30 Days of Thanksgiving

In the land of facebook,  many people were posting each day what they are thankful for.  I'm going to do it all right here,  because I knew I would forget and miss many days.  So, here's my list:

     1.  First of all,  I'm thankful for my salvation.  My relationship with Christ gives me love, hope, peace, and so much more.

     2.  My highschool sweetheart, my hubby.  I don't know what I'd do without him.

     3.  My 6 beautiful children, they are a handful,  but I love them.

     4.  Caring, Godly parents, both mine and hubby's!!

     5.  Our home - it's not big and fancy, but it is just what we need.

     6.  Our jobs - I'm so glad I can honestly be thankful for my job.  This year the Lord provided a new position in which I have better hours and less stress.

     7.  Our vehicles - I know this one sounds superficial,  but with 6 kids, transportation can get rather tricky.  We have been blessed with 2 full sized vans, one of which is all wheel drive so we can visit family in the winter.

     8.  Our church - Thankful for a place I can freely go and worship with like believers.

     9.  My country - The greatest on Earth, still!!  Even with everything going on right now,  there is no place else I'd rather be.

     10.  My dear friends - you know who you are!  I love that even though we no longer live close by, anytime I call,  they listen! They also know the same is reversed!!

     11.  Freedom -  I'm thankful for the freedoms we are given.  I fear we are letting them go one by one without even being aware what is happening.

     12.  I'm thankful for always having food in our cabinets.  We may not be eating steaks very often,  but we have NEVER went hungry.

     13.  Another odd one,  but I'm thankful for telephones and internet.  They allow me to keep in touch with family and friends I don't get to see often.

     14.  I'm thankful for my Bible.  I'm thankful for the guidance it provides.

     15.  Prayer - for the ability to go directly to my Saviour with my needs, and for knowing that there are others praying for me as I pray for them.

     16.  My washer and dryer - again,  it seems silly,  but doing laundry for 8 people, I'm VERY thankful for my washer and dryer!!!

     17.  Running water and electricity - My dad recently went 2 full weeks without power.  He did have a generator so not all was lost,  but I'm so thankful that my lights turn on when I flip the switch and for knowing that even when the power is out,  it should eventually come back on.

     18.  The freedom to home school - People often ask why I have chosen this and I have many reasons,  but one main one is it allows me MORE time with my children.  They grow up so fast.

     19.  Family - There are many and we don't always agree,  but they are the family God has given me and I love them all.

     20.  Thankful for God's Protection - every day that I get in my car, watch my children doing crazy things,  or some of the crazy things I've done myself,  I know that our guardian angels are working overtime.

     21.  Hope - another odd one,  but I'm thankful that my outlook on life is generally positive.  I know that no matter what,  my life is in God's hands.  I know that one day I'll see my mom and others that have passed on again.  Being a nurse,  I see a lot of people without hope and in such a sad state, that I'm just thankful for my hope!!

     22.  Our timeshare - I'm thankful that every other year,  we are able to get away as a family and enjoy ourselves, leaving the cares of daily life behind.  If it weren't for our timeshare,  I know we would not be able to have this luxury!!

     23.  Quiet time - Since I have 6 NOISY children in my house,  I am VERY thankful for the quiet moments.

     24.  Family time - I'm thankful I'm married to a man that enjoys time with his children and makes an effort to be with them.

     25.  Memories - I'm thankful that even when people are absent from this life,  there are so many memories recorded of their time with me:  pictures,  movies,  letters, little things passed on, etc......

     26.  God's timing - I'm always amazed how things work out.  God always knows what is best for us and just when we need things.

     27.  Love - I'm thankful for God's love for me, which allows me to love others.

     28. Dishwashers - Yep,  my dishwasher runs 2-3 times a day and if I had to handwash all those,  I'd be forever in my kitchen!!!

     29. Learned lessons -  I'm thankful for all the things I learned growing up and for the ability to learn from experiences every day. Sometimes those lessons are hard,  and it takes a little longer to sink into this hard head,  but lessons learned none the less!!!

     30.  Finally,  since we are now entering the Christmas holiday,  I'm thankful for God's son being born an earthly man and paying the ultimate price for MY sins allowing me to have hope for my future,  my children's futures, my family's futures and all those that receive His gift of salvation.  The knowledge that I will someday leave this world and live with Christ in Heaven is hope above all else.  There'll be no sorrow there,  no more burdens to bare,  no more sickness, no pain,  no more parting over there.  And forever I will be with the One who died for me,  What a day,  glorious day that will be!!!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  God bless!!

