My Dad

My dad
Born January 31, 1946-Died December 29, 2008
My dad earned his PhD just this past year, something that he always wanted. He was my live in babysitter for several years, and loved his grandchildren very much. He was the one I always called when I had questions regarding my remodeling endeavors. He taught me what I know about remodeling, car repair, loving family and God. He lived his life as an example of God's love. He loved his grand babies very much, and cherished every minute he had with them. He thoroughly enjoyed watching them and loving them. He was a positive Christian influence, and glorified God knowing the each of them accepted God as their Saviour. He was there as the youngest decided to ask God into his heart.
I will miss my dad dearly, but know that one day I will see him again. I heart warms knowing that he is in Heaven basking in the Glory of God.

25 Things About Me-Holiday Edition

Welcome to the Holiday edition of 25 Things About Me.

Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy this entire post and paste into a new post. Then change all the answers so that they apply to you.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper...I love to wrap, just like my Grandma
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, too much money to buy a real one every year. I bought my pre-lit artificial tree after Christmas one year for $9.00
3. When do you put up the tree? Anytime after Thanksgiving, when I have time. No less than 2 weeks before Christmas
4. When do you take the tree down? When I get tired of looking at it, one year it was up until Feb. Usually the first week in Jan.
5. Do you like eggnog? NO!!!, Unless it is a full glass of rum with a splash of eggnog.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? The one I remember most was a family gift. It was a VCR.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My sister
8. Easiest person to buy for? Myself! Other than that, my youngest son.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? More than one. Have a Precious Moments one, and one from Ecuador, as well as others.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A pot. My first Christmas married, my new husband bought me one pot for Christmas....that was it.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I don't really like Christmas movies.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Black Friday.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Who hasn't. Of course I have
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Biscuit covered Sausage rolls. aka Pigs in a Blanket. They are only made for Christmas morning.
16. Lights on the tree? White lights. Much easier now, since my tree is pre-light.
17. Favorite Christmas Song? Greensleeves or Little Drummer Boy
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home, unless I have to work. I work every other Christmas, only problem with being a nurse, people are sick 365 days/year
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yea!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel
21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The "I want this". I am very lucky, my kids have only asked for 1 thing each (Twin 1 just wants family form Florida to visit, Twin 2 wants 4 packs of gum, Son 1 wants Nintendo DS-actually he has wanted that for 2 years, son 2 wants a pirate ship)
23. Favorite Ornament theme or color? Birds. Not realistic looking feathery birds, but glass Christmas birds. They have to be small, about 1-2 inches long.
24. Favorite thing for Christmas dinner? Being with family. I don't care what we eat. Usually we have two main courses, ham and lasagna. Don't ask-it's a thing about where I grew up.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? What I really want every year, my kids to be happy and to be with family.

If you do this be sure to leave a comment so we can all stop by and check out your list.

What are the odds??

I did the plumbing yesterday. I have all the new plumbing installed. Had a bit of a problem, another pipe broke. Looking at the bright side.....if plastic pipe broke just by working 3 ft further down the line, then it needed to be replaced. Better it happen while I was working on it, then to burst open once the water was turned back on. My new shower base also came in, so off to Lowes to pick it up. Picked it up, as well as the materials to build the walls around the tub....Finally, or so I thought. I got it home (No, I didn't check it in the store. To check you need to destroy the box. Think----Box = Protection) I got it home, opened the box-looks okay, no major scratches or cracks. Went to put it in, got it in. Oh, how pretty. Stepped on it......CRACK. What? Maybe it's the floor underneath the cracked. Looked at the floor underneath, looks good. Looked at the bottom of the new shower, a place I did not look before. Pieces are cracked and chunks are missing. Looked on the floor, thinking I may have done this. No, the missing chunks are not on the floor. I can't believe that my second new shower base is also damaged. So off to Lowes again today, after taking my youngest to the dentist, taking back the second new shower base and am going to buy yet another new on, this time I am going for the cast iron shower base. It is about $200-$300 more, but I bet they will not be busted before I even get them installed. Am still trying to look at the bright side (is there one..lol), better now then after getting the walls done.
Mom-guess you will not have a new shower when you come, but at least the bathroom will be functional.
Yes, I am more than a little upset. Yes, there is something else I can do in the bathroom, I can put up a new wall, reinstall the sink and toilet, and put up a new medicine cabinet. But all of that is only going to take 1 maybe 2 days at the most. (I only work on the bathroom between the hours of 10am and 1:30pm Tues, Wed and Fri). I want the get the tub done now....See, I am in the mood to do it, and every delay just makes it that much harder to stay motivated. I guess this time next week, I will have the tub, and will be installing it. In 1 week, the walls will be going up. All of this is dependent on the new base coming in in 1 week. I guess I will use this delay to put up Christmas stuff. Time to get the house decorated.

