Magooshi!

I'm always trying to find somewhat healthy foods that my kids will eat with out complaining, as I'm sure many of you can relate to. Last night we had what in my house growing up was called magooshi . In the Kimball home it would be called "Variations on a Theme" which means you take whatever leftovers are in the fridge and try and concoct something somewhat edible out of it. It was late, I had nothing prepared or thawed, and pulled some mashed potatoes with turkey and gravy out of the fridge along with some chicken/broccoli/cheese/rice type casserole, dumped them in a soup pot, added a few cups of turkey broth, some salt, and a bit of grated cheese, heated it through and served it as dinner. Low and behold, all 4 kids ate their bowl without a complaint. Salem asked for seconds and said, "Mom, can we have this for dinner tomorrow night?" Go figure.

New furniture-New Friends

This is the latest addition to my kitchen. I found this cute antique tea cart on craigslist for $25! Isn't it awesome! The kids and I drove to Park City yesterday to pick it up from a very nice old man. The drive through the canyon was GORGEOUS! Anyone in Utah should go look at the fall colors in the next few days. On another note, I went on a walk this morning with my new neighbor/kindred spirit. Its amazing how much we have in common. Not only does she homeschool and have a daughter Kensi's age but she also homebirthed her last 2 children, they are living in an unfinished cabin that her husband is building, and we've read a lot of the same health books and have similar natural healing and health ideas. Her husband also likes rock climbing and biking. Its so nice to find a new friend, especially in a place where you really don't know many people. It was also good to get outside and get some exercise so I'm feeling pretty good right now. Guess I'll go wash some dishes (I think just about every dish in the house is dirty) and do some laundry. Have a great Saturday!

Art Lesson

Just to show my kids do actually spend time doing school lessons. This was a fun one we just finished this morning on color mixing, color charts etc. Now we're off to the less exciting topics, at least that's what my kids tell me, of Readin' Ritin' and 'Rithmetic. Have a Great Day!

Potty Boy!

I know I already posted today but I'm just so excited! Asher just went pee in the potty all by himself. He has gone quite a few times but usually I have to ask him or coax him and a lot of times he just says, "No, I don't want to go on the toilet" But this time he said, "I want to go pee standing up" and I took him into the bathroom and he actually did it. And he was so proud of himself too. So, I've got 6 weeks until this baby comes. What are my chances of having him out of diapers by then? Okay, not very good, I know, but I can dream right? It shouldn't be too long though. In this photo he is telling the computer (as per my prompts) that he went potty. You can see how pleased he is.

34 Weeks Preggo!

So, today I hit 34 weeks. That means only 6 to go! Do I look bigger than I did at 32? I actually wouldn't mind going passed my due date this time so I have as much time as possible to work on the house. I hope to at least have the main floor bathroom (still needs sink, vanity,backsplash, some paint touch up, chair rail molding, and shelving installed), and kitchen (needs double oven installed, cooktop wired, some shelving, cabinet, dishwasher, and finish decorative work done) completely finished. I'd love to at least get mudding and taping done in the loft and if I could get the painting done too that would be fabulous. Then Abe and I could set up our bed and the baby's crib in our own space. Wouldn't that be nice. Oh, and I'd like to finish installing the wood planking on the stairs to the basement. Right now I have to climb down a stairwell that only has treads halfway down or walk around outside and through the basement entrance to get to the washer and dryer. Think I'll get it done? Meanwhile Abe is working with the contractor to finish the exterior and the stucco so we won't freeze this winter, which is coming faster here than for the rest of you, I'm guessing. The cat's water had a thin layer of ice on it this morning. Brrr!

The return of the vomit!

So, Asher has been fully recovered for a day and a half but the bug hit all of the other three kids last night. Kensi right after dinner, Simmy a few hours after that, and Salem a few hours after that. Last night was the dance of the puke bowls. Swap the dirty for the clean, rinse out the dirty one, rest for 20 minutes, swap that clean one for the next kids dirty one, and so on, all night long. At least they kept it all in the bowls so no dirty bedding this time, thank goodness. We're obviously not going to church today and the way I'm feeling its probably going to hit me today sometime. Guess we'll have a lay down and watch movies day. Unfortunately, Asher is the only one who got any sleep last night which means he is full of energy and wants my complete attention so I probably won't get to rest at all. Sigh! Such is life.

Plate Racks

Okay, I have to apologize for my formatting, I couldn't get it to do what I wanted. I'll figure it out eventually...So, I just bought this plate rack off of ebay for my kitchen. I think I'll finish it with pure dark tung oil but I may paint it white (or a country blue or green to match my curtain) I just love the look of plate racks. Here is a picture of the IKEA cutting board I oiled with tung oil last night.