Menu Plan Monday Nov 19 - 25

Thanksgiving week is here!  Where has this year gone?  So much to do, so little time.  It is always so hectic from now until after Christmas.

Oh well,  prepared for another busy week.  Thanksgiving dinner will just be me, hubby, and the kiddos, but I still fix a feast.  That means the other days will be very easy meals.

Here's the plan:

MONDAY - potato soup

TUESDAY - steak n gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans

WEDNESDAY - homemade pizza

THURSDAY - HAPPY THANKSGIVING FEAST!!

FRIDAY - leftovers

SATURDAY - Turkey noodle soup

SUNDAY - spaghetti and meatballs

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Week.  Head on over to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.  

Japanese Steakhouse Hibachi Chicken and Steak with Fried Rice

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Japanese Steakhouse.  I have to admit though when hubby first took me,  I was skeptical.  I didn't like trying new things.  That was MANY years ago, now it's a FAV!!!

Problem is,  it's so expensive to take our family there.  Who are we kidding,  it's expensive to take my family anywhere!!!  So,  I've learned to make a version at home.  I realize it doesn't taste exactly the same,  but it's pretty close.  Now,  if I could just find a white sauce recipe??  ANYONE????

Obviously I don't have a hibachi grill in my home,  but wouldn't that be nice??  So,  I have to make things in batches and then combine.  One warning though,  this is not a meal you can prep and leave to cook.  You will be standing over the stove while the food is cooking.  It will at times seem like you don't have enough hands.

First thing I do is put the rice in the rice cooker.  You can prepare your rice however you normally would.

I use three skillets: one for the veggies,  one for the meat,  and one for the rice.

Cut up your veggies, I use 3 medium zucchinis and 1 onion (occasionally mushrooms too).

In two of the skillets,  warm 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter on medium heat.  Once warm,  throw the veggies in one and give them a stir occasionally.  Add 1 tbsp soy sauce during cook time.

The other skillet is for the meat.  You can do all chicken,  all steak,  all shrimp, or any combo.  I've done them all.  I marinate the meat in Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste and Glaze sauce for a couple hours.    Then,  throw it in the skillet and start throwing knives around like they do in the Japanese Steakhouse.  Just kidding.  If you are concerned about not having enough hands,  I recommend cutting the meat up before cooking.  Otherwise,  cut it as it cooks like they do in the restaurants.

By the time you get all that done,  your rice should be ready.  Simply set aside your veggies and meat and get ready for the fun and messiest part.

In the third and largest skillet,  heat 1 tbsp oil,  2 tbsp butter over medium heat.  I do three cups dry rice in my rice cooker.  I'm not exactly sure how much that is cooked,  but it's a lot!!   Once the butter and oil are hot,  scramble an egg in the skillet ( I did two this time because I made so much rice).

Once the egg is done,  add in the rice and desired amount of soy sauce.  I NEVER measure this!!  Start with a small amount and add until you get the desired taste.  You can add carrots and peas to the rice here if you like (my kiddos don't like).

Once it's all finished cooking,  you can serve it individually like the steakhouse,  or combine it all together in one bowl, which is what we do.  Either way,  it tastes great and I get my Japanese Steakhouse fix without cleaning out hubby's wallet.

YUMMY!!  Now,  if anyone out there has a fabulous white sauce recipe you'd like to share,  this would be near perfect!!

Two Kids + Five Shots = Lots of Tears

You would think after 6 kids I would know better.  Evidently NOT!!  I scheduled my 4 year old and 18 month old well visits for the same time/same day.  When I did,  I didn't even have vaccinations on my mind,  just one less trip.

I do really like our pediatrician.  All the nurses are great and most of the doctors.  There is this one,  but that's another post (I just request not to see him).  They are pretty good about getting you in and out in a reasonable time.  There's nothing worse than spending half a day WAITING to see a doctor.

So,  things are going well UNTIL,  the nurse brings in the trays with the syringes.  Mini-Me, of course having made enough trips with me to know what that was, immediately went into hiding.

Poor baby Samuel, not expecting the needles again was blissfully happy for a short time.  I mean the doctor was done probing and he was sitting on a big table all by himself.

Before it was all done,  there was a lot of crying, many tears, and a lot of hugging going around.  I finally got them both dressed again and I assure you they were ready to get out of there!