Works for Me.....

I am fairly handy around the house. My dad and grandfather taught me to do quite a bit of home repair and I thank my mom for the courage to try myself. For most people it can be quite scary. What works for me it simple....doing it myself. My dryer broke, I diagnosed it and fixed it. I figured that it was already broken and worst case if I didn't fix it, I would need to buy a new one. Best case, I would fix it for a lot less. I ended up fixing it for $10, and a little time. Same thing with my washer...Best case happened again, this time it didn't cost anything, just a sock in the drain motor. I found a great website that gives detailed troubleshooting and fixing instructions it's called RepairClinic.com. Check it out http://www.repairclinic.com/ it really works for me!!

For more things that work, check out Shannon and her friends at http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/

Monday Morning

'Tis Monday morning, and back to the grind stone for the kiddos. They were excited to get back to school, and see all their friends, yet dreading the schoolwork the will surely follow. I woke early, made the lunches as dropped them off, as I do every school morning. I then got my morning Starbucks (Venti Caramel Macc, no foam, extra caramel, with whip.....the employees know me so well that I don't even have to tell them what I want, they see me and just start making it...Gotta love them) and came home to make soap. I really wanted to make it with the girls, but the bathroom took over. Since I only had 2 hours this morning before I have to head back to school, I made it. I can't wait till tomorrow when I get to cut it.....exciting. It really is easy, and only took about an hour, and it will yield about 12-18 bars depending on how I cut it. Now I just have to get the bath fizzes made....teacher gifts. Gotta go, almost time for school (I am a recess monitor at my kids' school.)

Giveaway

I just found this site that is having a holiday giveaway...check it out
http://pankratzfam.blogspot.com/

Getting it done

Well, even though I was working this weekend, I was able to get some more done in the bathroom. As you can see, I have the flooring down. I still have a little trimming, and need to tape it down, but it is down. It looks much better in person. Now that I have the floor down, and have to wait for the new shower base to arrive, I will do the walls. I should have the walls done on Tuesday, with the plumbing done on Wednesday. Then the shower base should be back in....then the fun begins. I doubt if I can get it all done before my parents come from Florida...but at least it will be functional again (minus shower).

Flooring

I am finally installing the sub-floor. After we all ate our turkey dinner, I started. I have the new sub-floor down, and am almost ready to apply the thin-set mortar to install the Duarock floor. I have chosen to do it this way to prevent potential water damage.....better safe that sorry. Unfortunately, I unwrapped the new shower base only to discover that there is a major flaw...there's a crack in the base. The biggest problem is that it is a special order item, and it takes a week to come in. So tomorrow I will need to take it back to have a new one ordered. At least I have other work that I can do in the mean time...ie plumbing and walls. I probably will only do the plumbing, but who knows, I may tackle the wainscoting walls. This time tomorrow, I plan on having the new vinyl flooring down. We will see, depends on how long it takes at Lowes for the return/re-order. Need to get a going and get that Duarock down so it can start setting up (mortar takes a while to dry)

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. Personally, today I am reminded how lucky I am that I know how to do the bathroom. I am thankful for my dad who taught me, my mom who encourages me to tackle things that I may fear that I can't do, children who enjoy helping, children who all have accepted Christ as their Savior and who love the Lord, a job that pays the bills and allows me to be home with the kids during the week, a home that I can afford, and life in general.

Check out this Giveaway

Hey, here's another giveaway to check out. This is for Black Friday. There is a new drawing every hour on the hour starting at 7am. Go grab your number now.
http://kandykissesboutique.typepad.com/

Giveaway-Womp’Em Sticks

Head over here for a great giveaway
http://crazydogslife.blogspot.com/2008/11/whomp-em-sticks-review-giveaway.html
They are giving away Womp’Em Sticks.

