Horizon Organics Giveaway

Horizon Organics is giving away 60 gift certificates for free Horizon Organic Dairy Products worth $300. For contest details and your chance to win, visit this link at 5minutesformom.com.

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July 18, 2007 | Filed Under Contests and Giveaways | Leave a Comment 

Pie Pandemonium

So I had gotten on here to write a blurb about a happy time making blueberry pie with my kiddos just 40 minutes ago. I was thinking pleasant thoughts about the color of blueberries, my childrens eagerness to help pour in each ingredient and roll out the pie crust, how wonderful it is to bake and cook with your kids, and how we should all take some time now and again to make food the old fashioned way, when suddenly my nose detected a scent.
Is that…smoke?
I turned my head from the computer screen to see smoke pouring out of the kitchen.
“Oh crud!” I yelled as I ran toward the oven.
My kids, hearing my yell, immediately dropped what they were doing. With concerned voices they asked what was wrong.
“Somethings burning,” I replied more calmly, grabbing the oven mitt.

I had forgotten that the word “burning” to kids, is code for, start freaking out.
At that moment I opened the oven door, which in turn caused a huge cloud of smoke to billow out. Count Dooku started yelling at Obi-Wan not to go into the kitchen. Obi-Wan began a series of shrill screams.
“Hurry,” Count Dooku said with plugged nose, “lets run to the bedroom before the smoke gets us!”
So off they went, leaving me to manage the damage without going deaf.
As I waved the smoke away I saw my mistake. I had forgotten to place a cookie sheet underneath my pie and blueberry goop was overflowing from one side of the pan. It bubbled and sizzled on the bottom of the oven.
I quickly pulled the oven rack out, grabbed a spatula and started scraping the burnt goo out of the oven and dumping it in the sink. The process was quick, and with a little hand waving and wide open sliding door, order was restored.
Now I just have to convince the kids that the presence of smoke in the oven, does not mean I burnt the pie.

Blueberry Pie

3/4 cup white sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained
Butter
Recipe for 9 inch pie crust, doubled

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. In a large bowl stir together sugar, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon. Add blueberries and gently combine till berries are well coated
3. Line 9 inch pie plate with pie crust and pour berry mixture inside. Dot with butter.
4. Add a lattice top and seal the edges. Brush with egg white for shine.
5. Bake pie on lower shelf in the over for 40 to 50 minutes or until pie is bubbly and top is golden brown.

Best Flaky Pie Crust

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 5 teaspoons cold water

1. In a bowl cut the shortening into the flour until fine crumbs form. Add salt.
2.Then add the water a teaspoon at a time, creaming mixture together with a fork.
3. Knead with hands and roll out on a floured surface.

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July 18, 2007 | Filed Under Good Eats, Humor | 3 Comments 

Super Awesome Ultra Exciting Giveaway!!!

I just discovered the Mother of all Giveaways!!!!!!!!
If you’re a fellow video gamer, head on over to this link at John Cow dot Com for your chance to win a Playstation 3, XBox 360 or Nintendo Wii.
Oh, how I covet a Wii! If we could only afford it! Here’s crossing my fingers I’m the lucky winner!
Contest ends August 15th.

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July 17, 2007 | Filed Under Contests and Giveaways | Leave a Comment 

One of Each

I have many reasons for staying at home with my kids. When I say “at home” I don’t just mean the fact that I do not work. I mean staying inside. There are days, many days, that I do not want to leave the house with three children. But I strongly believe children need plenty of sunshine and outdoor play time and since we are apartment dwellers without a yard, I must take them out to play. Playtime is the least of my troubles.
Trying to shop with three children? That’s a whole other ball game. I only go to stores that have the giant carts with buckled seats for two toddlers and a place on the cart to put a car seat. Even in these carts, shopping can get harry. But I do it because … well…actually I’m not sure why I put myself through the madness. I hate going out late at night for one thing and of course I often get frustrated at those bold enough to make comments about my misbehaving children.
But more than that, I am frustrated with the reaction people often have to my having 3 children in the first place.
Whenever I go somewhere it is almost inevitable to get one of the following comments:

“Are they all yours?” - This surprises me I guess because I come from a family of five and my husband from a family of 13. Three doesn’t seem like that many kids to me

“You have your hands full, you’re done right?” - Again a comment along the lines of 3 being a lot and surely you don’t want any more children do you?