This oil is food safe and has no solvents or petroleum products like mineral oil does. If you like plate racks this seller on ebay will custom make them and she is pretty reasonable. I love her window plate rack idea but decided it wouldn't work in my space. Just a follow up on Asher, he's fine now but when he was sick and laying down, everytime I'd go check on him he'd look up at me and say, "I not sick, Mom" He was in complete denial.

Puke!

So, I decided I'd leave out the photos for this one...Asher woke up puking at about 4 am and has puked about 4 more times since. Is there something going around? And he's still at that age where he thinks the bowl or the towel is making him puke and doesn't want it near him...thus puke everywhere! Eww! That sink came in real handy this morning for putting icky bedding and jammies in one basin while washing Asher in the other one (the 3rd one of course has dirty dishes in it). I did get the curtain put up finally. Photos coming soon.

Unproductive but creative day!

So, we got off to a slow start today and only got math done but at least the kids used their time to be creative (and make lots of messes!) I ended up talking on the phone a good part of the morning with a lady in the ward who also recently moved in who has a daughter Kensi's age and also home schools and lives within walking distance. She's only a little over a mile away (LOL)! The funny thing is there are only 1 or 2 houses between us. She's taking Kensi to activity days today. So, to make sense of the photo, Salem is dressed up as The Penguin from Batman, Simeon is Batman, Kensi is an invented character The Girl Penguin, and Asher is just wearing a piece of paper on his head. We're hard up for entertainment out here in the boonies!

Our First Farm Animal

Meet Tiger, the first non-human addition to our homestead. We have the sweetest Grandma and Grandpa neighbors in the world who donated Tiger to us last week. We still haven't quite convinced her that our house is home. She still goes back and forth between our house and the neighbors but she is a great cat. She's very affectionate and loves for the kids to pet and hold her but she is a completely outside cat and a great mouser, both important to me out here. Plus, she was free, already has her shots, and is fixed. I was worried the kids wouldn't be excited because she's not a kitten but they don't seem to mind. Asher is a bit afraid of her still but the others adore her.

Getting Ready for Church

So, when you don't have a bathtub its really nice to have a giant industrial restaurant sink in your kitchen. And if you look closely you'll see that the third sink is still full of dirty dishes so I didn't even have to clean out the sink to bathe 2 kids in it. Love it! It works great! Notice I didn't get the cute curtain installed. Abe, Kensi, & I are all speaking in church today-on reverence! (hahaha) so I got to go.

A Secret Indulgence

So, does anyone else LOVE frog-eye salad? Its one of those weird things that I just really crave every once in awhile (even when I'm not pregnant) Something about the texture of those tiny pasta pieces and the coconut, the tartness of the lemon and pineapple and the creaminess of the cream. Here is the standard recipe with my changes in parenthesis:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup white sugar (I use xylitol)
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt (I leave this out)
  
• 1 3/4 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 quarts water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I leave this out)
  
• 1 (16 ounce) package acini di pepe pasta
• 3 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
• 2 (20 ounce) cans pineapple tidbits, drained (fresh pineapple is awesome)
  
• 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I use real whipped cream)
  
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows (I leave these out)
  
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• (I also like to add fresh banana and toasted sliced almonds to mine)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. In a sauce pan, combine sugar, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pineapple juice and eggs. Stir and cook over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat; add lemon juice and cool to room temperature.
2. Bring water to a boil, add oil, remaining salt and cook pasta until al dente. Rinse under cold water and drain.
3. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, egg mixture, mandarin oranges, pineapple and whipped topping. Mix well and refrigerate overnight or until chilled. Before serving add marshmallows and coconut. Toss and serve.

This recipe makes a ton so I usually only make half, especially since no one else here likes it. Abe despises anything with coconut and for some reason my kids won't eat it either. Probably if I added back the marshmallows...I don't eat much made with white flour but so far I haven't found any substitute for the cute little acini di pepe. I've tried brown rice and millet but neither was quite satisfactory.

Our Cooktop

So, I couldn't figure out how to add a second photo to the bottom of my last post. Anyone know how to do that? So this is more what our stove looks like. Its oriented the opposite of this with the burners on the right. We got it for $25 on KSL.com in the classifieds. We found a 2 burner glass flat-top cooktop also on KSL that fits perfectly in the space where the gas burners were. I use the top oven section for my spices, the broiler section for my bread, and drawer under the burners for plastic wrap, baggies, foil and such. I have a double wall oven that I (will) have concealed in an armoire to use for baking and extra hotplates for those times when I need more than 2 burners.

