Menu Plan Monday

I had to share this piece of dried Papya in the shape of California. I did eat it. That's why I took the picture.


Monday
B- Crockpot Oatmeal
L- Nuggets and Fries
D- Sloppy Lentils

Tuesday
B- Applesauce Oat Bran Muffins
L- Annie's Mac and Cheese
D- Trader Joe's Veggie Pasta Blend

Wednesday
B- Cereal, Fruit, Hard boiled eggs
L- Smoothies and PB and J
D- Hummus, chips veggies and smoothies (quick, easy dinner before church)

Thursday
B- Carrot cake Oatmeal
L- Hummus and Veggies to take to Paula's
D- Crockpot Mac and Cheese

Friday
B- Muffins from freezer
L- PB and J, fruit, carrots
D- Crockpot Honey Orange Tofu

Saturday
B- Cereal, Hard boiled eggs (whatever I am going out)
L- Nuggets, PB and J, Leftovers, whatever looks good. I am hoping not to be home long.
D- Tomato soup and Grilled Cheese

Sunday
B- Crockpot Grits
L- Out
D- Nachos (using my friends Paula and James' recipe)

Snacks for the week:

Organic Chocolate Chips Cookies (from mix)
Pumpkin Brownies
Seasoned Chickpeas
Cinnamon Rasin Bread
Dried Fruit
Granola Bars

Check it out here.

Dog slippers for a dog

Yesterday evening after having a good case of cabin fever set in I decided we needed to get out of the house and ice cream sounded like as good a reason as any. So we piled in the van and set forth on a cruise to get some. I decided that we should go to the DQ in Ocean View. It's a ways from the house but a nice drive. Audy decided on the way that she wanted something to eat more than just ice cream. So we got hot dogs, chips and our free kid cones. When we do fast food we go through the drive thru and eat in the van I can't chase kids around a fast food joint. I am just not going there. With my spirited brood it turns crazy fast.

So I get parked in my chosen spot. Hop out and jump in the back with the kiddos and dole out the food. Kids of course getting there kid cones first. Cause this is an ice cream trip, so no "real food" first. As we are eating a lady walking a schnauzer in a camo shirt stroll by. Audy then informs me that "that dog is wearing a dress". Ummm... explanation Audy has recently decided that all shirts, dresses, clothing items worn on the torso are dresses. Ok moving on, I then say, "Hey Ellie wears dresses do you think we should get one for her for Christmas?" Ellie is my sister-in-law Leah's adorable teacup poodle chihuahua mix puppy. "No she needs puppy slippers" Background, Last year for Christmas Leah found Audy slippers that look just like Ellie. "That would be funny Audy. But what if we made Ellie Audy slippers?" She balked she didn't really like that idea.

Then we finished eating and jammed out all the way home to For The Kids Three. I am a sucker for a good song about poop. And when done by one of my favorite duos what could be better. Me (pronounced Mae) sent that and this for our impending road trip. I think this is going on my must get list now.

WTH?

Ok so I was just checking my email. In my email box was an email ad from JoAnn's I am reading along and I come upon this craziness. I am just wondering why someone couldn't just use a stereo on headphones. Why would someone need a piece of junk like this. Sorry if ou like it but I just don't get it.

An intresting Thanksgiving.

(Check out this little cutie I have to be thankful for.)

Ok so I was really bummed about Thanksgiving yesterday. My husband is gone. We didn't get invited to celebrate with anyone. Thinking about spending the day in my messy house with my kids who don't yet really get the holiday, with no special food to eat. No turkey in the oven. No hustle, no bustle. Just a parade and a dog show to watch.

Well I woke up this morning in a much better mood about the whole thing. I am going to make few yummy dishes with what I have in the house. Celebrate our traditions even if Dave isn't here. We can watch the parade and the dog show. I can clean the house a bit. Play with the kids. And enjoy the day even if it isn't the traditional Thanksgiving I wish I could have. It will be fine.

So Enjoy your day and I'll enjoy mine.

Wow I crafted.

