes...

-Profund Piles of Laundry is a poignant post about laundry and losing my husband.


-Wordless Wednesday: Sleeping Twins Holding Hands (self-explanatory).

-Wally is about our experience with my father's wish to keep his children safe by making them travel with a mannequin. Read about "Wally's" adventures with police officers and our friendly border patrol!


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Zucchini Pineapple Bread

As I mentioned yesterday, we have lots of zucchini...

...and as if my dearest husband doesn't do enough, he found a great recipe at allrecipes.com for pineapple zucchini bread that is to die for. After some slight modifications, we both feel like this is the bread zucchini bread we have every had the privilege of tasting. Since we have a large family, one recipe of any particular food isn't ever enough, so I usually double it, but since John is super-efficient, he quadrupled it. Here is what a quadruple batch made...

Five full-size loaf pans...


...36 muffins...

...and 5 cakes-in-a-jar


Cakes in jar are so fun because guess what? They allegedly stay fresh for up to a year (at our house they've never lasted that long) so you can always have fresh cake when guests arrive! Here's how you do it... 

Step 1: Sterilize a number of wide-mouth jar lids and rings.

Step 2: Grease a number of wide-mouth pint jars...

Step 3: Mix up a batch of cake or sweet bread. (See recipe below.)

Step 4: Fill jars up half full with mixture...


Step 5: Bake at directed temperature, checking with a toothpick frequently, as cooking time could vary.

Step 6: Immediately upon removing from the oven, tightly screw on the lids and rings and leave out on the counter to seal. You should hear popping sounds as the lids seal, just as if you were bottling fruits or vegetables...


Step 7: When you are ready to use these cakes, just dump the cake out onto a plate. If the cake needs frosting, frost at this time. If not, slice and drizzle with icing if needed. Note: Sometimes you'll need to run a knife around the edge of the jar to get the cake out, but it should still look good on the plate.

Here's the recipe we used for the jar cakes. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Zucchini Pineapple Bread

Ingredients:
3 eggs, beaten (or , if you're a vegan, 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 9 tablespoons water)
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

Directions:
In a large bowl mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil and zucchini.
In a separate bowl mix together the flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the zucchini batter and mix well. Stir in raisins, nuts, and pineapple until just blended. Pour into 2-9x5x3 inch loaf pans.
Bake in a preheated 325 degree F (165 degrees C) for one hour, or until browned.

I am pleased to list this post at...
-Tip Junkie's "Talk to me Tuesday",
-5 Minutes for Mom's "Tackle It Tuesday",
-Tammy's Recipe's "Kitchen Tip Tuesday",
-Blessed With Grace's "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday",
-Mary's "Tightwad Tuesday",
-Jen's "Tasty Tuesday" and
-The Lazy Organizer's "Talk About Tuesday".

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Homemaker Monday: A Chore System That's Working! and... Chocolate Zucchini Cake!

Welcome to the 46th weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs. (By the way, if you have been featured on Homemaker Monday in the past, your name is on my left sidebar. Check it out!)

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" again goes to Sweet Pea over at The Newlyweds! She posts a recipe for chocolate zucchini cake. I decided I HAD to bookmark this recipe because we've got zucchini coming out of our ears. With all that bounty (more than I know what to do with) I'm in desperate need of zucchini recipes, and to me, zucchini + chocolate = LOVE. Here's what this amazing cake looks like...

Thank you so much, Sweet Pea, for this recipe. I can't wait to try it! For The Newlyweds entire post and, as always, tons of great instructional photos, click HERE.

MINE: There is a new word my kids don't like....JURISDICTIONS. I learned about jurisdictions from the Duggar family. You know them, the ones who put me to shame by having currently 18 kids and counting. I once heard Michelle Duggar speak about assigning each child a "jurisdiction" in their home, a place they were to oversee and keep clean throughout the day. This idea fascinated me at the time, and I have finally decided to put it into practice. I have to tell you that it is working out beautifully. For instance, the 12-year-old boy is in charge of keeping the family room clean. In the family room is a large laundry basket full of baby toys that become wildly scattered about every 45 minutes. This is hard for anyone to bear, but we have simply become used to it and have chalked it up to the joys of raising twins. However, when the 12-year-old boy realized that it would be his duty to constantly clean up these toys, he came up with a plan. He asked if he could put all of the small toys in their toy box upstairs in the playroom and just leave a few big toys downstairs. It was a stroke of genius and I immediately decided to support his idea by agreeing with the plan. He is now reaping the benefits!

Another example is the 14-year-old girl's simple act of closing the babies' bedroom door when she's finished cleaning it. If they don't see an open door, they don't go in, and thus, don't wreak havoc. I love, love, LOVE that the kids are finally coming up with ways to improve and, at times, fix the way things are run in our home.

We usually go over our jurisdictions about three or four times a day, once in the morning, once in the afternoon, once before dinner and once after dinner. The kids have learned that if they keep their areas clean during the day, they won't have much to do when I call for jurisdiction check-up time. The appearance of our home has completely changed, and instead of having piles of forgotten moving boxes and other belongings heaped down hallways, along walls and in unused playpens, we now have clean, open spaces and can enjoy our new home! Instead of hearing friends make excuses for me when showing our new home, saying, "She doesn't have a maid. She and the kids try to do all this by themselves. Can you believe that?" I can now show our home without embarrasment!

During the week, everyone just has to do a light cleaning, such as picking up toys and sweeping if necessary. One day during the week however, the deep cleaning takes place, which includes dusting, sweeping, mopping, cleaning toilets and the like. The extra chore, referred to below, is anything I deem necessary to accomplish that week, such as cleaning the windows of the french doors, cleaning the microwave, cleaning out the fridge, or sweeping the cobwebs from the front of the house. Here is the run-down of how we do it....

Me, the Mom:
-Kitchen (except after dinner)
-Laundry (except for folding and putting away the older kids' clothes)
-Laundry Room
-My Bedroom
-My Bathroom
-Water Courtyard Plants
-Sidewalk and Porch Outside Kitchen Door

The 14-year-old girl:
-Trash
-Front Porch
-Toddler and Twin's Room
-Her Bedroom
-Girl's Bathroom (on even days)
-Her Dog and Dog Doo
-Extra Chore

The 12-year-old boy:
-Family Room
-Formal Living Room
-Bedroom Hallway
-His Bedroom
-Boy's Bathroom (on even days)
-Extra Chore

The 9-year-old boy:
-Guest Bathroom
-Guest Hallway
-Gameroom
-His Bedroom
-Boy's Bathroom (on odd days)
-Extra Chore

The 7-year-old girl:
-Courtyard
-Babies' Playroom
-Entryway
-Her Bedroom
-Girl's Bathroom (on odd days)
-Extra Chore

So there you have it. If you try this, let me know if it works wonderfully for you, too!

OURS: Okay, now it's your turn! I'm excited to read what all of you homemakers have for us this Monday. Thanks for joining us today and I hope you have a great one!



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Why Hyrum is Fatter Than Joseph...

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Twins Building Spice Towers: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Here's a glimpse into my day to day living: the twins are using costly spices to entertain themselves, no one has bothered to clean the mud off their faces from when they were playing in the garden, the toddler is naked, the teenage girl is argumentative, the adolescent boy is clandestinely and inexplicably moving spice bottles away from the babies' reach, the 4th-grader is complaining about nuts and the 2nd-grader is bringing up painful memories from my past. It's my life!

P.S. Does it smell like ginger in here?



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