Finally

Finally-the DEMO IS DONE!!! YEA!! After the girls and I finish the cleaning then I get to install. I am not removing all the old plaster walls, just going to cover with wainscoting. I guess it's cheating, but why do more work than is really needed (more work means more money that would need to be spent to fix)

WFMW-Home Made Cranberry Sauce/Bathroom Demo Completion

I hate canned cranberry sauce...so do my kids. It is terribly tart and to me just plan yuck. However, give me homemade, yummy! The great thing about homemade, you can make it as sweet or as tart as you like. In keeping with the holiday, WFMW-Homemade Cranberry Sauce-super easy and yummy.

1-12oz bag of whole cranberries

1 cup of sugar (more if you want it sweeter)

1 cup of water

Place all ingredients in a heavy sauce pan. Cook on med-high until boiling and all cranberries have burst (once boiling it is only minutes). At that point you can place in a bowl, I however place in a blender to blend then place in a bowl. You can also skim off the burst cranberries if you prefer a jelly instead of a jam-your choice.

I am almost done with the bathroom demolition. My plan is to have it completed today, as well as prepare what I can for tomorrow. We are eating our meal at noon tomorrow, so everything that can be made ahead needs to be done. I plan on installing the sub-floor for under the tub tomorrow, like I have nothing better to do....ha ha. I need to do it tomorrow while I have help to carry in the 3ft by 5 ft piece of 1/2 in plywood....it's too big and bulky for just me to handle. The sooner I get it in, the sooner the shower base can go in. Yahoo!!!

Already this morning I have been the the grocery store and bought my last minute supplies for dinner tomorrow. I have also been to Ace Hardware to by the rest of the pluming supplies for the shower base. Took my youngest to school (he was late for the bus). Made my cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and started the green beans. My girls helped me tip and snap the beans, so that was a big help. I also removed the remainder of the tile floor....just a little more wall tile to remove and demo is done!! Been a little busy, but the sooner it is done, the better.

Well, I got a lot of work left to do today, so I better get going. Have a great day!

Don't Do This At Home....

Here is a picture of my boys. This is one of my favorite pictures. It is so typical of them. They really love each other a lot, love to fight, wrestle, joke...being brothers.

Yesterday I had quite a scare, other than my oldest being sick. I was trying to wash my hands, but instead of getting a squirt of soap in my hands.....it went in my eyes. OUCH!!!! I immediately flushed my eye with loads of water. I called my eye doctor, and luckily they could see me right away. I am a little touchy about my eyes, see I had Lasik eye surgery about 1 yr ago. Even though I flushed the soap out of my eye, it was still burning and felt like there was something in it, and my eye was starting to swell. I got right into the doctor. They looked, and sure enough there was something wrong. It seems that the soap and flushing caused a minor corneal abrasion. The doctor said that it wasn't that bad, more like a carpet burn, but it was there. The doctor said it should heal very quickly, but it will hurt for a couple of days, but each day should be better. This morning it is feeling so much better, still stings, but nothing like it was.

My shower came is late last night, so off to Lowes to go pick up the base. Since I had such a terrible weekend, I am a little behind in the remodel, but will just need to pick things up this week....fun.

Sick Pup Update/Work

Well I had to take my eldest to the doctor today. He has been sick all weekend. He is still running fevers and started coughing terribly yesterday. The doctor said that he has the start of an ear infection as well as pneumonia, so antibiotics to start. At least he should be better for Thanksgiving.

This weekend at work was terrible. I am an on-call hospice nurse, and I love it. I love the dying individual, and their needs are so different from other patients. I do hospice, because I love the challenge and needs of the dying individual and family. I go to people's homes when there is a need (pain control, emotional support, death pronouncement). When I work weekends, I start work at 6:30pm on Friday and stop at 8am Monday morning. Normally those hours are not a problem, since most of the time I may only have a few visits all weekend long. This weekend was an exception. I had a 2 hr visit Friday night, went to bed at a decent hour (11pm), woke up Saturday morning around 8am. I had to leave my house 8:30am Saturday morning, and I did not get home until 10:30pm that night. I then had a call at 1:30am...off I went, just to get home at 5:30am. Tried to sleep in a bit, but back out the door at 7:30am, finally home around 5pm. Just to get a call at 8pm requiring me to go out yet again....figures, given the holiday approaching. Mind you, most of my time at work is driving. I figured that I drove approx 700miles all weekend long. I still feel like I have been run over, just need to catch up on my lack of sleep. I only made a total of 10 visits, which is really not that many given the number of miles I drove and the number of actual working hours. I love my job, and the hours, since I can be home with my kids all week long, when I have them. I make the trade-off of working all weekend, in exchange of being with the kiddos. Good trade-off if you ask me. This schedule entitles me to work full-time with limited work days. This is why I can remodel then house all week long. I am not a Super Woman by any stretch of the imagination, just crazy....tee hee.

