Murder Plays House (A Mommy Track Mystery)

This is book 4 of the series. According to her website, there are 6 books out right now, so I'll definately get this series finished this summer.

In this book, Juliet is house hunting and runs across a dead body. Of course, she sets out, along with her partner Al, to solve this murder. This book tackles a heavy subject, anorexia and bulemia in teen girls. Juliet is also pregnant with her 3rd child during this book.

So far in this series, I've had a hard time with Juliet's views on motherhood. She left her full-time career with the public defenders office when she had her first child, Ruby. But she doesn't exactly embrace motherhood. It's more of something she has to do. She generally feels obligated to be home with her children, mindlessly running them to play dates and school and sad that she no longer has a life. There are glimpses of the joy of motherhood thrown in, just when you think you can't stomach her attitude another second. This book seemed to be less that way!

I've been thinking on this motherhood attitude while reading this book. I think she feels "blah" in her motherhood career because she is viewing motherhood simply as ushering her kids to and fro, cooking and cleaning, etc. Purely a physical approach to motherhood.

She is not a Christian woman viewing her role in motherhood as a ministry. She is not raising her children with her eyes on eternity. She is not embracing motherhood as a high calling from the Lord.

I find that to be quite sad. I think Juliet's view of motherhood may be how I felt if I didn't feel raising my children was a ministry and a calling from the Lord.

So, I like this cozy little mystery series (Jodi's term) and will finish it out. I am glad that the drudgery of motherhood was played down in this book. I did read another book by her (Daughter's Keeper) and am not sure Ayelet Waldman could be considered one of my favorite authors, but I'll keep trucking through her other books when I run out of reading material lol.

Sunday at the lake.

We had a beautiful day at the lake on Sunday! Doug and Allen spent some time fishing on the pontoon while Isaac and Jordan used their new boat! Allen still does not like to hold his fish! So.....Doug is holding the fish and taking the picture LOL.

Jordan and Isaac's boat is not docked yet, so they had to carry it to the lake. It is about 150#, and they have to go about 1 block away. They were highly motivated to carry it down, but not so much to bring it back. They don't have a battery for the motor yet, so they are paddling right now. So I am sure their arms were sore. I told them no more boating until Dad gets it docked LOL. I think they are in agreement with that!


I saw some geese on the water. I couldn't zoom in very close, but they were too cute to pass up.

While all the guys were boating/fishing, I sat on the deck and read a book from my Summer Reading Challenge. After sitting in the sun so long I felt I would cook, I moved to the swing. Doug and Allen came up and found me sleeping there! I had only slept 5 hours the night before, so falling asleep on the swing seemed reasonable to me!

I forgot to take the camera out on the boat ride with us. Ahhh, well. It was gorgeous, take my word for it LOL.

We had a wonderful day and are looking forward to going up again this week. The boys are hoping my dad got up there to dock the boat. If not, I may take them fishing on the pontoon, depending on if we have company or not. I've invited 4 families to go up with us for the day this week. So far I have no definate answers. I've invited our friends for the past 3 weeks. I may quit inviting if people keep saying no lol.

Weekend Recap

Friday~We all went in different directions. Jordan stayed home to work on school in the am. Isaac and Allen went to the lake with my sister (Cynthia, it's a 50 min. drive north from us. I keep forgetting to answer that question). Toni took her 3 kids, ages 4-8, plus an extra 5 year old just for the heck of it. So it was nice for her to have 2 teens to help.

I went for coffee with the girls. We met at Deanna's house. She has 2 little girls, another lady has 2 little girls and the other one has 1 middle school girl and a little boy. It was fun to watch the little ones play in this inflatable water slide thing. It was interesting to watch little girls play. They are so different than boys! And rather squealy! It was luscious to be child free as I watched the little ones melt down as it became lunch/nap time. I realize that I do not miss that part of them being little. I miss the sweet times though.

I came home and Jordan had finished biology and was reading. So I took a nap. My sister had the other two until evening when we met at an open house at church. I rounded up 2 of my kids from the open house (Allen went to a friend's house for a sleepover) and headed to another friend's house for an 8:30 meeting. She, and 3 other families from our prayer group, are going to the Creation Festival in Mt. Union, PA this month and are taking Jordan and Isaac with them. So we were having a little meeting to all be on the same page. Doug came there from work and we left shortly thereafter! It was SO nice to see my honey after him being gone all week!

Saturday~Again in different directions. The boys' boat came in, so Jordan, Isaac and Doug met Dad and Cay at Gander Mountain and picked up the boat. Doug and the boys headed to the lake to drop it off.

While they were doing that, I picked up Allen, brought him home and did morning errands. I went to the mall and braved Victoria Secrets for a professional br* fitting. I was in desperate need of the correct size. I did not want to have some skinny, young thing helping me (an overweight, middleaged mama) and have put it off for as long as I could. But it was painless and it is so nice to have wonderful fitting undergarments! I am shocked to look down and see the girls where they are supposed to be! I feel like I've lost 10 lbs.!! And my salesclerk was wonderful and sweet!

