handsful

Last Sunday was Cinco de Mayo.  We have zero Mexican heritage, but we “celebrate” it anyway.  Well, we use it as a good excuse to have Mexican food for dinner.  So, even though Sundays are nuts around here with church and then 4 hours of youth choir practice (first concert this Sunday!), I still pulled together a big taco and tortilla bar.  It was delish.

And, because we wanted the celebration to continue just a wee bit longer, I found this fun dessert online and decided to give it a try.  We loved it so much, I made them again tonight.

This is complicated, so don’t get lost…

Take a stack of soft tortillas and cut them across in 1/4″ strips, and then the other way down the middle once.

Heat a deep pot of oil on medium-medium high heat.  We were somewhere in the middle of the two.

Dump about 5 in the oil, and watch them sizzle.  If they don’t sizzle a lot, your oil isn’t hot enough.

Using a hand strainer, stir and flip till they’re nice and golden brown.  It took ours maybe 20 seconds each batch.

Take them out and drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar.  It helps to have two working on this at a time…Marley was my cinnamon sugar girl both nights.

They’re so good…reminds me of the twists at Taco B*ll, but more substantial and a little chewier.  I used a different kind of tortilla on Sunday, and they puffed up better than these.

See, I told you it was complicated.  I bet you have tortillas in your fridge right now…you should try these.  Really, you should!

Dylan (the kid with the bottom half of his face covered in cinnamon sugar) dares you…

Last week was…how shall I put it?  Busy times infinity.  And, given Randy was out of town for a lot of it, the brunt of the comings and goings (and comings and…) were on me.  I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see the weekend come.

Not that things slowed down much.  Or, at all.  But, at least my sweet husband was home, and we could tag-team like usual.

I’ll start with Friday.  That afternoon, Dylan went to the birthday party of his best buddy.  I picked him up afterwards and we rushed home so that I could curl Abbey’s hair.  Her friend Aaron arrived from Raleigh just a little before I got home…he and his mom made the special trip so that he could take her to the prom.

Abbey and Aaron have known each other for years, his family was in a church small group we hosted back when the big kids were little kids.  Since moving to FL and then moving back, the’vey re-connected through FB and now Skype all the time.

They had a great time.  We’re thankful that our kids get to experience things like proms, despite being home schooled.  This one was planned by a local homeschooling group, and they went all out with beautiful invites, engraved glass mugs, and gorgeous decorations.

Saturday morning came early, and we had somewhere to be.  Our annual Easter egg-hunt at Gram and Pa-Paul’s house.  Yes, we know it’s past Easter…but, finding a date where we could all make it was a little tricky.  As usual, it was all 8 of us, along with Randy’s brother’s family…minus Caleb and Samara who couldn’t get away from college.  Gram’s Sunday school teacher, his wife, and their two little girls joined us this year, too.  And, Aaron, who was driving back to Raleigh (same direction we were going), decided last minute to stay as well.

The required pre-hunt picture on the porch

Ready, set, go!

The older kids, who graduated to “hiders” instead of “hunters” quite a while ago, goofed around while waiting for their turn…Gram does a scavenger hunt for them to find their treats.

Even the big, big kids goofed around…

Payton lends Micah a hand at getting the highest egg…

Gram’s system…find eggs, dump them into the big bucket (by the way, she had about 40 eggs per kid, for 6 kids).  Then, we go inside and divide the eggs based on the sticker on the egg (i.e. red smiley=Lainey).

Time for the teens…

Read the clue, run all over the place, read the next clue, etc.  This year, she had all their goodies hiding in their car trunk.

Back inside to open the eggs…it gets a little crazy, as the adults divide up the eggs and toss them to their owners.

We left around 8:30, getting home at 11ish.  Head to bed, tired from a great day.

Sunday.  Randy took the big kids to church, while I stayed home with the littles.  I seriously needed a little break from the going and going, and me being home meant I could cook lunch for them rather than spending money on fast food (like we tend to do too much on Sundays).