To learn more about hospice care please visit The Hospice Foundation of America at

http://www.hospicefoundation.org/

One Sick Pup/Making Soap

Well, my eldest is under the weather. On Wednesday afternoon, I had to pick him up from school early, because he was starting to run a fever. He had to stay home from school Thursday and today. He is running a fever of 101.2. That's it, no vomiting, no stuffy nose, just a fever. Of course, when he is running a fever his head hurts and joints ache, but isn't that normal for anyone running a fever over 101?

Because he is sick, and this is my week to work, I haven't been able to do much on the bathroom. I did however buy the new shower base, faucet, and plumbing supplies. I had to order the base and it will be in on Tuesday November 25. That should give me just enough time to put in the rough plumbing (re-run the supply lines-since I had to remove the old because they were falling apart), place sub-flooring plywood over the existing sub-floor (just for added support, as well as filling in a huge gaping hole from where they cut out the old sub-floor for the old tub drain), as possibly lay down the new vinyl floor. If I don't get the rough plumbing done, it is not that big of a deal, because I can still do it after the tub is in place, but it is easier to access without the base in place. I can't wait to go back to Lowe's and buy the tile. I am really getting excited. It is fun to watch it all come together.

Next week my oldest 3 have no school. They have Thanksgiving break. They will need to help me in the bathroom for sure. One day next week, I plan to have a soap making day. Me and my girls will make soap. I plan on giving soap and fizzy bath bombs to the teachers as Christmas presents. I've made soap in the past, and it is fun to watch the fats and lye transform into soap. In school the girls have been studying matter and how you can change matter from liquids to solids by adding heat or other chemical reactions. I thought that it would be fun for them to see the chemical reaction take place by stirring. (Yea, I'm a science geek). My mom always says that I live at Little House on the Prairie.

Works for Me Wednesday-Easy & Cheap Wallpaper Remover

Easy & Cheap Wallpaper Remover.....no, it is not an oxymoron. Since I live in an old house, with lots and lots of wallpaper (every wall in my house has wallpaper), I have tried everything and spent loads of $$$ on products to remove wallpaper. I have found that the easiest is just plain old hot water. It's very simple and the cheapest. Fill a spray bottle with hot tap water (hot water tends to work a little better, but cold tap water works too). Score the wallpaper, and then spray the wallpaper until it is soaked. Let the wallpaper sit for 15-20 minutes(1 cycle), repeat the cycle for a minimum of 2 cycles before trying to scrap off. It is best to lightly spray before trying to scrap off. I have found that going through at least 4 cycles is even better. When I have done this, and gone through 4 cycles, then the old wallpaper can be pulled off almost in full sheets. Basically, by using water, what is happening is the glue is being turned back into liquid. With this method, you will have to wash the old glue off the walls with a sponge, but better than spending hours on end scraping and scraping and scraping. Good luck with your wallpaper removing.

Winter

Let the snow fall. I am so ready for some snow....especially after a small taste of it last night. We had a few snow flurries, and a slight dusting (very slight) over night. I guess that I am just a kid at heart...I LOVE SNOW. Don't get me wrong, I have shoveling the driveway, but I love the look of snow all over the trees and ground. I love waking in the morning seeing the ground covered in the fluffy white stuff.

My plan for the day is to cut out the rest of the plaster from the walls. I need to cut the top edge of the plaster (means tons of plaster dust everywhere) with my circular saw, then remove the remaining plaster and chicken wire that holds the plaster up. Once that is done....plumbing (yea).

Guess that I should put dinner in before I start working in the bathroom. We are going to have pot roast for dinner....pot roast in crock pot....gotta love it.

Bathroom

Hooray...THE TUB IS OUT!!!! I am just so happy to see it gone.