I also ran to Kohl's to get sheets and pillows for the bunk of Doug's truck. He finishes training tomorrow and needed bedding for his truck. I went to Sam's Club at 10:30 am on Saturday! Yes, I am insane! I also braved the local grocery store. Finally I came home and took a nap lol.

We went to the Sat. evening church service, came home and ordered pizza and then Doug and I went dancing. We had a fabulous time! I really, really love our date nights and am so glad his new job has him home on the weekends!

Sunday~We got up about 8 and got ready to go to the lake. By 9:15 I had made honey marinade for the chicken, cut a watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe, cleaned the cherries and made a tossed salad. I gathered up all the snacks and drinks and coffee fixings and had the boys load up. I also did my hair and makeup and made the bed lol.

We spent the day at the lake fishing and relaxing. My inlaws came up in the afternoon for an early Father's Day celebration. Our friends, Joe and Toni, also came up. We had a relaxing meal of grilled chicken, salad and fruit, spent time on the lake taking a boat ride, and just visited. My inlaws left earlier than our friends. We made a fire in the little fire bowl and relaxed with drinks. It was luscious. After Joe and Toni left, Doug and I took a stroll down by the lake, sat on the bench and watched Isaac boat, walked back to the lake and I got things cleaned up and ready to go home while Doug took Allen to the DQ for some father/son bonding time.

We stopped at my inlaws on the way home. Our van brakes are bad, so my FIL fixed them for me this morning. We left the van at their house and brought their car home.

Monday~I went to Curves. Came home and got cleaned up and took Jordan and Isaac to our friend's house to do some work for him. They are going from there to my uncle's house to work and swim. They'll bring them home later. My MIL picked up Allen to come and play with the girls this morning.

What did I do with a morning to myself? Clean of course lol. I scrubbed the bathroom, top to bottom, scrubbed the kitchen and mopped the floor, washed my sheets and hung them on the line, washed 2 loads of throw rugs and hung them on the line, washed a load of laundry (put it in the drier lol) and washed a blanket and will hang it on the line when I'm finished blogging. I also dusted the living and dining rooms. I went and did the car/van trade and brought Allen home. He had a headache. He was going to stay the day. I then ate lunch and took a nap! Now I'm blogging.

So......I feel like we cram so much into our weekends! Mondays I usually like to crash, but I had some motivation today to get things done. The weather is gorgeous! And I was motivated. Plus tomorrow Isaac and Allen have ortho appts. all morning.

So...what did ya'll do this weekend?

I love this series! Hannah lives in Lake Eden, Minnesota. Hannah seems to stumble across dead bodies on a regular basis, much to her mother's dismay.

This latest book finds Hannah judging baked goods at the Tri-County Fair. Her entire family is involved in the fair and the murder takes place there, also. It cracks me up how Hannah can single-handedly (or with her sisters' help) crack the case.

This latest book also has Moishe (Hannah's cat) not feeling well. And then there is the never-ending dilema of who Hannah should marry, Mike or Norman! I am rooting for Norman :) I think they are dragging this out through too many books. She needs to make a decision already.

This is a fun, light series with recipes! There are a few in this book that I'd like to try. Cappuccino Royales are the first I'd like to try and the Walnut-Date Chews look really yummy also.

A Day at the Lake

We had a fabulous time at the lake yesterday! It started out cloudy, and it was cold. But by 2pm, the sun was out. It was still cold...high of only 72*! but it was gorgeous.

The boys kayaked a bit when we first got there. They also fished, but I was at the house reading and won't let them take the camera to the lake. I am the MEAN MOM. However, Jordan's house keys and one of the 2-way radios are in the bottom of the lake. I'd prefer my camera does not end up there LOL.

We ate lunch and then the boys mowed Dad's lawn and the neighbor's lawn. Isaac didn't feel like extra mowing, so John (Jordan's friend and my "other son" since our families have been friends for 10 years) did Isaac's part. He said ten bucks is ten bucks LOL.

I took a nap and they fished some more. Afterwards, they convinced me to take them on the baot for a little shore fishing. I'll be glad when the boys' little boat that Dad is getting them is in. Supposedly this weekend! I hope so! I don't steer right, blah blah blah. But it was a nice ride before the fishing.

Then we cleaned up and headed home. It was a lovely day!

John and Isaac

Jordan They were racing to the dock on opposite sides!
Allen's sandcastle
John, Isaac and Jordan (Notice Jordan's handsome new haircut?)
Allen caught a fish, but it jumped the line. I took his picture anyway :)

Allen uncovering the boat
Isaac caught a nice large-mouth.
And a small one, too.

Portraits

We had our portraits done with Doug's parents, his sister and her girls and our family. It was a gift for my MIL's birthday. She chose the color scheme of black and white. It worked I think. We went to Sears and they did a fabulous job! So here are a few of what we had done.

Doug's Mom and Dad are in the middle

His sister is on the far left and the girls are hers.

Jordan
Our family

Doug and Me...I love this picture!
The three boys! Another favorite......
Allen
Isaac
They did a great job posing the kids. Aren't they a handsom bunch of boys?