“Oh, well you’ve got one of each, now you can be done.” This one I think bothers me most. I didn’t just have my second son because we were trying for a girl. Am I happy I got a little girl the third time around? Sure, but I would have loved another boy just as much.

What these comments say to me: Children are such a hardship, don’t have anymore than you have to, especially if you’ve already got one of each.

Most of my days are busy and messy and exhausting. My hands are full, but so is my heart. Children are beautiful, innocent angels, still so close to God. The love and joy they bring me far outweighs the amount of time and work I must put into teaching them.
Don’t tell me that they are a hardship, or that I should only have them until I get the gender I want. You disrespect them by so saying.
I am so thankful for the sacred gift of my little ones. I hope those who think otherwise are far and few between.

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July 17, 2007 | Filed Under Gratitude, Motherhood | 9 Comments 

Tackle it Tuesday

Tackle It Tuesday Meme

My goal for today is:

1. To finally, finally make the boys clean up their room and then go through their toy bins and gather toys they are no longer interested in to donate to a charitable organization.

If I felt I could take on more I would, but as it their room has been a mess for over a week and making them pick it up just hasn’t been at the top of my priority list. It must be done!
I think the supervising of a room cleaning is so much more difficult than just doing it myself.
Wish me luck!!

July 17, 2007 | Filed Under Blog Carnivals | 5 Comments 

Where oh where has the ordinary toothbrush gone?

Some of you may remember a little incident I mentioned in an earlier post involving a toothbrush and the toilet.
Yes, the boys actually did flush my toothbrush down the toilet and yes the toilet now overflows on a regular basis. My husband and I always have the plunger at hand as the toilet is flushed to prevent overflow should it try to occur.
Anyhoo, once my toothbrush disappeared I of course needed to purchase a new one. So I set off to the grocery store to complete this oh so simple task. But simple, it was not.
Now, I don’t know how often you all change your toothbrushes out but we usually have Santa do it for us every christmas. A lovely new toothbrush appears in each stocking, along with cavity and sugar rush inducing goodies. At the time this happened it had been about 8 months since I had started using the latest toothbrush. Somewhere within those eigth months, a change occured.

As I stared at the endless selection of toothbrushes I saw they all had ginormous (yes it’s officially a word now) handles. They were toddler friendly toothbrushes made for adults and there was no way any of these fat handled things would fit into my toothbrush holder. The only skinny handled toothbrushes they had were the 69 cent, snaps in half in your hand while brushing kind.
I couldn’t believe it! The injustice!! The unfairness!
Any toothbrush that I use must be able to be stored in a toothbrush holder. Not on the counter. Not in the medicine cabinet.
I kindly asked the clerk if there were any quality, skinny handled toothbrushes in the back. Of course he said he didn’t know as he gave me the quizzical brow. So off I went to Target to find a toothbrush holder.
I assumed that if fat handled toothbrushes were “in style” that they must have started making fat handled toothbrush holders.
Wrong again.
Target did save my day by having some better quality skinny handled brushes. Now I’m realizing I should have bought ten.
Am I the only one annoyed by the fat handled toothbrush phenomenon? It certainly wouldn’t be the first time everyone else thought I was the weird one.

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July 16, 2007 | Filed Under Humor, Random | 4 Comments 

Kid Speak #1

Upon arriving at a friends house:

Count Dooku: Mom, what’s the yellow sign?
Me: Looks like they’ve sprayed for bugs, so be sure not to walk on the grass okay?
Count Dooku: Okay

after getting out of the car

Count Dooku: Obi-Wan, no!!! Don’t walk on the grass! There are skunks hiding in it and they’ll spray you!

Something was obviously lost in translation.

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July 13, 2007 | Filed Under Humor, Kids | 2 Comments 

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