More Bathroom

As you can see, the bathroom remodel is still coming along. In order to get the tub out, I had to remove the toilet and sink. Tomorrow the tub will finally be gone! Hooray!!! As soon as the tub is gone, I can really get down to business. Out will come the rest of the walls around the tub, will be able to order the new shower base, install the new plumbing, install the new shower base, then the new walls. After the new walls go up, then it will take a little to get the new tile up. After the tile goes up, then the new walls in the rest of the bathroom. I plan on doing wainscoting, using bead board panelling. The nice thing about the wainscoting bead board is that it will cover where the old tile was removed (hides things and looks good). Then on to painting, flooring, and finally installing the sink and toilet, and maybe a new mirror and lights. It's called bathroom remodel on a budget of $2000 or less....can it be done? So far I have estimated the cost of supplies to be $1100. Yes, I think I can do it. Amazing how much money one saves by doing things themselves.....DIY Network does pay off.

Baked Fried Chicken, and twins

Twin #1 is in red

Twin #2 is in blue.

They are 8 yrs old, and my middle kids. I have boys flanking them. They all love to fight with each other, but the love each other very much. I will show you pictures of my boys later. You have seen my youngest already, he is the one helping me tear apart my bathroom. Back to my recipe swap.

Gayle over at http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/ is having a recipe swap, so here is mine. This is my girls favorite, and it is real simple.

Baked Fried Chicken

Ingredients

6-8 pieces of chicken

1 cup of Bisquick

1 tsp salt and pepper

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp parsley

1/4 stick of butter

Heat oven to 400 degrees, cut butter into quarters and place in baking pan. Melt butter in pan.

While butter is melting, place all ingredients except butter and chicken in a bowl and mix (can add spices to suit taste). Coat chicken with Bisquick mixture. Place chicken, skin side down, in pan/butter. Cook for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, then decrease temp down to 350 degrees and turn chicken over. Cook for 30 minutes more, or until done. That's it. Serve with your favorite sides, we like mashed potatoes and green beans.

By the way, the answer to your questions is "No, it is not the same girl, and Yes, they are twins" Actually, when people usually ask I tell them that "No, they are not twins, but it was a buy one get one free sale at the hospital". As a mom of twins, you get certain questions asked over and over. The other answer to your question is, "I tell them apart by looking at them, they don't look alike." I love being a mom of twins, but certain questions get old after a while. My girls like different things, and have totally different personalities. It makes sense, since they are different people. That is the one thing I wish people would understand about identical twins, they are different people. They have different likes and dislikes.

Rainy Day

Today has been one of those lazy rainy days. Haven't done much of anything, and now I have 4 whining kids home from school. Twin #1 is complaining that Son #1 stole her gum from the car, and twin #2 is whining that she has to read for homework, and Son #2 is complaining that he can't go outside to play. Put on top of all that, my throat is starting to feel sore, and my ear ache....one cranky house. Just can't wait for the real whining to start when twin #1 has to put the dishes up, son #1 take out the trash, twin #2 clean the table, and son #2 help mom with the laundry.....then the real drama will unfold. Today is really a day that I can't wait for bedtime to come fast enough.

Tomorrow will probably not be much better. I have to do some plumbing, so I can remove a bathroom sink (the turn off valve leaks when turned to the off position), remove the bathroom sink and toilet (so the tub can be removed), more laundry (never stops...2 loads a day regardless), take the girls to a church bonfire, take the boys out to dinner (since they can't go to the bonfire...girls only), go to the grocery store to buy marshmallows for the bonfire, try to get in touch with someone to help remove the tub (only weighs 300-400 lbs), so on and so on. Still need to put the pool up from the summer. I have it all down, and just need a little help folding it up to put it away. My list keeps on growing larger and larger by the minute, but so is life in a big family.

Works For Me

This is a great recipe for cleaning whites. It will get almost any stain out of white clothes....and with 4 kids wearing white uniform shirts everyday, I have a lot of need for a great stain remover.
Word of warning: use in a well ventilated area, the fumes are wicked....but not harmful.
1 cup bleach
1 cup vinegar
1 cup baking soda
place bleach and vinegar in a big pan (dishpan works great), fill the pan up hot water. Add the white clothes, then add the baking soda. Once the bubbling stops, the stains should be gone...I tend to let the clothes sit for 15 minutes...once done sitting, I rinse the clothes, and then wash as normal. Gets the clothes so white, and stain free.
Have bought used stained drapes, and table cloths, used this recipes, and poof-just like new.