Wonderful Wednesday!

I am choosing to look at the positive today! I've been walking around wallowing in self-pity and feeling quite depressed about Doug's new work schedule. I was quite convicted, and encouraged, to read De'Etta's blog yesterday. God is very much in control! He is big and He is Lord and He knows so much! He is a Good Shepherd! De'Etta, thanks for that preaching!

We are having quite the cool spell! It was in the 90s last week. Yesterday the high was 62* and today it will be the low 70s. The sun is supposed to come out today, so we are heading to the lake. The boys will mow Dad's and the neighbor's lawns, fish, kayak, and just enjoy the day. Jordan's friend, John, will be coming with us.

I'll swing by my inlaws' house on the way home. Our family portraits are in! I'll be borrowing her CD and be posting pictures tonight or tomorrow!

Have a blessed day :)

Where I've been....

I know I've been a sporadic blogger. Things have been hectic around here and I've been dealing with some personal struggles.

A couple months ago, Doug accepted a new job, put in his 2 weeks notice and all looked good. He was going to work for a local company and be home almost every night! I was so, so, so excited about this. I've been praying for this. (I've been struggling with praying for things. It seems everything I pray for is a big old no from God. For a long while, I quit praying for things for me/our family. I just didn't have what it took to believe God would actually listen and/or answer my prayers). So I was ESTATIC when Doug accepted this job.

So he puts in his 2 week notice. The new job sounded wonderful. His former Penske boss (whom he had for 12 years and we LOVE her, she is a personal friend) would be his new boss. Four or five former Penske employees were also making the move. It would be familiar and local!

So 3 days after he gives his notice, Deanne (boss) calls and tells him she doesn't think this job will work out for him. They hadn't started the account before he gave his notice, so he didn't have ALL the particulars. He would have been hauling flat bed. Well, the loads have to be strapped down, understandably. The way they do this is by hooking a 4" strap to the trailer, tossing it over the load, go over to the other side and SCALE! the side of the load (about 12' high) and walk along the top of the very insecure load to strap it down. Doug cannot do that job physically with his knees! So....the local job is gone!

Not only is the job gone, but Doug had already put in his notice and they were GLAD! InSight was cutting back on drivers and hours. They didn't even work Doug the entire 2 weeks he had left.

So here he is without a job. I am totally devastated! I really wanted him to be home! And the prospect of NO job, no savings since we've blown through that with his former job. It's been a long 14 months. I felt like I had no hope. I didn't even want to turn to God. What was He doing? How much does He think I can take?

But God did show up in a big way! Within a week of quitting InSight, Doug had a job interview, God provided the money for him to drive to IL to interview, and he was hired! It will be a good job with great benefits, vacation and a nice salary! But he will not be home. He'll be home even less than he was with InSight. He will be working for Sherwin Williams.

So, it took a couple weeks to get a start date. Doug went without work for 3 weeks. While he wasn't working, we spent as much time with him as possible, which is party of why I've not been blogging a lot! The other part was, I was really dealing with my disappointment and anger. I had huge temper tantrums, I cried and cried, I just wallowed in it.

I am trying to snap out of it. I am now resigned to the fact that my husband will only be home on the weekends. I don't so much being alone with the boys and single-parenting it. I've done that for years, basically, since he worked 14 and 16 hour days. But I really miss my husband. He is my best friend and we spent so much time together. I miss bike rides and walks, sitting on the couch talking when the kids are sleeping, intimacy, cuddling, waking up and seeing him. Heck, I even miss picking up his socks every day LOL.

God has provided for us in such a big way! He's provided financially to fill in the gap of no pay. Somebody in Doug's family has helped us out tremendously with bills and even getting clothes for our family! We went shopping Saturday to get Doug new clothes. I had already bought new things for the boys and me. We had many trips to the mall last week! So anyway, we are JCPenney and I'm tossing clothes at Doug. I didn't even look at the price tag. Just knew he needed clothes and many of them! So a friend of ours happens to be there. He starts talking to us and for some reason or another, he is still talking to us while we check out. So I left him in line with Doug (holding some of the stuff) and went to find the boys who were walking around. Our friend bought all of Doug's clothes!!! What a huge blessing. We've never had anything like that happen to use before! Our God is a big, big God!

I still do not understand why my heart cry of having my husband home just seems to keep passing through my fingers. It would have been SO much easier to have him take this job if the hope of him being home wasn't there. But God knows what is happening. He has a plan. Some days I wish he'd let me in on more of it LOL. I just have to put my trust and hope in HIM!

Doug started his job last week. It was a whrilwind for me. The kids were exceptionally busy and I am not used to being the only taxi. So...that is where I've been. Adjusting to more changes than I'd like LOL. I am hopeful to be back blogging on a regular basis. Especially now that we are finished schooling for the summer!

