Cinnamon and Cumin

My children love to have toast with sugar and cinnamon for breakfast.  The best and worst part is that they make it themselves.  One day they informed me that we were out of cinnamon, and I told them to remind me to get some the next time we went to the store.  Sure enough the next time we took a trip to Aldi, my son grabbed some cinnamon and threw it in the cart.  The kids were happy to have their cinnamon back on their toast.
 Fast forward about a week.  Imagine my surprise when my husband asked where the cinnamon was.  I told him it was right there in the spice cabinet.  "All I see is cumin," was his reply.  I got up to check, and sure enough that brand new bottle of cinnamon was cumin.  What I want to know is why didn't the kids taste the difference?

A Child Converted from Her Crush.

The other night our six year old got embarrassed about a crush that she had on a waiter at a local Mexican restaurant. Today we found this video she made of herself and her new take on boyfriends.

Broken Connections

This week's theme for MCP 52 is "Connections." We have a portable dishwasher that hooks up to the faucet. The night before the photo theme was announced, the washer was going, but then I heard a WHOOSH and the sound of water splattering everywhere. The hot water handle had flown off and water was shooting out of its hole like a geyser. I got brave enough to take a picture the next morning although it is quite a tamed down version.

About 7:15am near my house

Hill Billys

Last month my husband took a day off work and decided it would be fun to take the kids somewhere. The weather was in the hundreds so we decided to take them to some unique stores in Raleigh where the heat would not be so bad. The first shopping center we stopped at is one that had really become run down until a few years ago when they revamped the whole structure. Evidently it is now the richy rich area of town complete with upscale living spaces above the shops and a two story grocery store connected to them. (Here's a link.)When we got there, I noticed that just about every shopper was dressed up and their children were too. That was the first time I've ever felt out of my league at a regular shopping mall. We took the kids to a really neat toy store and candy shop. As we were looking at all the neat items, Zach added to my discomfort by saying over and over quite loudly, "MAN! I wish I lived in Raleigh. Man, I wish I lived in Raleigh! Don't you, Mom?" My response was, "Don't be so loud, Zach."

After shopping, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch a the Q shack, a place I would highly recommend. It has delicious food and if you buy the child sized plate, it has wonderful prices. Don't worry the child plate has more than enough to eat. As we left the restaurant to head back to our vehicle in the parking deck we got on the escalators where my humiliation was made complete. I had my two youngest daughters with me and my husband had the two older children. The two younger ones were scared to death to get on the first step, so I took both of their hands and took the plunge. When I stepped on, they jerked their hands out of mine and stayed at the top yelling, "Mamma! Mamma!" I then had to turn around and run up the down escalator to rescue them. Just one more little thing to keep me humble. I was relieved to note that the next shopping center we went to was full of non dressed up children. Lesson learned. Put church clothes and a hair bow on my kids the next time we go to North Hills Mall.

Practicing

Happy Birthday

This past Sunday was our oldest daughter's birthday. We asked the grandparents to come over for lunch after church. She was thrilled with all her gifts of money, shoes (she's a shoe connoisseur), items from Bath and Body Works, and even a pink 22 gun. Here are some pictures of her day.

Another Answered Prayer

At the beginning of the summer season, we had some really warm weather. At the beginning of the summer season, our air conditioner decided that it didn't want to work. My husband and father in law identified the problem and fixed it. Well, there was this tiny glitch. The air would come on for fifteen seconds, turn off for thirty and come right back on for another fifteen seconds. As a last resort, we called the air company to come out and take a look. In the back of our minds we were pretty sure the motor was going bad. We took enough money out of our emergency fund to cover the new motor, and my husband was pretty disheartened about the whole deal. Every time we seem to get a little step ahead, something comes along to push us back. So, I prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please help it not be the motor and help it not to cost much." The repair man came out and tested the air out for an hour. It ran perfectly the whole time, and has ever since. We only had to pay the cost of the service call instead of the cost of a whole new motor.

Hidden Objects

The theme for photography this week was Hidden Objects. I took pictures of several things, but finally decided on the china hidden in the china cabinet. One of my dear daughters took the key outside one day, and it has never seen the inside of the house since. We actually did eat off that china too. What are we going to do when we move?