Another tip-
To get blood out of clothes, use hydrogen peroxide. Just poor on the spot, the peroside will bubble and remove the blood. Sometimes, you may need to keep pouring more on and may need to rub, but it will eventually get the blood out. Just rinse the peroxide from the clothes with cold water.

~The Handmade Quilt-er~: Win This Quilt (My Giveaway)

~The Handmade Quilt-er~: Win This Quilt (My Giveaway)

Time

There are just not enough hours in the day. I have so much to do, and not nearly enough time to do it all in. Laundry, dishes, vacuuming, shopping for a new toilet seat, bathroom remodel, cooking dinner, and homework with the kids. Guess a mother's work is never done.

Just Another Day

Just another day working, which means another day driving around the state of Maryland. While driving I will be thinking of everything I have to do at my house that I can't get done....laundry, dishes, that bathroom. One day soon I will have that tub out (my goal for this week). Well, don't have much time, gotta get ready to leave and start my day.

Odds and Ends

This first picture is of a flower that I saw while on a field trip with my twin girls. We went to a nature center. At the center they were talking about how seeds travel, and the different types of seeds. I really loved the trip, except that I would have loved to have more time to actually look. Kinda hard to do while watching 5 8yr olds that only wanted to run around the labyrinth.

Any one tell me what kind of flower this is?

This picture is of my littlest helping to tear down my bathroom walls. Yes, all that wall is now down with this little ones help. Every day that little guy comes home from school, he begs me to bang more in the bathroom. He has done a great job ripping out walls, tearing up tile floors, cutting out plumbing. Is it wrong to let a 5 yr old do these types of times??? Then again, I did let this little one cut down a 20-30ft tree with an axe all by himself.

I like to save money where I can, even if that means letting the little ones do the labor, but is it wrong if they want to do it?

Nature of the Beast

As you all know, I have been remodeling my 3rd bathroom. My youngest son has been helping a lot with removing the walls. Well, I am now down to removing old plumbing. Yesterday, I was in the tub, working at removing some of the plumbing. I was sitting on the edge of the tub, the one that I am trying my hardest to free up to remove, and decided that I needed to change my angle, and try to work at the plumbing from behind (through a 2 ft by 1 ft access panel). I started to swing my leg over the tub, but it got caught on something. Down I went, banging the back of my head on the sink on the way down. Trying hard to catch myself, yet keeping myself from getting too torn up from the shards of ceramic tile littering the floor (had to remove part of the old ceramic floor tile to be able to remove that d*** tub). Checking myself, well, can't be too bad, no major bleeding, and I can still walk.....barely. Looking at my foot, I've got myself a good bruise on the left little toe. Foot still hurts like the dickens, but no break or dislocation...just my pride. Today, I am back at it, almost have the old plumbing out. I still need to somehow figure out how to remove the old faucet, but it is coming along slowly.

My Favorite Store

I went to my favorite store again today. My youngest was so excited to be able to go. Giant Eagle has free child care for shopping moms. Giant Eagle is a grocery store. They also offer money back towards gasoline, as well as good prices on items I buy. After check-out, I looked at my receipt and was surprised to find that I can save $2.20 per gallon of gas....Regular unleaded is a whopping $2.19/gallon. I quickly went to the gas station and proceeded to spend a whole $1.85 on 18.5 gallons of Super Unleaded. That works out to a total of $0.09/gallon. I could have splurged and spent $0.19/gallon on Premium, but, I thought that Premium might break my budget..lol.
That's why I love Giant Eagle.

Crockpotalooza/Soup

OK, here it goes. This is something that I made just the other day in my crock pot. My kids loved it, and wanted it for lunch the next day. The soup recipe is about the only soup my kids will eat.

Sorry, but my amounts are estimates, but I don't cook by exact measurements, but by looking to see if it looks right-esp with the soup recipe

Bar-B-Que Pork Pull

3 lb fresh Pork Roast
1 18oz bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/4 cup water

Place all in crock pot in following order: roast, bbq sauce, water. Cook on low for at least 4 hrs. Take roast out of crock pot and pull apart with two forks pulling in opposite directions-the roast should be so well done that it should almost fall apart. Place back in crock pot, and add more sauce. Keep on low/warm until ready to eat. Add buns, and you have an easy no fuss meal.