Summer Reading Challenge

My friend De'Etta, over at Choosing Joy, has instigated a summer reading challenge. It looks like a lot of fun, so I decided I'd join in. If you are interested, please click the link (choosing joy) to read all the rules. It is going to be fun! And there are prizes :)

In the summer, I read a LOT of fluff, so don't mind that. I adore reading and always find time to read. My real challenge will be to keep my daily Bible reading and devotions consistent. So that is the top of my list!

Here is the list of things I have out from the library right now, plus a few others that I want to read over the summer. I may or may not read all of these. Some of them are new authors. If I am into something that I just don't like, I'll quit it lol. I've also heard of 3 new authors I may check out. But really, I need to finish up the new series I started.

Personal Reading

Daily time in the Word
Intimate Issues ~ Linda Dillow & Lorraine Pintus
Every Woman's Desire ~ Of the Every Man's Battle books

Family Read Aloud

God Smuggler Reading Now

Christian Life

Heartfelt Discipline ~ Clay Clarkson
Invitation to Journey

Fiction ~ very fluffy, easy and mindless!

The next Tamar Myers book, but I'm not sure where I am in the series
Torchlight ~ Lisa Tawn Bergren (Christian fiction) Returned unread
Love and other impossible pursuits ~ Ayelet Waldman (to see if I like her other books) Couldn't get into it...rather depressing...but I do like her Mommy Mystery Series. Didn't Finish!
Between Friends ~ Debbie Macomber Returned...realized I had already read it!
Land of my heart ~ Traci Peterson (Christian fiction) Returned unread
Beach girls ~ Luanne Rice (a new favorite author) Returned...coulnd't get into it
Blue Moon ~ Luanne Rice Returned unread
The Gold Coast ~ Nelson DeMille Returned unread
Every Storm ~ Lori Wick (Because I've never read her and wonder if I like her...Christian fiction) Returned unread
A Fall from Grace ~ Robert Barnard (new author, never read) Returned...didn't like this new author
Key Lime Pie Murder: A Hannah Swensen myster ~ Joanne Fluke (her latest!) ~ Read
Murder Plays House: A Mommy-track myster (series I hope to finish this summer/fall) ~ Ayelet Waldman Read
"B" is for Burglar: A Kinsey Millhone mystery (liked the first one, we'll see) ~ Sue Grafton
Kiss the Girls: an Alex Cross novel (Hope to finish this series too!) ~ James Patterson (Dad got me hooked on James Patterson and Nelson DeMille!) Read
2nd Chance ~ James Patterson (another series I hope to finish by end of fall) Read
3rd Degree ~ James Patterson Read
Four to Score: a Stephanie Plum novel (very fun!) ~ Janet Evanovich Read
High Five: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Add Ons:

Hot Six: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Seven Up: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Hard Eight: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

To The Nines: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Ten Big Ones: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Eleven on Top: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Twelve Sharp: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

The Craddle Robbers: a Mommy track mystery ~ Ayelet Waldman Read

Bye-Bye Black Sheep: a Mommy track mystery ~ Ayelet Waldman Read

Back on Blossom Street ~ Debbie Macomber Read

The Edge of Winter ~ Luanne Rice Read

Along Came a Spider ~ James Patterson Read

Seven Pillars of Health ~ Dr. Conrad I think? Read

Lean Mean Thirteen: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Jack & Jill: An Alex Cross mystery ~ James Patterson Read

The Midnight Club ~ James Patterson Read

The 5th Horseman~A Women's Mystery Club Murder ~ James Patterson Read
Pretend You Don't See Her ~ Mary Higgins Clark Read
See, I told you summer is very fluffy! So....come join the fun, check out all the rules at De'Etta's blog, and happy reading :)

Happy Birthday Allen!!
My baby turns 13 today! Wow how time flies. I remember when he was that chubby little baby. Wasn't he adorable? Allen is such a pleasure. I am so blessed to have these 3 wonderful children.

Today we will celebrate Allen's birthday with his favorite dinner. Sauce & meatballs. I just put the post of sauce/meatballs on to simmer while we are in church. We'll have angelfood cake with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert.

Whew...what a crazy day!

It has been one full day here today! I woke up at 5:30 and wished I could go back to sleep. I even tried to go back to sleep. I ended up getting out of bed at 6. Decided it would be a good idea to bake the cake early since it was going to be near 90* today!

So what did I do today?

~Put cake in oven
~Started laundry (and did 3 loads total, hung one on the line, all are folded. Kids will put away tomorrow)
~Made a smoothie
~Cleaned kitchen
~While cake cooled Doug, Allen and I cleaned & decluttered the school room, turning it into a little tv room for video games. We moved out a broken computer stand and took a bookcase to the basement, sorted books for sale (I need to post those I guess).
~Switched loads
~Made marinade and got chicken soaking
~Decorated cake
~Cleaned kitchen
~Dusted the living room and dining room. Allen vacuumed
~Swept the dining room
~Cut pineapple for lunch
~Tried to nap, read a little
~More laundry and hung it on the line
~Tossed salad for dinner
~Talked to Doug on the swing while he grilled chicken
~Ate dinner with the family. I love that!
~Cleaned kitchen
~Made no-bake cookies for the fun of it? Actually, my friend De'Etta posted on her blog a version of these cookies and I had to have some.
~Ran dishwasher and washed more dishes that didn't fit
~Took laundry off the line and folded it
~Spent too much time on the computer!