Need for Speed

Silly Answer to Prayer

Yesterday was soccer Saturday. During our oldest daughter's game, I had received a phone call on the cell phone and stepped away from the crowd to talk. While I was talking on the phone, our six year old daughter took my camera (with permission) and took MANY pictures of the game. During one portion of the game our oldest daughter got tripped and flipped in the air. I wished that I had had my camera and had been able to capture the moment. Much to my delight, as I was going through the pictures that my six year old took, I came across one she captured of my older daughter as she was in the air when she got tripped. I went ahead and deleted all the unneeded pictures off my SD card. As I was in the process of deleting pictures, I somehow deleted the one picture that I was so excited about. I was sick. I prayed, "Lord, is there some way you can get that picture back for me?" Then I thought, there's no way that you can recover a deleted picture on a SD card; almost at the same instant I felt regret that I couldn't trust the Lord to do a "little" impossible thing but then thought I was just thinking silly and went on to practice piano for a church offertory the next morning. As I was practicing, the thought popped into my head, "Why don't I look up on the internet and see if I can some how recover a deleted picture?" I told my husband what I was going to do. Since he's more computer savy than I am, he did all the work for me, and I'm happy to report that I have my picture back after he got the free download from this website. Thank you, Lord, for answering my prayer in spite of my unbelief.

Here's the picture

Window light

The theme this week was to use only light from windows to light a picture. Here's my little poser girl lit by the light coming from our sliding glass door.

First Thing in the Morning

The little boy that I babysit and I water my flowers every morning before my own children get up.

Princess for a Day

The theme this week was Princess for a day. My daughter loves the princess Rapunzel. If you've seen the movie Tangled, you'll understand the frying pan.

Amazing Grace

I used to think that the song "Amazing Grace" wasn't so applicable to me as it was to the "down and out" person who had accepted Christ as their personal Savior. The more I travel down the road of life, I realize how applicable the song really is to me. It's only by God's Amazing Grace that I've never been down and out. It's by His grace that I was reared in a Christian home. It's by His grace that I had parents that loved me. It's by His grace that I am where I am today. One of my favorite sayings is "But for the grace of God go I."

MCP Actions

Photography is something that I have always been interested in. I guess that's because my dad took a lot of interesting pictures and turned them into slides that we would sometimes watch as a family. About a year or two ago, I was given a camera that would allow me to expand my knowledge and interest in photography. I really did not know that there was so much to learn. One day, one of my sisters and I were talking about my new hobby and she suggested a good site for me to look at. She even sent me the link on Facebook. The only problem was that I got busy and forgot to look at the link.

About a month or two ago, a college friend told me about some sites giving away cute templates for Valentine's. I had never heard of the sites, and didn't know their web addresses. I Googled their names hoping for some sort of result so I wouldn't have to look stupid and ask my friend exactly what she was talking about. Yea for Google and success!! One of the sites was MCP Actions...the same site my sister had told me about but I had not looked at. This time though I was hooked. I love looking at what their different actions can do for photos. I love reading all the different helpful articles on the blog (especially this one on photographing at midday). The video tutorials have been a big help with my Photoshop non experience, and taking a picture a week according to a theme has definitely helped stretch my photographic thinking.

Photography this Week

The theme for this week was "Out of the Jewelry Box." I rescued a poor, dilapidated frog that I had thrown in the back of my husband's truck to go to the dump, and dressed her up in jewelry. I think the pictures turned out pretty cute. Maybe I think that because I put a lot of time into it. Now the question is, should I put the armless, eyeless, jump ropeless frog back in the truck to go to the dump?

The theme for this week's photo was darks and lights. I thought these coffee cups were appropriate.

Childhood Toys

Who doesn't remember these? The one on the right was given to me by my grandmother and aunt when I was ten.

Banana Bread Gluten Free and Regular

I had a few banana's that were too brown to eat but would be great to make banana bread with. My son had been begging me for a Gluten Free snack, so I gave in and baked him some banana bread. It really turned out to be a snack for the whole family. It went so quickly I didn't even have time to take a picture!

Here is the original recipe:
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/4 cup milk
2 medium bananas mashed
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Combine all ingredients in one bowl.
Put into greased 9x5 pan.
Bake at 350 for 50- 60 minutes.

Here is the DAIRY FREE, NUT FREE, GLUTEN FREE recipe

1/4 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup Hodgson Mill Multi Purpose Baking Mix pictured above (I found it at Wal-Mart)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg ( I did not use)
1/4 cup water
2 medium bananas mashed

Combine all ingredients in one bowl.
Put into greased 9x5 loaf pan.
Bake at 350 for 50- 60 minutes.

Look What my Mom Made Me.

We live in a house where our washer and dryer are out in the utility room under the carport. I don't always have time to immediately get to the clean clothes; and most of the time, they pile up on my couch. I usually can keep up with the folding, but the clothes that need ironing sit on the couch for quite a while before I get to them. My mom found this plan and altered it to my wishes. I LOVE IT. She put rollers on the bottom, and the door is painted with chalkboard paint both inside and out. My clothes are still in the living room along with our homeschooling stuff, but now we can sit on the couch! Thanks, Mom.

3D snowflake

Our kids made 3D snowflakes at their homeschool group meeting yesterday. Here's a link on how you can make them too.

My View from Here.