This recipe can be easily doubled, this recipe was enough for 6 of us, with some left over.

Chicken Pastina Soup

6-8 pieces of leg and thigh chicken
1 gallon of water (give or take)
1-2 heaping tablespoons of chicken bouillon
1 bag of baby carrots (can used regular carrots, just cut to bite sized pieces)
2-3 celery stalks cut in bite sized pieces
3/4-1 box of pastina pasta (pastina is very tiny star shaped pasta)
2-3 big pinches of herb de province (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste


Boil the chicken in the water, until the chicken meat can be removed. Remove the bones, and place meat back in the water, add chicken bouillon, carrots, herbs, and celery. Return to boil. Boil until carrots are well done. About 15-20 minutes before getting ready to eat, add pastina. Eat and enjoy. Please keep in mind that left over soup will thicken because of the pasta. Left overs may require you to add more water.

This is the only soup my kids love. It is a basic chicken noodle, just that the noodles are tiny star pasta.

5 yr olds and dentists

I had to take my 5 yr old to the dentist yesterday. I take all my kids to a pediatric dentist, and they all fight to be the first one in the chair. They all love going to the dentist. Well, the little one has two cavities and they needed to be filled. Next appointment date available, January 2009. Appointments made. Well, last night they called and they had 2 appointments available, one today, and one tomorrow. Well, I jumped at the chance....off to the dentist this morning we went. Since I go to a pediatric dentist, they always give sedation to the very young, just to make sure they have positive experiences, and do not fear the dentist. This morning I have to give a 5yr old Valium, then off to the dentist we go. They started the laughing gas, numbed the mouth, cavity fixed, off to home we go. On the way home, my little one is trying to talk....it is so funny to listen to a 5 yr talk with his first numb lip, and high on Valium. We are now back home, eating lunch (mashed potatoes and mac & cheese for him, mashed potato chicken bowl for me), watching The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.....Veggie Tales. What could be better for a 5 yr old but staying home from school, eating your favorite, and watching Veggie Tales?

AND THE WINNER IS?????

As the crowd fills the field in anticipation of the game to start, the players are anxiously awaiting for the prior game to finish and their chance to show how tough they have become since their last meeting in the beginning of the season. The last time these two teams meet, the Bulldogs were victorious with the score of 12-6. Will this time be different? Will the top ranked Bulldogs win again, or will the Lions prevail?

The Bulldogs' stands are filled to capacity. The entire football family came out to watch the first ever Division II bowl game. The coaches for all the different teams {flag(4-6yr), mini-pony DI and DII(7-8yr), pony DI(10yr), JV DI and DII(11-12yr), Varsity(up to 8th grade)} are there to watch and cheer their Pony DII players. Pony cheerleaders are there (normally they only cheer for the DI games, but this game is special). All the DI pony players, and half the JV DII players are there. It is wild to see all the support for our little boys. On the other side of the field......where are the fans...wait, there's 1 or 2. Mind you, the Bulldogs had to drive 45 minutes get to the field, the Lions.....their home field is hosting the bowl games

Look at those Lions, they are huge. Wait, are they all DII players? What do you mean they might be playing some of the DI players? This is a DII game, not a DI game. (DI is division 1, DII is division 2....DI are the better players, and mostly 10yrs old, DII players are mostly 9yrs old).

The coin is tossed, Lions win the toss and choose to defer to the second half. We (the Bulldogs) choose to receive the kick-off. The hits are hard, the tackles keep coming. We are unable to move the ball anywhere. Ball turned over to the Lions. They move the ball to their 1 foot line, unable to breakthrough. Our Bulldogs stand their ground. We get the ball on the 1 foot line. Four plays later, we couldn't get the first down, and the Lions see the ball in their hands again. This time they are able to punch though the line, and the crowd becomes silent, as the Lions strike first. No worry, are boys are tough, plus, we now get the ball back. Kick-off, we have the ball on our 40 yard line. The ball is handed off to #5. He breaks through several tackles, one last man to get through then open field ahead. Can he break one more tackle......HE GOT THROUGH. RUN, GO, GO....Oh no, he tripped on his own feet at the 1 yard line. The ball is snapped, the Bulldogs bite back. Score tied 6-6. There it will stay for the rest of the first half.