Whew....no wonder I am tired! It is a good tired though. It is nice to have a productive day after being lazy for the past few days.

Jordan and Isaac spent 5 hours working for a friend from church. They are moving slag and patio pavers. They will go back next week.

Jordan is at band practice right now. He is playing in the youth band, during main service, all weekend. He is thrilled! Doug and the other two went to watch. Doug is taking J & I to the movies to meet a friend. They will watch Pirates.

I am enjoying the peace and quiet in the clean house :) And the sunshine. I may read a little. I may blog hop. I should walk. I ate too many of those cookies UGH. I have the best of intentions regarding my diet when I wake up in the morning....wish I could hold those intentions past 2! I've been eating terribly and I feel terrible, too.

Allen's Cake

Sunday my baby is going to be 13. We are having family over tomorrow for cake and ice cream. I am a cake decorator and have cool things to do cakes with. Allen wanted to decorate his own cake.

So we got out the handy-dandy cake projector. This is SO cool. It projects the picture down onto the cake. You trace it with icing and then color it in. Allen started tracing, but soon tired of that. So Dad took over!

Doug tracing the picture onto the cake.

Picture waiting to be colored in.
Allen decorating his cake.
The finished project.

I did not take much time with the initial icing of the cake, so there are chocolate crumbs all through it. Usually, I take lots of time to ice and smooth the cake. But today I am tired and Allen didn't seem to mind. He said he'd cover most of it with the picture anyway :)

I did the writing for him, but he told me what to write.

I cannot believe my baby is going to be 13!!!

Orange/Pineapple/Banana Smoothie

This is really yummy and refreshing with frozen bananas.

juice of 4 oranges
2 handful (a cup maybe?) cubed pineapple
2 bananas (I use frozen)

Blend together in the blender. Enjoy!

Yield: 4 c.

Our New Addition

Isn't she simply adorable? Her name is Lilly and she is 5 1/2 weeks old. I weighed her on my food scale and she is a whomping 1 lb. 5 ozs. So sweet she is!

Tucker doesn't know what to make of her. Buddy is hissing at her. So far she's done nothing but sleep and cry. She is a tired baby missing her mama. But she'll be greatly loved!

Catie's Whole Wheat Bread

I found this recipe on the Sonlight forums today. I was skeptical with the small amount of flour in the loaf, but it looked so easy (and it is) that I had to try it. I just pulled the loaves from the oven a little bit ago. It smells wonderful in here! And the bread is very good, too. I loved that I didn't have to proof or sponge. Just dump the ingredients in the bowl, turn on the Kitchen Aid for 10 min. to knead, and voila! I did transfer mine into a greased bowl to rise. I do not like crusty dough.

Catie’s Whole Wheat Bread

1 ¼ cups hot water
2 ½ TBL olive oil2
½ TBL honey
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ¼ TBL yeast
½ TBL lecithin (I don't have this so didn't use)
½ TBL gluten (optional, I used 1T)

Dump all ingredients into mixer in no particular order. Mix on low speed until moistened. Then knead on medium speed for 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Don't even think about adding any extra flour until it has kneaded for 10 minutes, and even then, only add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more if absolutely necessary.Let dough rise in bowl 1/2 hour.

Punch down and shape into two loaves. Let rise in greased loaf pans for 30 minutes or until doubled.

For the fluffiest loaves, be sure to let it rise enough in the pans before baking. Do the Touch Test: 1. Press the dough on the side with the tips of two fingers lightly and quickly about 1/2 inch into the dough, and;

2. If the impression you made stays, the dough has doubled. If the indent quickly disappears, it needs a little more time; cover and let rise longer.Don't over rise; or it will flatten out in the oven. You want just the right point where it has risen all it can or should, but not too much.

Bake in preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes.Remove from pans and cool loaves on their sides on a wire rack.

Recipe is easily doubled or tripled.

I made the most wonderful new bread recipe today! It actually uses only 3 1/2 c. whole wheat flour and makes 2 loaves of bread. I'd like a taller loaf, but this is light, fluffy and my kids didn't say it felt like a brick! It was really easy, too.

Here it is in step-by-step photos. I didn't include the mixing in the Kitchen Aid. I was rather skeptical when I put the dough in the bowl to rise. It was SO tiny. But it did rise up nice and high.

Punched down and put on the board to rest for 10 min.

I then formed it into loaves and placed them in greased stones.

It doubled (see the finger marks?).

It browned nicely and is now cooling on the racks. I did cut 1 slice and let butter melt on it. Very tasty and not heavy at all.

Naps!

Who doesn't love a cozy nap on a cool, rainy day? Naps have become a regular part of my routine the past couple years, since being daignosed with fibromyalgia. It is the first I've had regular naps since the boys were babies/toddlers and preschoolers (all at the same time even!).

