Friday-- a great day for random.

It's Friday.  Thank goodness!  Something about Friday makes everything easier, laid back, less-stress.

So here's your dose of completely random for the weekend.

1.  Tater and Squdge both cut their first tooth on Monday.  The bottom right.
2.  We've gone through nearly two bottles of Children's Motrin this week.
3.  What I thought was a runny nose associated with teething is actually congestion that Danny and I also got.
4.  Tuesday the babies started vomitting and diarrhea.
5.  By Wednesday, everyone else joined in on the diarrhea.
6.  By Thursday, I had washed several loads of sheets and blankets.
7.  I've thrown away two pairs of little boy underwear this week.
8.  Tater puked in my hair and down my neck at 5 this morning resulting in my need for an early shower.
9.  BBTA stands for Big Brother Training Academy.  It's not a real academy.  It's just a fun way to announce pregnancy.
10.  To get a nice crust on homemade pizza, you have to cook it at 500° F for about 7 to 15 minutes.  Lower temps like 375° for longer do not a happy homemade pizza crust make. 
11.  Four dozen onesies even for twins is too many.
12.  Twelve days until our move!

Let's make it a baker's dozen, since I like to bake. 

13.  I offended my little girl the other day while talking to Danny about keeping her on a BRAT diet for a couple days.






That's all.  This is going to be a busy week.  Chances are you'll be seeing me lots.  ;)  Blogging is a great procrastination tool.

Frugal Fridays with the Kiddie Hobgoblin Theater

As you know, we have six kids.  We cannot afford to hire a babysitter whenever we have the desire to watch a movie together.  It would be far cheaper to buy the actual movie than to hire a sitter. 

And having six kids eight and under, not even the oldest is old enough to be left home alone; so we don't have a built-in sitter yet either.

Enter the Kiddie Hobgoblin Theater.

At least bi-monthly (ahem, weekly nowadays), Danny will rent a children's movie from the Shoppette or the Red Box thing, or borrow from the library. 

We usually bribe the children earlier in the day to nap with promises of the Kiddie Hobgoblin Theater.  We figure, if they're going to be staying up late, a nap wouldn't hurt.

The Kiddie Hobgoblin Theater is just a fun way for them to get extra excited about watching a kid movie knowing that we aren't watching it with them.  It's just for kiddie hobgoblins like themselves.  And of course it's a completely safe, parent-approved movie that is 99% of the time rated G.

We line the four oldest kids up on the couch each with their favorite blanket, a cereal bowl full of popcorn and occasionally a handful of animal crackers or a couple candies that they purchased at the Kiddie Hobgoblin Theater (the dining table) with hugs as currency.

We toss a couple babies in the playpen with a handful of soft toys.

Then Danny and I plug our headphones into the laptop and sit on the other couch and watch something free like the latest episode of Lost, or a new release we've been waiting for from the Shoppette or Red Box thing.

Kid movie:  $.99
non-kid movie:  $.99 or free
bag of microwave popcorn:  $.50 (unless we're out and then we use the air popper which is MUCH cheaper)
bag of animal crackers or candy $1.50

Total with the Kiddie Hobgoblin Theater:  $3.98

Going rate for babysitting on the central west coast:  $2.50 a kid per hour

$2.50 a kid per hour x a half dozen hobgoblins x treats for the sitter x movie in a theater x gas money =

Total to go out on a date: 

$28,456.73






This post is linked to Frugal Fridays and Thrifty Thursdays, and Thrifty Thursdays in Bloggeritaville.

Who needs a flashlight anyway?

Pookie was rummaging around in his dark room last night looking for a couple items I asked him to get.  Danny happened to walk by at the time and they shared this little exchange:

Pookie (8 years):  It's so dark in here.  I wish I had a carrot.

Danny:  A carrot?

Pookie:  So I can see in the dark!

Zapping Germs

When I was cleaning the kitchen after preparing the easiest lunch ever (thick slices of cucumber and veggie dip and yogurt) I rinsed out the washcloth and tossed it in the microwave for two minutes on high like I always do because it works for me!

After washing dishes, or counters, or table and chairs and high chairs, or messy kid faces, what-have-you,

rinse your washcloth well, 

wring it out,

and toss it in the microwave for 2 minutes on high.

That will kill 99.9999% of bacteria on it. 