Ok so I made the extra effort tonight to get the kids to bed at a decent hour so I could have some time to myself to sew. And this is what I made an apron for someone special on my Christmas List. I don't think they read this blog but just to be safe I won't say who.
They had better appericate it too cause I got my finger creamed by the sewing machine in the process. I am sure that only happened cause I wasn't paying close enough attention. Seeing as I had a bit of a stressful day taking kiddos to the ER because the decided that Reese's Pinworm Medicne would be a good snack. Then fining out it wasn't a big deal. Well it could have been but it wasn't. Glad I didn't have to go back to the ER for myself. This was our first ER trip for injury or stupidity. Yes I just called my kids stupid. But they are sooooooo far from stupid. Stupid kids don't figure out how to move a chair half way across the house quietly enough that Mom doesn't hear what's going on and proceed to scale said chair and get on kitchen counter open dish cabinet and find the one random medicene that isn't with the other medicenes in the bathroom closet that is hard for mom to open. No olny smart kids do stuff like that. And they happen to be 2 years old and named Amelie. Now the Master Mischeife Maker at the Spritely Household.
Ok back to happy crafty thoughts I found this cute fabric in a bag of random fanric that I got at the thrift store awhile back. Yes, that is a Rizt cracker. It's all I could find to show the size at that moment. And then I thought it was funny. Anyway, I am going to make some napkins and if its soft enough after I wash it I'll make some hankies out of it as well.

So anyway, heres to a better day tomorrow.

Ice Cream Remix

Ok so I made another batch of soy ice cream. I used a mango that was sitting in the bottom of my fridge, 1 1/2 bananas that I had tossed in the freezer, and some soy Very Vanallia Silk soymilk. Thats it. It was way to bananaeeeeeeeey. You could barelt taste the mango. It was still yummy. Just not what I had been hoping for.

Oh well I'll keep trying things out and then I'll have good recipes for when Dave gets home and he'll never have to try the flops. Although I am sure he would enjoy trying all the flops. I miss my Schmoopise Poo.

Friday Food Bite

So I just ate this very yummy treat. Apricot Soy Ice Cream. I recently found the ice cream maker at the thrift store marked down to $1.99 originally a whopping $2.98. But anway I have been wanting one for a long time so I had to have it. Its a hand crank variety but so awesome. So on to the recipe


1/2 cup dried apricots
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup honey (The original recipe calls for 3/4 but its too much for me. I won't use that much
2 cups soy milk ever again.)


So to start you cook the apricots in the water , in a covered saucepan, until they are soft. Then you throw that in the blender. Ok don't really throw it. Boiling hot water and throwing really shouldn't be ion the same sentence.

Ok so you have pureed the fruit in it cooking liquid. You add the honey. Blend some more. Once that's mixed add the soy milk. Blend again.

So then you pour it in your ice cream maker and follow your manufacturer's instructions. Mine say it stir 2-3 times every few minutes for about 20 minutes.

You could really do this with any fruit puree. I am gonna try it with a mango I have in the fridge. Maybe even some pumpkin. The yummy ideas that are a flowin'.



Look at that tasty goodness. What's not to love. Oh yeah and in the background there is wine in a jar. Yeah I am classy like that.

My Baby!!!

IS 4 TODAY!!!!! We had a great day of playing with friends and celebrating.


The smiliy birthday girl. you can't really see but she has purple sugar on her nose.
The happy little sister.The birthday girl and her birthday buddy Leah (her birthday is Sunday). Whose mama happens to be my awesome friend Patricia.

All in all an awesome 4th Birthday.

It's a little crazy thinking that four years ago today I was having baby #1 and today on her fourth birthday I have 3 amazing, beautiful girls. Wow the things that have happened in the last 4 years. Maybe I'll post about that tomorrow?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

...so that picture of my dining room. Go look at it and imagine a huge blue blob on the floor between the table and the dresser.

While I was checking my email this afternoon my girls got into the paint I had put off moving from the shelf. And proceeded to pour half a bottle or more on the carpet. How am I going to explain that one to the landlord. Maybe I can get some more of it out. Why do my kids have to be so damn smart and constantly get into mischief. Oh well life goes on and so does the party. Audy's birthday playdate is tomorrow. It's also for our friend Leah, her Bday is Saturday. Happy 4th birthday you beautiful girls!!!

So those pics...

Ok so first this is my dining room now. That dresser I found it in my neighbors yard. Waiting for someone to come take it home. It does have missing drawer but I'll figure out a nice way to deal with that later. Any suggestions?
Ok the pics loaded backwards and i am having a heck of a time moving them so I'll just leave them. This is the new home for the bookshelf that used to live next to my desk see below.

There will soon be pics of my office makeover so you can see all the work I did there.This is what was were the bookshelf now lives.

So...

...that big project. Isn't finished yet and it just got bigger because my kids turned the tv room into a diaster. I still had messes in here myself. But it will all get done tomorrow. As Thursday is Audy's birthday and we are having a birthday playdate. So it has to be visitor ready. Very little gets done on Wedsdays around here with school and church. So tomorrow is D-day. I'll post pics of the bookshelf later this evening.

I like this way better than the other one

In the Middle...

...of big project. Overwhelmed. Wish kids would stay out of mess. Need motivation to finish. Will post pics when done. Ahhhhhh! That was nice break. Back to work now.