I often feel guilty about naps. I'm not talking a 20 min. power nap. No siree Bob, I am talking at least an hour, 2-3 hours on bad days (such as today). So I feel guilty. I could be doing so much more during the afternoon. Grading schoolwork, reading to my kids, playing games, or taking them somewhere. In the summer, we do go places, and I nap where we are at. The park or beach or whatever. Thankfully they are old enough to not need constant supervision and they wake me all the time.

But today I discovered a wonderful reason to take a nap! I am preserving my heart! That's right. According to a blurb in The Reader's Digest, "Folks who take regular naps lower their risk of dying from heart diseas by 37%"!

What better reason to lie down with a book and take a snooze? I am reducing my risk of heart disease! Plus it is cozy and fun, too!

Crusty French Bread. My family loves this recipe! I made it with white flour today. It is good mixed 1/2 white and 1/2 ww. I cannot get it to turn out for the family (I like it) with 100% whole wheat. They were happy for "regular" bread lol.

Crusty French Bread

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water (110-115*) divided
1 T sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 T shortening, melted
4 c. flour
Cornmeal

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water. Add sugar, salt, shortening and remaining water; stir until dissolved. Add flour and stir until smooth (do not knead). Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled.

Turn onto a floured surface. Divide in half; let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into a 10"x8" rectangle. Roll up from long side; pinch to seal.

Place seam side down on greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle the tops with cornmeal.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 min.

With a very sharp knive, make five diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf.

Bake at 400* for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned.

This is my favorite quick yeast bread. I love that there is no kneading and I can have it finished by lunch. I hope you enjoy it too.

Peppy Pizza Pasta

1 lb. whole wheat pasta shapes (I used shells), cooked
15 oz. Ricotta cheese
8 oz. (I used way more) part-skim mozzarella cheese
couple handfuls Romano or Parmesan cheese
6 oz. turkey pepperoni
large jar spaghetti sauce (and/or pizza sauce, I use both)
2 eggs
seasonings of choice (I used 2 garlic cloves, minced onion, basil, oregano, parsley and pepper)

Mix eggs, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese (save some for top) and Romano cheese in a bowl. Dice most of the pepperoni into quarters, stir into cheese mixture with seasonings. Mix in cooked pasta.

Spread pasta mixture into a sprayed 9x13 stone (pan oopps, guess everybody doesn't cook with PC, eh?) Top with spaghetti and/or pizza sauce. We like ours saucy so I use a 28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce and 1 or so jars of pizza sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.

Cover and bake 20 min. @ 425*. Uncover and bake 5-10 more minutes, until lightly browned.

I served this with Crusty French Bread. Yummy!

Doug took the boys fishing on Monday. First they went to the boat launch and Allen caught this little sunfish. Then he took them to the spillway. There is a fish hatchery there and the waters are protected. There are TONS of carp there. They are huge and people go there to feed them. They actually are quite gross. The guys fish right outside of the restricted waters.

Jordan is 16 now and didn't want to buy a PA license (quite expensive for an out of state license), so he lured them with bread. These carp eat tons of bread, so the fishing bait is cheap! Allen loves to fish, but hates to touch them. So Isaac held his fish for him. All these are different fish. They just catch and release.

Now is that a proud bunch of fishermen or what?

Tuesday it was quite breezy! It was in the 80s and sunny, so the breeze felt wonderful. Allen decided to fly his kite. It was the perfect day and he had so much fun!

The boys have always, always wanted to catch a muskee. We were getting ready to leave on Tuesday evening. I sent Jordan and Isaac down to the dock to get the kayak. When they got to the lake, they found this muskee washing up on shore. It is about dead, but that didn't stop them from posing for pictures. I think they are going to pass this off as a catch!

Tucker loves the lake, too!

Home from the lake!

We had a fabulous time. Sunday and Monday it was cloudy and cool. Doug built a fire in the fireplace to make us all cozy. The boys fished, and fished, and fished! We watched the Survivor finale. I read 1 1/2 books, drank coffee, cooked meals, and cooked and cooked! These boys want to eat all the time it seems. We relaxed and generally had a fabulous time.

We came home at a good time. We got home about 9pm Tuesday and the rains started about 10:30. Today the guys are cleaning the basement and I am taking it easy. It's been almost 2 weeks since we had rain and my body is not accustomed to it now lol. So it isn't a good pain day. But it is nice to get things done at home. Next week, we must finish school!

I'll add pictures in a separate post. I am still learning my way around blogger. I need to figure out how to put the pictures in the middle of a post. Anybody know how to do that?

We're having a beautiful weekend!

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous! Yesterday it was 80*! Today it only made it to 69, but still the sun was shining and it was gorgeous!

Friday Doug and I did a few errands to Sam's Club, the local coffee shop (must have organic decaf, swiss water process coffee beans at the lake lol), and the local produce store. I picked up a case of oranges (75 large navels) for about $22 and ordered a case of Boston lettuce for next week. I love LOVE that they sell us cases wholesale. I'm aiming (see I said aiming!) to eat 100%, so we go through things like bananas, oranges, grapefruit and greens like crazy.