Kitchen Inspiration

So, since I can't take pictures of my kitchen yet I thought I'd post my inspiration. This kitchen, and here is a link to a full article about it and more photos www.goodtimestove.com/special_sections/62.html was what inspired me to go for a freestanding antique kitchen style. Now, I don't have nearly the budget of these folks but I think its turning out pretty nice even so. You'll have to decide. And I'll keep the suspense building as I'm not sure exactly when I'll have a camera available. Our stove isn't as old as this one. Ours is from the 30's and looks more like this...

Blogging Addict!

Okay, so I think I'm a blogging addict. Its now 11:30 and I've pretty much been on the computer since 8:30 researching all the gadgets and widgets and customizable options, etc. My kids have media coupons they have to use in order to limit their TV, computer, and video game time. Kensi says I should have to use them too and she's probably right. Asher does have a clean diaper and they all had breakfast but I think they are all in their PJs still! And today is supposed to be a school day. Luckily, on Fridays I don't have as many lessons to get through so I should still be able to finish everything. And I'm supposed to finish painting the trim in the bathroom today and scrub the kitchen sink. We have a huge 7 1/2 foot stainless steel restaurant sink. Its really cool but it has years of built up grease and grime that needs to come off. I've been working on it with steel wool a bit at a time over the last few days. I want to finish today so I can hook up the cute curtain to go in front. Then I'll post some pictures for you. And just FYI, I have to put in my little "green" blurb- We're using no VOC paint (some the Freshaire brand form Home Depot and some the American Pride brand from a cool Green Building store in Salt Lake) Its a little more expensive than regular paint but I was able to convince Abe to use it since I'm pregnant and really should be avoiding those chemicals. I also wear a respirator and gloves just to be extra safe. Must go do school now and probably start thinking about lunch!

The Little Red Cabin

So, maybe I'm posting too much for my first day but I'm just experimenting. I just scanned this print picture with our new printer to see how well it would work. So, this is our house. We have a real front door in now but the exterior still looks pretty much like this. Where the tarp is hanging will be an extension to the basement. All 4 bedrooms will be down there. We're planning on doing a stucco finish with some kind of accent stonework. What do you think? What color of stucco do you think would look good? Then I'll put window boxes under all the windows to give it that European cottage feel? What do you think? Any suggestions?

32 Weeks Prego!

So I had this picture posted but in the wrong place. I think I'll post a new photo every week until the big delivery.

The fam

So, it might take me a bit to get the hang of getting everything in order on this blog site. Just thought I'd post a silly picture of us (minus Abe as its tough to find him at home these days with his new hour commute and when he is home he's in the midst of some construction project. For example, this morning at 7 am he was mixing cement to finish the laundry closet so we can hook up the washer and dryer). I look like a psycho which I guess is appropriate. The kids all seem glad to be in our own home again though we'll all be thrilled when we have real bedrooms!

The basics

So, I'd go back and just add to my earlier post for today but I haven't figured out how yet...Just thought I'd post a few more photos and info. Now, don't laugh but at present the only camera I have access to is the built in one on my iMac so I'll do my best to vary them a bit but if the background seems strangely familiar you'll know why. So, most of you should know that I'm quite pregnant. Due Nov. 4 I have 8 weeks left and I'm feeling pretty huge though everyone tells me I'm not. It's another boy, much to my daughters chagrin and we'll most likely name him Thaddeus with the middle name still to be determined. We're planning another homebirth again with the same midwife we used with Asher although I'm not sure if you can really call where we live "home" at present. We finally moved into our "home" affectionately called the Little Red Cabin on 2 1/2 acres out in the boonies of Utah after living for 6 months in my in-laws basement and another few months in a friends basement. As you'll see through my upcoming posts and photos it is FAR from finished. We are living on the main floor right now on two bunk beds with unfinished drywall and all. The kitchen and bathroom are mostly done. I'll post photos of those soon. We just got the hot water working 2 days ago though the washer and dryer still aren't hooked up. We're doing most of the work ourselves though we finally broke down and hired a contractor to help us finish the exterior so that the house will at least be weather tight by the time winter comes. Then we can take our time finshing the interior.

Finally blogging

So I'm finally blogging. My life has been so crazy this past year that no one (myself included!) has been able to keep track of what I'm up to. Hopefully this blog will at least make me feel like there is some sense of order to my life.