I joined a flickr group that committed to take one new picture a week. The theme for this week is "My View From Here."
This was my view as I looked out the front door window yesterday.

Carrot Cake

When I was growing up, my mom was truly a health food
person before it was so popular to be a part of the health food world. We did not have junk food. We did not have bleached flour or white rice, nor did we have refined sugar. Our peanut butter was the kind that was made purely of peanuts and needed the oil stirred in before you could use it. On occasion, we even had our peanut butter freshly ground from peanuts at GNC. When there was a potluck dinner at church, she still cooked healthfully. From time to time, she would try something that was to our childish eyes and tastebuds, completely outlandish and disgusting. And, yes, we would get embarrassed when our classmates looked at our lunch and say, "Ewww! What is that?!"
Imagine my chagrin and embarrassment when my mom decided to do a kind deed for an older batchlor in our church and make him a carrot cake. WHO had ever heard of CARROTS in a CAKE? I sure hadn't, and I thought surely she was going overboard trying to push her healthly living lifestyle off on this poor guy. It was not til many years later that I discovered that there really is such a thing as carrot cake, and it really is delicious! In fact my husband's grandmother could make the most wonderful carrot cake in the world for our birthdays. She has passed away, but we are still able to enjoy the recipe.

Here it is:
2 c sugar
1.5 c oil
4 eggs
2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
.5 tsp salt
1 c chopped pecans (opt)
3 c shredded carrots
(I've heard that you should not use the pre-shredded carrots)

Mix dry ingredients. Add vanilla and eggs. Add carrots. Add oil, and mix well. Pour into 3 greased and floured 8 inch round pans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
16 oz box powdered sugar
1 stick butter (softened)
1 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped pecans

Blend cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and blend well. Mix in pecans. Frost the cakes after they are cooled.
Sometimes I double the frosting recipe so I'll have plenty of frosting.


My husband just had his birthday, and I of all people made a cake with CARROTS in it! Here is a picture looking at him through the cloud of smoke from his candles that he blew out.

It all started with a "quick" run to the grocery store. I was doing really good getting all the kids in the vehicle while I was loading groceries. I had to be home very quickly and have supper on the table right away in order for my husband and son to get to their Cub scout meeting on time. As I was throwing groceries in the back, I was planning what I would throw on the table.

In the mean time, one of my daughters decided to climb in the driver's seat and start messing with all the controls. At the advice of my oldest daughter, the one in the driver's seat decided to turn on the GPS that my husband had received for Christmas.
I finally got the groceries loaded, and put the cart away, and jumped into the driver's seat. After I thought I had fixed all the driver's controls, I dialed my husband to tell him I would be home shortly. At the same time I was talking to my husband, I was pulling out of the grocery store parking lot. All of the sudden a larger than life voice spoke up. "TURN RIGHT!" said the man on the GPS. Whoa! That scared me, and I could not hear my husband. I started grabbing for wires to unplug the GPS only to realize it was not plugged in. Meanwhile the thing was still barking out directions to my house. I did NOT need to know how to get home. I started yelling at the kids, "How do you turn this thing off?!"
"It's the button on top, Mom" they all said.
Holding the phone with my shoulder, and the steering wheel with one hand, I started pounding the top of the GPS with my other hand to turn the stupid thing off. No success there. At the same time I was pounding, I looked up to see a telephone pole right at the corner of the passenger side windsheild. I swerved. Too late. I was scraping a mailbox that was right next to the telephone pole. Off came the mirror. Sccrraaape it went across the door. Thud it hit the ground.
Let's just say that when it was all over, there was a crying mom and four crying children in the back seats.
Today, our vehicle is in the body shop for a week. If we keep this kind of thing up, we'll have a whole new body for our vehicle. We have already had a new windshield and a new bumper. Never in my life have I had a vehicle in the body shop until this one. Oh, and lesson number two. Don't cancel your car rental insurance to save $3.00 a month. You just might need it one day. :D

She's Unique

We wanted four children so we would not have a middle child. What we didn't count on was having three of the four children being girls. The picture above is of our middle daughter. She is so different from our other children that one of our friends often says about her, "Which one of these is not like the others?" She loves to pose, she loves to dress up, and she is much smarter than she appears. :)

She also comes up with some of the funniest ways to say things. The other day when I became concerned about a spot where a tick bite had been, she asked me, "Mom, are you going to Google 'How ticks get on you and cause an infection and make you die.com?'"

In the above photo, I was taking 10 year pictures of her brother. His props were a camo outfit and his new gun for one set of pictures, and a cowboy outfit and gun for another set of pictures. She decided she needed in on the action, grabbed a broken gun, sat on a stump, and put on this pose with no prompting from me. In fact, she demanded that I take the picture. I'm glad I did because it turned out pretty well.