Happy Homemaker Monday - 04/15/2013

Hello everyone, hope your Monday morning is going well so far.
I have a very busy week ahead of me and am hoping that I continue to feel well.

Wishing you all a fantastic week of work, school and play :)



The weather.....
It's been beautiful, but then again I think it's because we're not in the middle of the scorching summer yet.

Right now I am....
Enjoying a very hot cup of coffee while finishing up my menu plan and grocery list. 
 
Thinking....
About everything that I have going on this week, and at this very second thinking about the items going on my grocery list.

On my reading pile....
Same books, haven't finished either one.
An Elm Creek Quilts Collection by Jennifer Chiaverini.  (Still plugging away at this one)
The Kingmaker's Daughter by Phillipa Gregory


On my TV.....

UK:
Helicopter Rescue
The Great British Sewing Bee
The Baby Bomb
The Village

USA:

Haunted Collector
Deep South Paranormal
Stan Lee's Superhumans
The Dead Files
Da Vinci Demons


Blog hopping (newly discovered blog)....
No blog reading this week, haven't had a chance.

On the menu for this week....

Monday 15th
Breakfast: Cereal, milk, coffee
Lunch: Beef Ramen Noodles, Fruit Salad
Dinner: Sausage and Broccoli Skillet
 
Tuesday 16th
Breakfast: Cinnamon Toast, Juice
Lunch: *State testing for the kids, will grab something out*
Dinner: Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday 17th
Breakfast: Pancakes, Coffee, Juice
Lunch: *State testing for the kids, will grab something out*
Dinner: Salisbury Steak with Rice

Thursday 18th
Breakfast: Oatmeal, milk
Lunch: *State testing for the kids, will grab something out*
Dinner: Chicken Egg Rolls, Salad

Friday 19th
Breakfast: Waffles with Vanilla Custard, Juice
Lunch: *State testing for the kids, will grab something out*
Dinner: Smothered Pork Chops with Noodles

Saturday 20th
Breakfast: Bacon, Eggs, Toast
Lunch: Chili Dogs
Dinner: Pepperoni Pizzaz with Garlic Bread

Sunday 21st
Breakfast: Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Coffee, Milk
Lunch: Chicken Nuggets, Mac and Cheese...salads for mom and dad
Dinner: Homemade Chourico Pizza
On my to do list....

Homeschooling
Taking kids to State testing
Homemaking

In the craft basket....
Red, white and blue quilt
Crochet Ripply Blanket
Crochet Flower Pot Holder
Minecraft Ghast for Jasmine 

Looking forward to this week....
Having my husband home, spending some time together while kids are testing :)

Looking around the house....
Clean kitchen, clean living room, clean house.  I'm kind of shocked at the moment hahahaha
Usually Mondays mean I'll wake up to a crazy upside down house with visible mementos from the weekend.  Thankfully it's not the case today.  
Everyone is still sleeping, it's very quiet right now. 

From the camera....

On my prayer list.....
Brother and sister in law as they prepare for a BIG move.  So two years ago they took a chance on the green card lottery and last year they found out they won.  Since then they have gone through vasts amount of money, tons of appointments, medical exams, interviews etc.  On Tuesday last week they received their Immigrant Visa and have to be in the States by October.  SO exciting :)

Bible verse, Devotional....
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
—1 Corinthians 15:20

What I'm doing.....

 

On my bedside table:

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Phillipa Gregory

Elm Creek Quilts Collection by Jennifer Chiaverini

The Quilters Homecoming by Jennifer Chiaverini

A Wanted Man by Linda Lael Miller

On my watching list:

London Hospital Casualty 1906

Doctor Who new episode

Great British Ghosts

The Edwardian Larder 

Latest interests:

Cake decorating

Quilting

Documentaries on the Tudors

Gardening

On my mind:

Children's State Testing next week

The results of my husband's promotion test

My brother and sister in law moving to the USA this year

Lots of crochet, knitting, sewing projects

Learning:

To be patient and to leave it in the Lord's hands

How to quilt

To make the best home I can for my children

To make sausages from scratch

Making:

A menu plan

A Tardis Birthday cake for my daughter

A new red, white and blue quilt

A quilted sewing machine mat

Looking forward to:

Spending time with my husband, he has next week off

Finishing up homeschooling and being done for the year

Getting a pool soon

My daughter's birthday

Enjoying:

The new Doctor Who season

My current ripply crochet blanket

Cadbury's Chocolate Fingers

My vegetable garden

Friday!