Afterwards you can hang it to dry on a towel rack or the handle of your oven door and reuse it.

Or hang it on the side of the laundry hamper, bag, basket to dry and throw in with your load of towels.  If you used it to clean up raw meat juices, definitely do not reuse until you launder it.

Please don't throw your wet towels in with other laundry or towels waiting to be washed.  They will mildew.  You may not see it, but you can smell it.  And even after they're washed, the mildew is still there.  It's so gross to go to someone's house, dry your hands on a seemingly clean dry towel to discover then your hands smell like sour mildew.






This post is linked at Tuesday's Tips, Tuesday's Tip Jar, and http://www.wearethatfamily.com/.

Sixteen days

until we move out of our mold-infested 1960's house into a brand-new home with off-white carpet.  Weee!

Even though the home we are moving into has 50% more square feet and a two car garage, most of the extra space is in the living room instead of the bedrooms. 

But that's all right.  I don't necessarily need extra space to sleep unless I'm rapidly expanding like I was this time last year. 

And I love to cook.  So I am thrilled my kitchen is sizeably bigger!

We feel like we're officially grown-ups doing it ourselves (instead of having the Air Force move us). 

It didn't count when we lived in Cedar City and moved everything we owned in a 6 ft. U-haul with room to spare.  We definitely were not grown up then.

But now we are.  We think. 

So, what to pack first?  What to toss?

Do I get rid of the turkey platter we only use once a year and that's only if we have company on Thanksgiving?

What about the onion soup bowls?  They are a single-use item.  They are ONLY used to make onion soup.  Nothing else can take their place.  Do I toss them out and say good-bye to ever having onion soup again?

Do we have a yard sale while still in the old home so we don't have to move it?  Or do we have one after settling in to the new home?

Perhaps I should make a major run to the thrift store.  Maybe I should brush up on Craigslist how-to and get rid of the big items like:

the entertainment center that's in the garage,
the changing table that's in the bathroom that's just used to hold cloth diapers and house the baby bath,
and the glider and ottoman that hold piles of laundry waiting to be folded?

How do I move the freezer that is chuck full of bread kits, prepared beans, cooked rice, an extra turkey, and random other OAMC meals?  Do I have to empty it before moving it?  Or can I move the whole thing full and just plug it right back in?

Spinning.  My head is spinning.

Recipes you'll want to print out and memorize

Tomorrow is our ward talent show.  I'm going to be playing a piano arrangement of the song Love Story originally by Francis Lai.  My mom's jewelry box plays this song.  I've never seen the movie, but I love the music.

The activities committee asked everyone to bring two dozen cookies for refreshments. 

The last time I went to an activity where everyone was asked to bring a sweet, cookies, or dessert, one person brought a veggie and fruit platter.  It went fast.  There were several diabetic members that were grateful as well.

So that's what I'm doing, well the veggie part anyway.  If I feel like it, I'll do apples and dip.  Now apples and dip are definitely not sugar-free, but I'm not going to force anyone to eat the dip.  ;)

Mom's vegetable dip
8 ounce softened cream cheese go for the full fat stuff
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
1 clove of garlic or 1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in the blender until smooth.  You might want to triple the batch because EVERYONE loves it. 

Serve with:

carrot sticks
celery sticks
sliced cucumber or cucumber sticks
olives
bite-size broccoli
bite-size cauliflower
radishes

Caramel Apple Dip
8 ounce softened cream cheese
1 cup dark brown sugar (packed tightly)
1 T. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans (you can omit this if you have a nut allergy)

Use a hand-blender to combine the cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.  Stir in the chopped pecans.  Chill until time to serve.

Serve with:
Cored and wedged crisp apples like Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady, McIntosh, Braeburn

Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip
Mix equal parts peanut butter and vanilla yogurt.  Add a dash of cinnamon.  Even if you over do it with the cinnamon, it's still good. 

Serve with: 
Cored and wedged crisp apples or carrot sticks.

Or we also put it in a bowl with bananas sliced over the top and tell the children it's "Monkey Ice Cream."

Crawling, gagging, squishing, and moving

Yesterday Tater started army crawling and Squdge figured out how to crawl forward.  He's been crawling backward for about a week.  Now we don't need to look for one of those reverse beeping things to stick to him.

None of the older four children crawled at 8 months.  They were 10-13 months old when they learned.