He got home with the four big kids, as well as three extra teens (it’s the usual).  We ate, and Randy was soon off with a few of them to Testify drama / dance practice.  I hung back, and took the others (having added even one more teen in the meantime) to the practice to meet up for their first performance of the year.

This was just a mini-concert…only a few songs, a little dancing, and no acting.  But, Marley and Kylie got to sing their duet, and they did a great job.  Happy to have that first one under their belts :)

After the concert, I dropped Marley and Ethan back at home, and drove to church for another drama / acting practice.  Payton and Abbey both have acting and dance parts, so their Sundays are always full of practices.  Their first full concert is May 12th!

That was our weekend.  After an exhausting week, it was still busy but lots of fun.

And, this week so far? Blissfully boring.  Ahhhh…..

Abbey’s 17th birthday was on February 9th.

Her party was last night.

Don’t judge me, people.  Once she figured out what she wanted to do for her birthday, it was decided we should wait till the weather warmed up a bit.  Hence, the delay.

Itinerary?

Arrive, 6:00ish

The “Picture Scavenger Hunt” began at 7:30, with three teams of 5 kids (plus an adult driver) scrambling to their respective cars, lists of things to find in hand.  Randy had the whole thing planned out, with a long list of things like “police car” (1 pt), bald guy (2pts), urinal (ask Payton about that one…) (3 pts), and shoes on a power line (5pts).  I was a driver for one team, and it was SO. MUCH. FUN.  There’s nothing quite as freeing as running madly through Wal*art with a bunch of teenagers, looking for a guy with facial hair.  We had to have at least 1 team member in each picture, we weren’t allowed to use photos of things, and we had to be back by 9:45 or we’d be penalized.

person getting a haircut

traffic cone

silo

sandwich artist…he invited them behind the counter, made a sandwich, and gave it to them!

Christmas lights…lit up

yellow truck…SO hard to find.  And, creativity in the photos gave extra points!

My team

After tallying points and having the usual birthday dinner of pizza, it was time for the next game.

“Property Puzzle Hunt” began around 11:30.  Randy took 16 gallon size bags, and put 3 identical pictures in each one.  He hid the bags all around our property, and when the teams found a bag, they were told to take 1 picture out.  After they found all 16, they were to come back to the house to try and match up the pictures to make words.  (i.e. picture of a robin, guy in a hoodie = Robin Hood).  Once all the photos were matched, they had to figure out the overall theme of all of the words.  Each team had 1 flashlight!  In the end, each team found about 12-13 pics, and with a little guidance and hints, they all came up with the correct theme of “Archery”.

Tallying all the points across both games, and it was MY team that won first place :)

The special Unbirthday Girl

The rest of the sleepless night was filled with lots of snacking, birthday cake, a movie, Wii games, and an impromptu dance party in the Shop.  I went to bed at 1:45, leaving Randy to take the night shift.  He stayed up mostly, dozing a little during the movie.  I got up at 7:30, and sent Randy to bed at 8:00.  Almost all the kids were still up, so I popped the baked french toast in the oven and did a little cleaning up.  Eventually, everyone was picked up and the house was quiet(er).

It’s now 9:22 pm Saturday night, and I realize that the amount of sleep I got last night wasn’t nearly enough.  And, when we should have rested, we didn’t.  We ran errands and then spent a good part of the day doing yard stuff.  It became clear I should just push through and stay busy, or I would do what ALL the kids did at some point during the day…sit down too long and fall dead asleep.  I have to wonder how the wake up for church is going to go tomorrow!

But, it was all worth it.  The party was a huge hit, the games were a ton of fun, and one of the guests said it was the best. party. ever.  Success.

Can’t believe that Abbey’s next party will be her 18th.

Goodnight, all…

We had a wonderful garden last year, full of tomatoes, beans, peppers, corn, watermelon, and cantaloupe.  With the weather warming up, we’re preparing to start again.