:::: Morning coffee

:::: Watering the front garden

::::  beautiful bursts of color shooting out all over the garden

::::  quick stop for a sandwich at almost 2pm.  Spent the whole day puttering around, doing the usual homemaking

:::: 8th grader concentrating on her schooling, she was writing an essay on Louis Pasteur.

:::: menu planning from the food blog.  I've decided to go back to the very beginning, in 2006, and remake all the recipes.  Before I got my new camera 2 years ago, I was taking all my food pictures with a very old low quality camera and I'm not thrilled with some of the shots, so it's time to redo them and with that also enjoy some of our old family favorites :)

::::  This chicken sits on my stove top, and I just love her so much.  There's something very folksy about her.

It was such a busy day, and I don't know how I made it through as I didn't get very good sleep last night.

I feel that I may be coming down with something, my throat hurts a bit, my head feels off and my nose is stuffy.  I do hope I'm not getting sick as next week we have State testing and that can't be missed.

Thankfully though, my husband has next week off, so if I'm too sick, he will take the kids on his own.

Usually, he takes this week off every year for the testing, because it's always at a different location, and while the kids are testing we spend quite a bit of time together, just out for a cup of coffee or chatting or even a little shopping for the girl's birthday :)

I'm off to bed, have some Dead Files to watch on the DVR, plus Ancient Aliens and want to watch some Deadwood as well.

Have a blessed night,
Sandra
xoxoxoxo

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

So another year has gone by, and today we are once again celebrating another birthday.

I can now say that I have no children left in the single digits, and that thought scares me.  Almost makes me want to have another......almost....but not quite LOL

Our boy turns 10 years old today.

Oh goodness, I'm not ready for this, he was my last little one, my baby, and now, here he is, a pretween.

This boy has been a force to reckon with from the day he was born.

After suffering two miscarriages, I found myself pregnant with him, and though it was a tough, high risk pregnancy, he was determined to hang in there, so much so that when he was born the doctor was perplexed because he would literally pop out and back in, as if he was tied to a bungee cord LOL

He came out with the cord wrapped around his little body, from his toes all the way up to his chest.  Hahahah

What a stinker!

Constantly making us laugh with his quirky sense of humor.

Smart as heck, he can sit and tell me all about the different kinds of energy and explain them in detail and how they work, from chemical to nuclear....he talks about space and planets, the make up of stars, the chemical composition, and he has long detailed talks with dad about physics, Newton's laws of gravity, and other things that leave my little brain completely fried.

Such a blessing this boy is in your lives.

We love him to death, and we feel privileged and blessed that God allowed us to be parents to this amazing young man.

I can't wait to watch him continue to grow, and learn and go through the ups and downs of life.

Happy Birthday Son, we love you!

Cooking Thursday - Marshmallow Fondant

I figured it was time for a new button, and I do so like this one :)

The recipe I'm sharing with you today, is for Marshmallow Fondant, which is what I used on Nic's cake.  It's very easy to make and it worked great.

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Marshmallow Fondant

1 package (16 ounces) white mini marshmallows (use a good quality brand)
2-5 tablespoons water
2 pounds (about 8 cups) sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening

Makes:

About 2 pounds marshmallow fondant.



To make marshmallow fondant, place marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds on high; stir until mixed well. Continue microwaving 30 seconds more; stir again. Continue until melted (about 2 1/2 minutes).

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Place 3/4 of the confectioners' sugar on top of the melted marshmallow mixture. Fold sugar into marshmallow mixture. Flavoring can be added at this point if desired. Place solid vegetable shortening in easily accessed bowl so you can reach into it with fingers as you are working. Grease hands and counter GENEROUSLY; turn marshmallow mixture onto counter. Start kneading like you would dough. Continue kneading, adding additional confectioners' sugar and re-greasing hands and counter so the fondant doesn't stick. If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is too dry; add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time) kneading until fondant forms a firm, smooth elastic ball that will stretch without tearing, about 8 minutes.

It's best to allow Marshmallow Fondant to sit, double-wrapped, overnight. Prepare the fondant for storing by coating with a thin layer of solid vegetable shortening, wrap in plastic wrap and then place in resealable bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Marshmallow Fondant will keep well in refrigerator for several weeks.

When not working with fondant, make sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap or in a bag to prevent it from drying out. When ready to use, knead fondant until smooth. Roll out fondant 1/8 in. thick.

To color fondant: If you need to tint the entire batch of fondant, add a little icing color to the melted marshmallow mixture before adding confectioners' sugar. For smaller amounts of tinted fondant, add icing color to portions of fondant as needed.