Today Squdge figured out how to sit.  finally.  The older four learned to sit around 7-8 months as well.  Tater doesn't sit yet.  It's hard not to compare them to each other.

I'm dizzy often.  I gag when brushing my teeth.  I haven't thrown up yet.  Danny did have to pull the van over on the way home from the beach Saturday so I could dry-heave and drool all over the side of the road.  I don't generally throw up when I'm expecting.  I just feel like it.  This time though, I'm pretty dizzy.

Something in my house smells baaaad.  Danny has changed bums and outfits of the three in diapers and we finally figured Hammy has evil gas.  You know what, we are down to about 510 diapers a month.  Pretty good eh?  We've had a handful of good toileting experiences with the Hammy this week.  If I wasn't so fatigued and nauseas I think things would be going faster. 

My stomach makes a squish sound when I poke it in the place where my abdomen is still separated.  I think it's rather entertaining.  But Danny doesn't. 

I had my first OB appointment today in a beautiful town over an hour away.  I was 2 minutes late. 

After realizing my insurance company did not mail them the referral letter and actually mailed it to my previous OB, trying to convince them that I truly am covered, getting the referral worked out with the proper OB's name, requesting the insurance company to mail me and the doc a new one, offering to pay cash for the visit so they'd just tell me if there was ONE heartbeat, they still sent me on my way. 

So my first OB appointment will not be until May 6.  Hopefully then, someone can tell me how far along I really am.  My guess is 8 weeks right now. 

We got a house.  No, we did not buy a house.  We got a new house assigned to us on base.  A new house!  On May 12, we will get the keys to move in.  I am through the roof with excitement.  One thing on my list for the new house is a dehumidifier.  I'd like to say good-bye to all the mold problems and mold-related illness we've endured this past year.

That's it for me. 

If this post doesn't reek of clues, I don't know what does.

My last post needs fixing.

I am not feeling so well this week. And I don't think it's I know it's not the Lemon Lush or the hideous piranha picture on Danny's post. Please subscribe in a reader or Follow me so you'll know when I update again.

Or just hang around.  Yes please follow me, don't just subscribe (though subscribing is better than nothing), because it makes me feel good to see my numbers go up.  And it makes PayPerPost clients want me to review their stuff and write articles.  Which helps pay for the diapers when I'm using disposables.  like now. 

And you know I cannot avoid you.  Especially when I'm sick.  When I'm sick, I find very little energy to do housework and errands.  I do, however, find boat-loads of things to talk and blog about. 

Like:  Ginger Ale combined with raw cabbage makes a horrible gastric burning sensation from my mouth down to my small intestine.  note to self:  Never eat them in the same sitting again.  never.


Also I'm craving soy sauce today.  No, I do not have the desire to open the bottle and drizzle it in.  But I'm thinking California Roll sushi with a bit of ginger dipped in soy sauce, hold the horseradish sounds PERFECT.  hmm... Where's a Danny when you need him?

You know what? 

When I took Gabbers and her friend to afternoon kindergarten today the police SUV's and the base fire engine and crew were blocking off the road in front of the school.  The Security Forces explained to me that there was a very small gas leak and they are not allowing anyone into the school.  The children that were already there have been evacuated. 

I did not blurt out, Where is my son?!  I want my son right now.  I should've pulled them from public school already!! 

No, I put on my happy, mommy is calm (definitely not hormonally imbalanced) and everything's fine face and parked two blocks from the school while contemplating just what to do. 


In less than 30 minutes things were resolved enough to allow the kindergarteners to be escorted to the emergency evacuation area of the school grounds and proceed as "normal." 

We have had our gas shut off for the day.  I am amazed at how many people have to eat out when there's no gas.  Really?  You were going to use the oven and now you don't know what to do?  Cereal people.  cereal.


We had a fantastic gourmet meal of microwaved chicken nuggets and canned corn.  No ketchup.  I can't stand the smell of ketchup right now. 

Last week I scored a 7785 on my test.  Impressed?  Well, even more impressive is that Squdge and Tater have been accepted into the BBTA.  Their graduation is scheduled for November 30th.  They are the youngest in the family to be accepted. 

Very old picture of Bun from October 2006.

Also I need a new email address. I gave my email address to someone the other day and they said, "You just hoping California turns into a frozen wonderland?" No. I think not.  Yeah, I'm still thinking of a new email address for the blog.  Thoughts?