Anyway, we came home from our errands, packed up and headed to the lake. We got there about 11:30. The boys did the lawn and then Jordan and Isaac went fishing. Allen like to fish, but is not consumed with fishing, so he played video games. I know, it was gorgeous and he should be outside, but what is a Mama to do? I wanted a peaceful day LOL. He did eventually go fishing with Doug.

We met the new neighbors. He was there contracting out some work. Doug asked him about his lawn (He is 3 hours away and not interested in mowing himself) and he hired Jordan and Isaac on the spot, so they did his lawn too. We're up there every week mowing the cottage grass, so why not make a little money. This week they are going to go around and drum up more business.

We grilled pizza and had chips/salsa. I also picked up chocolate chip cookies at Sam's Club, a gallon of Breyer's vanilla ice cream and had ice cream sandwiches.

I sat on the deck, in the gorgeous sun, reading Safe Harbor by Luanne Rice. It was a sweet book. I like this new author I've found. I also took a nap, did dishes numerous times, and crocheted a bit.

My Dad and Cay came as we were packing up to come home. It was nice to see them and visit for a few minutes.

The boys wanted to go to The Relay for Life with their friends, so we dropped them there and made sure they had a ride home. Doug and I went dancing. It was fun. I was sore. We left early.

Today I was up by 6:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. I hate that! It's Saturday and only one child was home and we had no plans, but could I sleep in??? Nooo. So I got up and started the laundry (which I forgot to do Thursday since I visited mom, and didn't do yesterday since gone all day). A few hours later Doug woke up. I made some smoothies and we sat on the swing and watched Allen mow the lawn. I went to pick up the boys from their friends house. Doug and I went to walk the mall and grab a quick lunch (see why I said aiming for raw? I had a grilled chicken sandich with carmelized onions and provolon, on rye, toasted. So good!).

We ran home, picked up the boys and took J & I to the bowling alley to lane monitor a ladies' bowling tournament. We took Allen to our friend's house to see her baby kitties. We are getting the little girl. She is ADORABLE! We can't wait to get her next week.

Doug dropped me at home and I took a long nap! He took Allen shopping and they finished the lawn. Now Doug is picking the boys up from the bowling alley, collecting their friends and driving them all to a birthday party in the next county over. Somebody else is bringing them all home! Don't you just love carpooling?

We are hoping to have a fire tonight and sit around drinking coffee and relaxing.

Tomorrow J & I work at the bowling alley all day. Doug, Allen and I will head to church. Then Doug is taking Allen to see Spiderman 3. I'll rest and get ready to go to the lake for a few days.

Gosh, I am so gabby in my posts lately. If ya made it to the end, you are a good woman!

Chores

Kathy asked how we do chores in our house. I assign daily and weekly chores to the boys and they are expected to help out with anything else I ask them to do. I do not rotate chores very often. I want them to know what is expected and to be able to do it well. Every 6 or 8 months, we discuss chores and sometimes the boys like to switch, but it has to be agreed upon by them AND me. I also have the privledge of switching them back.

The rules for chores are: Within 30 minutes of being awake, you must have your daily chores finished. No chores, no breakfast! Believe me, teen boys like to EAT! Food is a great motivator.

Also, I only prepare 1 meal a day (sometimes I'll prepare breakfast). So when they fix their own meals, they are expected to clean up all mess. After each meal, they are expected to scrape, rinse and load their dishes.

Oh, they all are responsible for picking up after themselves. Everybody has their own room, and I expect them to put their things away and not leave them laying around the house when they are finished. For example, Jordan has many CDs that he has made. He likes to listen to CDs while doing school. He does school at the dining room table. Last week I told him, many times, every day, to put his CDs away. Well, Friday, yet again there were 2 CDs sitting on the dining room table. I told him 3 times throughout the day to put those CDs away. They were still there when he went to bed. Those CDs went into the trash. They know that is the consequence! He's not even asked about them!

Daily chores include:

Me~prepare meals, wash/load dishes

Jordan~put away dishes (every morning, and throughout the day as needed), make bed and tidy room, scoop kitty litter

Isaac~sweep hard floors in the kitchen, dining room, and back entryway, feed his kitty wet food, empty trash (every morning and throughout the day, also weekly in the basement), wipe down bathroom fixtures, sweep floor and empty trash, make bed and tidy room, set the table for dinner

Allen~Vacuum living room and dining room rug, sweep basement steps, feed/water animals, put dog out (all throughout the day), make bed and tidy room, pick up doggie doo doo

Then we have weekly chores. If you don't do your weekly chores without being reminded, and with excellence, you do not get to have a social life on the weekend. We do weekly chores on Thursday. It is awesome to have the entire house cleaned in 1-2 hours with us all working together.

Weekly chores:

Me~Dust living room and dining room

Jordan~Dust/sweep bedroom, mop kitchen floor

Isaac~Dust/sweep bedroom, deep clean the bathroom

Allen~Dust/sweep bedroom, vacuum living room (includes moving all the furniture and vacuuming behind it), vacuum up the steps and both hallways

I do all laundry. I wash, dry and fold into individual baskets as it comes out of the dryer. I do laundry on Monday and Thursday (plan accordingly lol). Every Tuesday and Friday morning, they are expected to put their laundry away during morning chores.