But, the winter was unkind to the garden and it was a big mess of dry weeds and grass.  How to begin?

Weed-eat it?  Mow it?  Till the soil and grass together?

Thankfully, our wise neighbor Mr. Fesperman showed up.  He’s lived across the street for decades, everyone knows and respects him, and he owns about 200 acres of land.

Burn it.

My response:  Really?  Are you sure?  I mean, is it safe?  How do we control it??  What if it gets OUT of control?  And, what if…

Randy’s response:  Now, where did I put those lighter sticks…

He started the darn thing before I was even down there to help!  What was he thinking?!?

And, notice that Randy is IN the fence.  Counting on the wind to blow the fire AWAY from him and down the garden.

Did I mention he had ONE hose?  The rest of us were watching like hawks, yelling “hey, over here!” and “watch that left side!” and “Oh, oh, it’s coming this way!!”

I was amazed at how fast the fire swept through.  Obviously, the wind helped it along.  At one point, the wind turned and was blowing the OTHER way, but it switched back quickly.  Yes, I was nervous.

Right about now, Randy yells “I can’t see a thing”.  Oh good, cause it’s not like seeing anything would be HELPFUL right now!!

See Randy behind all that smoke?

Almost to the end…

And, finished.

After he sprayed it well to make sure nothing else was smoldering, he let it sit a while to cool off.

Then, it was time to do the first pass with the tiller.

So, the moral of the story is…

Randy can handle himself when it comes to fires.

Burning the garden is definitely the quickest way to a freshly tilled garden.

And, always listen to Mr. Fesperman.

Sometimes you’ve just gotta torture your kids with posed pictures.  I’m not sure why, but some of my kids HATE having their pictures taken.  Hate it.  Hide when I bring out the camera kind of hate.

At least these guys are always ready to smile for a pic.

Unless your sister tries to squeeze you too hard.  Not cool with Dylan.

He requested a “silly picture”, which made it all better.

I don’t ever mind having my picture taken with my extremely handsome husband.

One more of the kids, just because I can.

It’s been a fantastic Easter Sunday…starting with a wonderful church service spent praising my risen Savior.  Followed by a lunch feast of baked ham, corn on the cob, green beans, roasted potatoes, and rolls.  And, now we’re being lazy watching NCAA basketball.  Perfect.

Happy Easter :)

While Randy and I were dating, we made plans for our future, like all young couples do.  We were going to have 2 (maybe 3) kids.  I would work for a while, and then stay home to take care of those kids.  Eventually, we would buy an old farmhouse (to fix up) that sat on 10 acres.

Stop laughing.

We hit it outta’ the box on the kid thing.  I worked up until Abbey was 16 months old, and then called it quits.  My job for the last 12 years has been home school mama.  This house was move-in-ready and although it’s not really a farmhouse, I couldn’t be happier.  The acreage thing worked out, too.  We currently have 11, and are looking at our options to buy the other 8.  A good bit of that extra land is wooded, so last Saturday we decided to check it out.

Marley, Payton, and Ethan were away for the weekend at friend’s houses, so it was just the 6 of us….including Abbey’s friend, D’Qota.

D’Qota was kind enough to give Dylan a lift…the terrain was hard to maneuver for the little guy.

It was chilly…by the way, WHERE is Spring?  But, quite beautiful.

D’Qota proved himself to be quite the spider monkey.  He shimmied up a tree faster than I could contemplate doing it.  Jumped down from said tree, at least 10 feet.  The guy has no fear.

We came up to a big crevice with a big tree across it.  We were a little astounded to discover it was a dumping ground from (most likely) the previous owner.  We decided to investigate a little.

A set of twin mattresses, large chest freezer FULL of yucky water (thankfully, Randy and D’Qota were able to dump it over), electric fan, liner of an old pool, flower pots, 2 (yes, 2) clock radios, various bottles and glass, an old steering wheel, and a full set of electric curlers.  In other areas, we found the back axle of a truck, a rusted metal plow attachment for a tractor, and at least 20 hub caps.