I'm going to rest as soon as I get my daughter off to afternoon Kindergarten. You know it's quite easy to rest with only an almost 3-year old Gremlin, wannabe-crawling twins in the house and a determined 4 1/2-year old who can be bought with a coupon for Starfall.com time. Starfall, what a lifesaver you are.
 
Starfall did save us yesterday.  They may or may not have exceeded their 30 minute Starfall time yesterday while I desperately tried to convince the twins to nap at the same time.
 
I also rested today while Gabbers was at Daisies and Pookie was at a friend's house.  I felt guilty falling asleep on the couch.  One baby was in the activity center/bouncy toy, the other was in the walker in locked mode, Hammy was napping and Bun was painting.  The guilty part was that Tater, in the walker was crying this sad, "I'm so very tired and can't bring myself to fall asleep" cry, and I could NOT drag my butt off the couch.  Of course when the crying stopped, and we're talking a full 10 minutes later, that woke me up and I saw him passed out in his toy.  I hope he still feels loved. 

I'm calling in sick.

I am not feeling so well this week.  And I don't think it's the Lemon Lush or the hideous piranha picture on Danny's post.  Please subscribe in a reader or Follow me so you'll know when I update again. 

Also I need a new email address.  I gave my email address to someone the other day and they said, "You just hoping California turns into a frozen wonderland?"  No.  I think not. 

I'm going to rest as soon as I get my daughter off to afternoon Kindergarten.  You know it's quite easy to rest with only an almost 3-year old Gremlin, wannabe-crawling twins in the house and a determined 4 1/2-year old who can be bought with a coupon for Starfall.com time.  Starfall, what a lifesaver you are.

My house smells gooood.

Guess what I'm making right now?  Hawaiian Haystacks and Lemon Lush.

picture courtesy of allrecipes.com

First of all, let me say, there is nothing Hawaiian about Hawaiian Haystacks.  And since it has this name, I have never, ever had the desire to make it.

But then about a week ago, I was having a STRONG craving for it after reading my Make-a-Mix Cookery (1978 edition) recipe book.

I thought, "Eh?  They're not Hawaiian."  Not that I have to eat Hawaiian just because some Hawaiian blood surges through my body.  But because it's like a lie in the name.  And I'm a little bit weird like that.

It's like calling a salad, "Really Delicious & Mouth watering Beet and Cow Hoof salad in a creamy Lima Bean Sauce."  Excuse me while I hurl.

Anyways, so I went to a baby shower on Wednesday for my cute friend Sarah.  Her hostess served Hawaiian Haystacks and Lemon Lush along with several other things that I'm sure were good.  But I was a little focused on the Hawaiian Haystacks and Lemon Lush.

And I've been dreaming about them ever since.  Come on over.  Dinner will be ready in an hour.  :)

It stinks like fish in here

If these trailers were on collegehumor.com or showcased on Saturday Night Live, I would have quietly chuckled and had no reason to blog about it. However, that is not the case.

Check out this "Mega Piranha" movie review.

Whether you read it or not, view the movie trailers and prepare to be underwhelmed. No, that's not the right word. Prepare to lose a little bit of your luster for life.

Maybe it won't be so bad if you inoculate yourself with a good dose of The Office or some good old fashioned Dilbert first. Whatever you do, do not watch this alone as you will want to reflect on the literary genius of the writer and incredible vision of the director with someone else. Or blog about it. That might work too.

If this post doesn't make sense, I apologize. I think my IQ may have dropped several points a short time ago.

[Insert funky cursivish large signature here that says DAN (The visual in your head is better than the real thing ever could have been)]

Cheese n' Buckets

I have 2 mini-Frugal Friday tips for y'all today. 

1.  If you use Sharp Cheddar in a recipe that you normally use medium or mild in, you will need much less.  Taco places do this with their tacos and you still get great flavor.  I'm not a fan of eating a hunk of sharp cheddar by itself (as I might with colby jack or mozzarella), but using it shredded in a recipe?  No problem!

2.  Get free food storage buckets from bakeries and delis.  I have heard about this tip for over a decade.  And I never tried it myself until a couple weeks ago.  At our commissary on base, the bakery and deli throw out empty buckets on a very regular basis.  In 10 days I picked up 6.  Sure, they had frosting bits on the side and pickle juice in the deli one which caused MAJOR cravings for me, but they were FREE.  Who doesn't love free?