They had their prizes in hand from the nurses and my promise to get them sour candies after IF they were good.  And by good I mean Mini-Me sat up there like a big girl and got her 3 (count them three) shots in her arms.  All considering,  it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  Being a nurse myself,  I've seen worse behavior from ADULTS!!  However,  I should not schedule two kids to get shots on the same day again.  That doesn't mean I won't though,  cause I'm always trying to condense trips and appointments.

Menu Plan Monday Nov 12 - Nov 18

Time to get back to the plan.  Last week we were in WV for the first part of the week.  My dad and grandma were still without power after Hurricane Sandy dumped about 18 inches of snow on them.  As a matter of fact,  they didn't get power back until just this past Saturday evening I believe.  That's almost 2 full weeks of no power!!  I wish I had my camera with me and ready as we were driving from my dad's house to my grandma's.  The roads were just littered with tree branches, electric poles, electric lines, and even a couple transformers.  It was a mess!!  Glad it's starting to get back to normal for them.

As for us,  we need to get back into the swing of things.  That means back to school,  back to work,  and back to plans and schedules to keep everything running semi-smoothly!!  I'm also trying to get things winter cleaned in prep for the holidays.  That means extra work for me and the kiddos.  I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is next week and then Christmas is just around the corner.  UGH!!!!

Here's this week's plan:

MONDAY - Crock pot Angel chicken with pasta

TUESDAY - Vegetable Soup

WEDNESDAY - Whole Chicken in a Crockpot, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, and rolls

THURSDAY - Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

FRIDAY - Hibachi steak and chicken with rice made at home (recipe next week)

SATURDAY - CAROLINA YOUTH RALLY, we'll be eating out

SUNDAY - Crock Pot Lasagna, Garlic Parmesan Bread

For more meal ideas for your family,  visit Menu Plan Monday over at Organizing Junkine.

Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

While I am NOT a big pumpkin fan,  I have been doing a little experimenting.  After all,  it's that time of year.  I found this recipe on a Paleo site while I was looking for some other recipes and thought we'd give it a try.  Turns out they were pretty good and good for you.  Can't beat that!!

Here's what you need:
         1/4 cup pureed pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie in a can)
         1/2 cup almond butter (or any nut butter you prefer)
         1/2 cup honey
         1 tsp vanilla
         1 cup almond meal/flour (this was the hardest part,  I had a hard time finding this AND it's a bit expensive)
         1 tsp ground cinnamon
         1/4 tsp baking soda
         1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
         1/2 cup walnuts, or pecans, or whatever you'd like

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cooking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine all wet ingredients together then add the dry ingredients and combine thoroughly.  Scoop batter to whatever size you'd like and flatten out to the desired thickness since these do not spread on their own.  Bake approximately 10-15 minutes (mine took the full 15 minutes), according to thickness.  Remove from baking sheet 2 minutes after cooling and transfer to cooling wrack.  Chill them in the fridge and then eat.  These are not the "better when warm" type cookies.  While they are good warm,  they are better from the fridge!!  Believe me.

Halloween 2012 A Little Late

This year I had 3 princesses and a Tigger!!  Amazingly enough,  I was able to take them to a trunk or treat and still get home, get everyone ready,  and make it to church.  Not going to get into a great debate about that one,  I've heard enough.  I'll just let the pictures show you how cute they were and how much fun we had.

 The way to trick or treat,  get yourself a ride!!

 Patiently waiting in line and entertaining Tigger.  He would have rather been bouncing around (like Tigger's do).

 Pocahontas stopping to pose.

 Candy's all gathered, time for a picture!!

 So cute!!

 Beautiful Pocahontas and Jasmine!!

 CHEESE :)

What fun we had.  We have candy to last us through this weekend at least, LOL!!!!

Hawaiian Sweet Bread

I love, love, love the Kings Hawaiian sweet rolls, so when I found this recipe online for a bread machine,  I had to give it a try.  It turned out really well.  Hubby said it was better than my usual bread recipe,  and as usual,  there were no left overs.

Here's what you need:

        3/4 cup pineapple juice

        1 egg

        2 tablespoons vegetable oil

        2 1/2 tablespoons honey

        3/4 teaspoon salt

        3 cups bread flour

        2 tablespoons dry milk

        2 teaspoons fast rising yeast or 2 teaspoons quick-rising yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine.  My machine calls for the wet ingredients first then add the dry.

I used the sweet cycle on my machine,  but the recipe said you could use white or sweet.  I also changed it to light crust. 

In 2 hours 50 minutes,  I had a delicious loaf of sweet bread.

This is definitely a recipe that will be repeated in our household.  Enjoy!!!