Second half starts. What did our coach say to our boys? They look like a totally different team out there. They are punching through the offensive line like crazy. Tackles and Sack abound. They are really applying the pressure. Lions are unable to do anything with the ball. Bulldogs have the ball, we keep nipping away at those yards. Every 3 plays or so, huge bites. Those Bulldogs must be starving. We are the next ones to strike and score...bonus time-we even made the extra point attempt. Check the scoreboard.....Bulldogs 13 Lions 6. Lions ball-nothing, unable to move, and turnover on downs. Bulldogs ball.....we are able to push it all the way to the 2 yard line, unable to punch it through. Lions ball. They throw it up for a long pass....interception...RUN, RUN, RUN........YEAH!!!!! Bulldogs 19 Lions 6. Third quarter over. Fourth quarter starts. Second string players will play the remainder of the game, not giving up anything. BULLDOGS WIN!!!!! BULLDOGS WIN!!!!! BULLDOGS WIN!!!!! Now I can stop screaming.

One parent turns to me and tells me, I never thought that anyone was louder that Coach ****, but you take the cake. Football father #1 turns to her and says.....Shoebee is the best FOOTBALL MOM, she just doesn't cheer for her kid, but all the kids. Shoebee blushes....Now, the long drive home with an over excited, overly hungry, sweaty, stinky boy in the car. Driving out of the fields, all the Bulldogs family laughs and points at my car......Written all over the car was GO BULLDOGS GO in good ole Blue and Gold.

*pictures were from first meeting with the Lions.

The Big Game

Today's the day for the big game. My eldest has his footbal bowl game today. So far the team has lost just one game, the first one; and that was by 1 touchdown in the last play of the game. Today, they play one last game. He is so excited and saddened at the same time. Excited to play, sad to see the football season come to a close. This is his first season playing football, and he has fallen in love with the game. He is looking forward to playing again next year......and in college. I am so proud of him. He has been working hard and learning many life skills. He has learned that once you make a commitment, you must stick to it, even if something more fun comes along. He has learned how to work together with a team to acomplish a task. Also, life may give you bumps and bruises, but working hard and pushing through will give rewards.

Never thought that I would be a football mom.

Bathroom

As you all can tell, this is one big mess. It is hard to tell in this picture, but the big hole that you see is the wall with the faucets. Now, if I can get the rest of the plaster off. The fun part is looking through all the different possibilities and deciding on what the room will look like once done. I have a feww decisions already made, but some are still up in the air.

I will keep you all up to date on the progress.

Bathroom Remodel

As I start my blog journey, I start with my escapades of my new project in my wonderful ole house. To introduce, I must let you all know that I live in a grand 90yr old farmhouse. The little house is a mere 3000 sq feet. My mom calls it the Little House on the Prairie. This house has wonderful qualities, but with any old house, many issues. I love the great hardwood floors, the french doors, and all the old wood. The built in buffet, and ironing board (that is used more for cutting apples than ironing), a wood stove, and huge sunken garden tub.
Now with the issues, I have one bathroom that the tub leaks. The problem is with the drain, well, that is not the only problem. The other issue is that the faucets and drain are 50+ yrs old, and they do not make them any more, so they must be replaced. It would be nice if I could do a straight replacement, however, there are 5 faucets and the spicket is where the overflow drain should be. Whoever put it in did quite a terrible job. The tiling job is quite interesting. They glued the tile up. The best part is what is behind the tile, old plaster, but wait, there is somthing on the plaster, it looks like porceline. The fun part will be taking down all that old porceline covered plaster, then removing the wire mesh to get down to the studs. This morning I went to my favorite store, Ace Hardware, and bought a crowbar, started swinging the crowbar on the plaster. My 5 yr old was watching me and he had the best line, "Mom, you're crazy. You just put a hole in the wall." He then went on to tell me that if I put a hole in the wall, then it would be a mouse hole, for the mice to get in. Gotta love kids. He is having a great time helping, but then again, it is so much fun to destroy things.
Well, I will keep you all up to date on my wonderful escapades in the bathroom, and the rest of my life. Hope you keep reading.