Not even sure what to say.  I mean, seriously!?  Why in the WORLD would anyone just dump this stuff in the woods?  Why is that easier than taking it to a…oh, I don’t know…a DUMP?  Now, we’re trying to figure out if clearing all of this is our responsibility or if we should ask the current owner of the land to clear it before we buy.  Talking to our realtor on that one.

Abbey and D’Qota did go back and gather the hub caps.  Randy is going to use them to decorate a wall of the Shop, after the kids get them all cleaned up.

D’Qota was the only who actually got down into the bottom and found all this stuff.  He obviously likes danger and adventure.

The littles were content to climb around the fallen trees.

I’ve always wanted land…spread out, country, no-one-else-close-by LAND.

This just might be it.

I’ve not done a post in a little while.

Life, ya know?

I was looking through my phone’s pics and realized they painted a pretty accurate picture of our recent days…

The other night, we had one extra teen hanging out with us (nothing new there…), and I was trying to think of something to make for dinner that would fill everyone up.  I found a hashbrown breakfast casserole on one of my Pinter*st boards.

I had no hashbrowns.  But, I DID have tater tots.  It worked well, and I added homemade waffles and turkey bacon to round out the veggie-less dinner.  And, full we definitely were!

Dylan’s 3rd prosthesis is in the works, he’ll have his first fitting in April.  We had the task of finding a new pattern for the new socket.  He’s had camo/lizards and cars for his last two.  We found this at the fabric store and it was an immediate “Yes!!”

I’ve become somewhat addicted to homemade popcorn.  Not the icky, greasy, orange stuff that you make in the microwave (that my kids devour), but the old-school popcorn on the stove.  2 tablespoons Canola oil, sprinkle popcorn to almost cover the bottom, heat on medium high.  As soon as the first kernel pops, put on the lid and shake around till the popping stops.  Add a little popcorn salt, and you’ve got a pot full of popcorn that (if I’m around) doesn’t last long.  You should try it.  Really.

Ethan kinda amazes me.  If anyone has ever had a natural affinity for music, it’s him.  He’s never had a direct drum lesson….only been in the same room while Payton had a few lessons (and quickly realized he was more suited to drawing).  Everything else, he’s taught himself.  And, if I may say so, he’s good.  Good enough to have made the worship band for the Jr. High kids at our church.  We can’t help but stand in the back and enjoy…

We love Jimmy Jo*hn’s.  And, their signs are great.  If I could, I’d hang this one in my house, it’s so good.  I especially liked the one that said “I believe you’re responsible for your actions, regardless of how you feel”.  Can I get an amen?

Science experiment we’re doing with our co-op.  The epsom salt saturated water is SUPPOSED to be soaking up the string, going across, dripping down onto the board, and showing us stalagtites and stalagmites.  But, it’s not working…the string isn’t absorbing the solution!  I’ve gotta troubleshoot and find out what we’re doing wrong…

On a whim, I bought a tub of perler beads and forms.  The big kids, especially Abbey, LOVED making these things.  For the first few days, the kids (L, D, A, and M) went nuts, making several a day.  Here’s a 4 leaf clover Abbey made.  I wondered if it would be too hard for Lainey and Dylan, but they even made some of their own creations.  I should have more pictures of these…

Teenagers get a hold of your phone

and, take random pictures

of the thing I do the most.

Drive them places.  Like Drivers Ed.  Which Marley, Payton, and Ethan are currently in.  Everyday, M-F, from 3-5:30.  For 2 1/2 weeks. Their last day is next Wednesday, and then they’ll be called to start the driving portion.

On the way home from picking them up, it’s become routine for me to stop after I pull into the drive, switch seats, and let them practice driving up the drive, around the shop, and back up.  The’y’re doing well, and EJ even pulled the van into the garage.  I’ll be passing them on to their Dad when it’s time for them to drive ON the road.  That part makes me nervous.

I think I’ll snap their picture driving next time.