They take turns doing the lawn. Last year each person had a "lawn job". That didn't work well. So this year we are rotating turns. Every 3rd turn, you have to do the entire lawn, weed eat, sweep grass off of our driveway, walkways and the neighbors driveway (we are CLOSE to our neighbors). In the winter they argue over who "gets" to shovel and snow blow.

Now, in a perfect world they would do their chores without reminding and to the best of their ability. But it is a work in progress, eh? But generally they do a great job. The house looks presentable most of the time.

So that is how it works in our house. Mom thinks it is HORRIBLE that my kids work this much (I think she forgot what I did, at age 11, when she was a drunk??) Anyway, my husband is a truck driver and only home 2 days a week. I do not have the luxury of alone time throughout the day, while kids would normally be in school, to clean my house. I have fibromyalgia which makes housework difficult at times when I am in so much pain it hurts to move! I have 3 able-bodied boys that are capable of working, and so they do. We are a team....I am not a slave lol.

Where have I been you say?

I've been OUTSIDE! We've been having a beautiful week of sunshine and temps in the 70s. A whole week! That is SO rare here. I've been enjoying every minute. Monday I hung all the laundry, and my sheets, on the line. I love freshly hung laundry. I did the boys' sheets yesterday and a couple comforters.

We've been trying to wrap up our school. We have this week and next week scheduled. The week following I've left open to finish up whatever we didn't get finished. We finished The Hiding Place Monday. I was bawling through the end. Isaac said, "Mom, are you crying?" I replied, "Yes, aren't you??" We've started God Smuggler and are really enjoying it. It is our last official read-aloud of the year!

Doug has been having job issues. Actually, yesterday was his last day of work. The job he was going to take didn't pan out. So he is job-hunting right now. God is working many things out and I will have exciting new to post soon, I pray!

Today I am going to visit my Mom for Mother's Day. Allen is coming with me. The other two have bowling tonight. So weird to not have all the boys with me when I do things. Nice and sad at the same time.

Tomorrow, if it doesn't rain, we plan to spend the day fishing at the lake. In the evening, Doug and I are going dancing. The band is playing and they've not played for a few weeks. We are looking forward to it.

My inlaws are going to Niagara this weekend, so we won't be squeezing in a MD visit to my MIL. We are going to have a quiet, relaxing weekend. What are your Mother's Day plans?

What would I do without teenage boys??


I am so blessed to have 3 young men living in my home! Doug is working so much lately that he doesn't have time to do things around the house. When the boys were little and Doug worked like this, it was so overwhelming to me. But not now. I have 3 very capable young men here. Today these things were done by my sweet sons:


~Mow and trim the lawn
~Wash the van
~Vacuum the floors
~Take out the trash
~Sweep the hard floors
~Wipe the bathroom
~Feed & water animals
~Prepare their own meals and clean up their mess
~Unload dishwasher
~Fix the broken TV
~Sit and talk to mom on the swing
~Give me many hugs and ask how I am doing
~Make me smile


I thank God for these young men every day! I feel so incapable of hsing and raising these boys. But God is so faithful. He is here holding me up and guiding me. What an awesome privledge we have!

White Cake & Buttercream Icing

I have the neatest cake book. The Cake Doctor is a book full of doctored up cake mix recipes. So yummy! This is the cake I made for the shower tomorrow. It is also really good if you just ice it and trim it with raspberries. Yummy!

White Cake

1 white cake mix (I use Duncan Hines)
1 c. whole milk
3 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 T vanilla extract

Mix ingredients together for 30 seconds on low. Scrape sides and mix on medium for 2 min. Pour into greased/floured pans (2 9" round pans or 9x13) and bake at 325* until cake tests done (I don't know how long. I doubled it and made 1/2 sheet and it took 45 min.)

Filling:
Raspberry cake filling OR raspberry jam

Spread icing on botton layer and then spread raspberry filling. Top with top layer. To keep the icing from oozing out, pipe icing around the edge of the cake.

Buttercream Icing

2 c. Crisco
2 sticks butter, melted
2 lbs. powdered sugar
1T vanilla extract

On low speed, mix crisco and butter until creamy and there are no crisco lumps. Gradually add powdered sugar. Mix on the lowest speed possibly until smooth and creamy. Icing will look like satin. I use a KitchenAid and mix on speed 2 for 5 minutes. The prevents you from beating air into the icing.

It is a nice, soft icing. Perfect for decorating, writing, making flowers or just smearing on a graham cracker!

Made a cake today!


One of the ladies on the prayer group is getting married next week. So the gals are throwing her a shower tomorrow. I offered to do the cake. It's been about a year since I've decorated a cake, but it is just like riding a bike, you never forget!


This is a white cake with raspberry filling and buttercream icing. The best buttercream icing you've ever had. It is now safely delivered to my girlfriend's house so tha Tucker doesn't eat it lol.