Old Red Barn Quilt Giveaway

This is a shameless attempt to win one of # amazingly beautiful quilts that Dana is giving away.

I am too lazy and my lap too full of two year old to take the time to figure out how to steal her pics so just go look for yourself. GO NOW!!!!! TRUST ME YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!!!

That soup in my menu.

Yummy Portabello and Barley Soup

2 Portabello caps, chopped large
1 red pepper, rough chopped
4 green onions, snipped up with scissors
Olive oil
Bragg Liquid Aminos (soy sauce would work to)
Balsimic Vinegar
Garlic
Barley
Water between 4 and 6 cups (whatever looks right)

So I started by putting a bit of oil in the pan. Then I threw in the mushrooms and the garlic and let then saute. Then I poured in a bit of vinegar and the liquid aminos just once or twice around the pan (to steal from Rachel Ray).

Toss in the peppers and let them soften a bit. Pour in the water and a few palmfuls of barley and let it simmer on the stove for a bit, to cook the barley. Throw in the green onions right at the end. Throw in a dash of coarse sea salt at this point.

I put part of the onions in with peppers and it made them really ugly. So I am not recommending that.

This was really yummy yesterday and I have a feeling it will be even better today.

*In the photo the soup is in the Dansk dutch oven that I found at the thrift store. I won't say how much I paid for it. Lets just say way more than I usually pay for things at the thrift store.

Menu Plan Monday

OK so I have been reading the Org Junkies Blog for a long time and this is the first time I am participating in this so go me.





Monday
B: Soy Chorizo and egg Burritos
L: Portabello Soup (was Sundays lunch and oh so good.)
D: An Amy's frozen Pizza

Tuesday
B: Oatmeal with Pomegranates
L: Pad Thai from a box mix
D: Noodles with Soycutash and Salmon

Wed
B: Eggs with Toast and Jam
L: Chick'n Nuggets with Sweet Potato Fries
D: Tricolor Gnocchi with Alfredo Sauce

Thursday
B: Muffins
L: Annie's Mac and Cheese
D: Spaghetti Squash with Sauce

Friday
B: Granola Bars and Fruit
L: Soy Chorizo Burritos
D: Acorn Squash (still need to find a recipe)

Sat
B: Pancakes
L: Bacon, Toast and Eggs
D: Sweet Potato and Lentil Curry ( I am basing this off an other recipe and winging it.)

Sunday
B: Bacon Eggs and Toast
L: Eat out probally Fast food
D: Meatloaf and a yummy side TBD.

A bit political

Just Do It!!!!

Well I have been thinking about it for awhile. And now is the time. I am going Veg. I am gonna do it in steps. There is a small amount of meat in the house still from my last shopping trip. Once it's gone I no more will come into the house. I will then only eat meat out of the house. Seeing as its the holiday season I don't want to make this whole thing hard on everyone else yet. After I get home from my Christmas travels I won't eat any meat at all.

I had to be practical about this. I am going on a three week, four stop holiday trip. I am going to have to eat at fast food restaurants. I don't need the hassle of dealing with that this year. I have to much going on.

Yes Dave that means when you get home no meat.

Random Ramble

OK so I want to post and i am gonna do a stream of consciousness kind thing. I am NOT sorry if that kind of thing bothers you or if you may be offended by anything I may say. I feel no need to apologize.

I really want to do something crafty, but my current lack of husband makes that slightly more difficult. With no one around to play with the kids while I work I get a bit tense. I have several things to start working on for Christmas. I also have a few charity projects I want to work on. I also have a quite dirty house. I have no motivation to clean. Although it does need to get done tomorrow since i have a babysitter coming while I go to a movie. Yes I am going out by myself for the first time since dave left well i shouldnt say by myself Cassidy is coming with me but at this point in my mothering carrer going out with a little baby is nothing. Its like she is just part of me. I will be so happy when my hubby gets home. It is still a long time off but am still excited about it. I sent him a box today I was really excited bout it. Hope he enjoys it. Hope he sees whats in the book there is a special gift in there.

Well my kids are climbing all over me I am outtta here. This was fun.

Barack Obama

Wow I am so excited for our nation. Change is such a good thing. It's 12:20 and I still don't know how my state turned out. My voting state that is. I am a Missouri voter and the results are still not in yet I'll check when I get up. But I am so excited.

I think the weirdest thing that I am most excited is that fact that we again have a President who can speak with eloquence and a strong grasp of the English language. A President who's words inspire. Who can inspire hope and rally people.

I understand people's fear at his lack of experience. But I always wonder what experience did George Washington have. I mean really. He was doing something no one had ever done before.
Personally I think this is just what our nation needs.