They're the same type of buckets that I use to store my wheat, rice, legumes, and rolled oats for long-term storage.  They keep bugs out.  But these ones are FREEEEE.

They're great to sit on while putting away all your groceries in the fridge.

They're a good size to hold your emergency 72-hour kit.

They make great diaper pails.  If you are using a wet diaper pail, please use a secure lid to prevent infants and children from accidental drowning. 

When labeled accordingly, "Beans & Lentils" they are awesome for storing stocking stuffers in.  No child is going to try to figure out the bucket lid remover to get to beans and lentils.

Visit LifeasMom.com for many more frugal tips that smart readers like yourself are sharing.  Please leave a comment and let me know if you're participating too so I can read your handy tip!

Whole wheat bread with oat flour

Dear Laurie,

This post is just for you.  It's an old post I updated to answer your oat flour questions.  Enjoy!

To make bread kits, read this similar post.

My Mom created this whole wheat bread recipe from a couple of her favorite recipes.

1 1/3 C. very warm water

1-3 T. vegetable oil like safflower oil or canola

3 1/3 C. whole wheat flour or 2 1/3 C. whole wheat flour + 1 C. *oat flour
1-4 T. non-fat dry milk (more = finer texture)
1/3 C. granulated sugar or ¼ C. honey
2 tsp. dough enhancer
3 T. gluten
1-1 ½ tsp. salt
1 T. yeast (if baking in oven) or 1 ½ - 2 tsp. yeast for baking in bread machine

Add all ingredients to bread machine in the order given.  Set on whole wheat bread and press start if baking in bread machine.

If you're going to mix in bread machine and bake in oven (my preferred method):

1. Add all ingredients to bread machine in the order given.

2. When baking in oven but using bread machine for kneading, set bread machine on dough only.

3. Spray, grease, or butter with unsalted butter the bread pan.

4. When bread machine is done, take dough out, punch down and form loaf in bread pan.

5. Cover and let rise in bread pan about 30 minutes. I like to cover with plastic wrap that has been greased with unsalted butter so it doesn't stick.

6. Cook for about 30 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven.

*oat flour = To make oat flour, just scoop a cup or so of rolled oats into your blender and blend until flour consistency.  If using in place of a flour like whole wheat, only replace about 1/3 of the wheat flour for oat flour.  You may have to increase the gluten.

Oat flour makes the loaf softer and last longer before going stale.

Unless you plan to refrigerate or freeze the oat flour, I recommend only grinding as much as you're using at the time.  Ground flours go rancid much faster than in their whole form (or partially whole form).

You can also use a coffee grinder to grind up rolled oats real fast.  Seeing as I don't drink coffee, the only thing I'd use it for would be grinding oatmeal.  And seeing as how my kitchen is limited in space and therefore I must choose my kitchen appliances carefully.






P.S.  This would work great for cinnamon raisin bread.

Letters of gratitude

Dear AAFES cheap basket supplier,

Thank you for making such a cheap little basket.  It came in real handy last year when we were homeless and still needed to get our laundry sorted. 

I had no idea of your versatility until I saw my Squdge carefully insnared.  This aids in preventing him from smacking his head on the foot of the desk and chewing on cords.  Who needs to keep a watchful eye when you have a cheap plastic laundry basket?

Yours truly (until the next 27-fling boogie),

Dear Pampered Chef,

Thank you for making this very handy egg-slicer.  Who would've known that my little girl would try her hand at selling presliced Goldfish?

A grateful mother,

Dear Ginger Ale,

How I love thee.  I know we don't see each other much.  And then when we do, it's like "How could I ever live without you?"  Well, it's probably the whole teeth rotting out of my head reason that I don't see you so often.  But when I do see you, I am glad for your comfort.

Occasionally Yours,

Dear Mom,
I finally made bread with oat flour replacing one-third of the whole wheat flour.  It was beautiful.  It smelled wonderful baking.  But since the bread knife fell behind the counter I couldn't slice it for two days.  When I sliced it this morning, it was fresh and soft and the kids snorkulated it in 90 seconds.

I can't wait to make more.  I already prepped 21 bread kits with oat flour.

Love Always,