CHECK! One domestic goal completed....

Well not really completed.  Just making lots of progress.

This year, one of my domestic goals was to become a better chef. And the goal for being a kitchen pro is actively being persued. 

Clark is so thankful for my kitchen experiments--most of the time.

STEP ONE: Getting Organized

I have organized all my favorite recipes in a handy dandy binder with sheet protectors.  I have a list of 14 "go to meals" if ever in a pinch and in need of inspiration.  I even have a section for recipes I want to try.  My husband has commented time and time again that he has been impressed with meals lately.  I think it's because I have been really working  hard to be organized.  I can cook better meals when I have a handle on the contents of the pantry and frig and garden.  I also plan meals one month at a time with my self created meal planner worksheet.  I plan 20 meals that includes two meals to freeze for later.  I also plan several meals that I call hospitality meals for unplanned guests.  I think good planning goes a long way at meal time.

STEP TWO: Practice, Practice, Practice

One of my kitchen goals has been to start canning.  I have great memories of my grandma and I sweating it out in her kitchen for days canning all kinds of things when the harvest came in.  

So with the help of my domestic diva mother-in-law, I have learned how to "can".  I have made plum jelly under her supervision.  And today, I ventured on my own and made strawberry jam!!!!  And it's DELICIOUS!  I was surprised how easy it was.  The cost per pint jar of jam was 80 cents verses several dollars at the store. (That is not counting the cost of the jars since I will use them over and over.)  What a deal!

Next on my agenda is canning blackberry jelly and salsa from my garden veggies!!!!  :-) YUMMY!!!

So do you have any domestic goals?  I'd love to hear about what you are working on!

Little Boys Are Made of ......

 A wind storm blew up some 70 degree weather, so we ran out to enjoy the break from the heat.  (It's been burning hot and sunny forever.)  The boys discovered something while they were watering the garden.  Look and see....

 Obviously it fits into Clark's hands.  What could it be?

Mr. Hoppy!!!  

He jumped out of his hands and made it to safety as soon as I took this picture. But Mr. Hoppy sure did bring great enjoyment to my boys while he graced their presence. 

Afterwards the boys had a water hose war.
I love summer (aka spring that feels like summer).

Little boys are made of.....curious minds and a sense for adventure.

Memorial Day Weekend with Family

 Grandparents and Cousin Hannah came for a long Memorial Day weekend!  We had so much fun!
The first day they dressed up and played outside in the yard.  Well actually, they ran up the stairs and down the stairs and outside to the playhouse over and over!

 

Levi got lots of attention from everyone.  He steals the show.

 

We went downtown and played in the water.  It was HOT! But the water felt good!

 

Then we rode the a Chattanooga Duck which is an amphibian WWII vehicle. We took the 8:00 pm ride to enjoy the sunset and cooler temperatures.

Here's a picture of another Duck that we passed while on the water.

My Spider Man Loves Levi

 Clark is a baby person.  He loves loves loves holding Levi.  He'll hold him for 30 minutes or longer, and he asks often to hold him.  He leans over periodically and kisses his baby brother.  It is so sweet to behold.

Clark had been Spider Man all day.  After a long day of fighting bad guys, he needed his baby fix all 16 pounds.  Levi is wearing 6/9 months and size 3 diapers.

Mud, Smores, & Oh yes and...Our 12th Anniversary

The picture below is how our anniversary weekend started.  Little finger prints all over my door.  When I opened the door, I was shocked to see Joel covered.... (see next photo).

The boys decided to paint themselves with mud.  And no. The shirt will never be the same.  I love it!!

That was Friday night....Saturday, we garage saled and  we sodded some of the rocky backyard to avoid scraped knees and hands.  Then all five of us had a camp out in our backyard!

I am so proud of that sod.  It was just dirt and rocks before!!

 Here we are getting ready to roast hot dogs in our fire pit.

 Clark didn't like the fire.  It was already 90 degrees, so I can't blame him.  So he decided to forgo the roasting.  On the other hand, Joel was fascinated by the fire and burning marshmallows.  I think he sacrificed 10 marshmallows to the fire in an attempt to roast just one.

 

Even Bentley got to enjoy the S'mores as he cleaned Joel's face!

 

To cool off, we played in the water and had a water gun war!

After, we cuddled up, read some books, and slept the whole night in the tent. 

Clark and Joel woke up wanting to sleep every night in the tent!  

We had so much fun celebrating our marriage with our kids at our home.   

Thank you, God, for 12 amazing years!

"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-a-Dee-Eh. My Oh My What a Wonderful Day"

 Last weekend was a great weekend for me!!  So I am singing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" out loud!  Despite being sick, we went garage saling (our favorite sport), had a 3.5 hour date night, installed two windows, processed 30 pounds of chicken, cooked two gourmet meals, played with my kids tons, and installed two "new" cabinets in my laundry room!

Having cabinets in there is a dream come true.  We keep our dogs in there too, and our pooches are very dusty and cover everything in dirt.  Yuck.  For only $30 dollars, Michael did a laundry room make over.  Yes, we found two beautiful enormous cabinets at a garage sale and bought them right up.  (Thanks Amy!)

And yes, I plan on keeping my laundry room this clean and organized every day! :-) Thanks to my new Simplify My Life skills.

What Would You Do With 30 Pounds of Chicken Breast?

This is maybe half of the chicken I bought. 

I am certifiable crazy.  I admit it. I love to save money and get good deals.  This is what we do to save money and time.  I hope this will help someone who is need of more time or more money or both.

We found skinned boned chicken breast for 99 cents a pound, and I had a $5 coupon.  So I bought over 30 pounds of it!!!

So I spent several hours pulling off chicken skin, de-boning, and slicing.  I boiled half of it for future chicken tacos, chicken spaghetti, chicken and dumplings, etc. I bagged and froze it.

One of my three pots to boil the chicken.

Then I took the rest of it and bagged it with marinades and special spices.

Bags full of seasonings and sauces

Next time I grill, I'll just pull out a bag and be ready to go.

 It's a lot of work, but it makes life easier in the long run. :-)

Happy cooking and saving, everyone!

When Pigs Fly!!

We have a sloped backyard that's really not usable for play, so we decided to build a playhouse for the kids to utilize our space.  A week after Levi was born, Michael and his dad began working on the boys' playhouse/swing set.  We sold our utility trailer for extra cash and used left over boards from pool deck.

 The men worked in 40 degree weather and rain to get as much done as possible while Grandpa was here.

Grandpa, who is 75, was on top of the building roofing; I was praying.  It's more than 20 feet up in the air.

 Today, here's the finished playhouse with the main architect (Michael) taking a break.  We have a few more things to tweak, but we're calling it "DONE".  I'm so glad that pool is gone.  We'll use this playhouse all year!  It's 8 foot by 8 foot with a 2 ft. by 8ft. covered porch.  In the bottom of my picture is our veggie gardens.

Michael designed easy to climb stairs, a dutch door, 5 stations for swinging, and a covered porch.  It also has a easy to  use window for drive in window play!

 

Here's the boys smiling for Grandma, and on the right is their bell--a pig with wings.

When pigs fly, our kids can say that we don't love them or spoil them rotten.