Sometimes when nothing is going quite how you imagined would/should...
Sometimes when it seems like things are falling apart faster than you can put them back together, and the pieces don't quite fit with each other anymore...

You come across a little moment like this. And maybe its not quite as bad as you'd thought.

Cookie Chaos

You know how there are certain words that you just shouldn't use in certain places, like "fire" in a movie theater? The ones that will cause complete chaos within seconds of the word coming out of your mouth? Last night we had a demonstration of this.

I was in the living room, Archer in the kitchen, E and Shelly in my bedroom. I heard the word "COOKIE!" said enthusiastically, loudly, coming from the kitchen. Later Archer said he was thinking about Cookie Monster. It was the first thing I thought of when I heard him say it, he was impersonating Cookie Monster and he sounded just like him. I'm not really sure what triggered Archer's "cookie!" since we have NO cookies in the house, but get ready...

Pitter patter pitter patter come the feet, E ran from the bedroom to the kitchen, I'm sure his eyes were wide as he tried to find the treat that had been so joyfully announced by his older brother. "Can I have a cookie," he asked sweetly, all the while probably expecting Archer to share his prize. Archer said he didn't have any (E probably didn't believe this AT ALL and was still wondering how he could get one). I tried telling Elijah there are no cookies, at which point Shelly came in asking about cookies. There was some general chaos as we all tried to tell each other we wanted cookies, there are no cookies, Archer sounds just like Cookie Monster, we came to the kitchen to find a cookie but there aren't any, where did the cookies come from and who ate them all? I still didn't get a cookie!


The whole thing began and ended in just a few short minutes and left me laughing, while the younger two were disappointed and feeling like they missed out on something Archer had enjoyed. So, a certain way to cause complete pandemonium in a house full of kids... just announce "cookie!" and watch what happens next!

Can't Fail Bread

I'm really not much of a baker, I don't even attempt it most of the time. (With the exception of the recently discovered Midnight Brownies, of course.) There's nothing quite like homemade bread, and it makes the house smell so nice while its baking. This recipe is almost impossible to mess up, which is a definite bonus for me. You can let it sit for a half hour or two or three. You can mix everything up in the wrong order, forget something then add it an hour later, it still works out. So... here it is!

Can't Fail Bread (half batch)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Mix dry ingredients, then add water, let rest 1-2 hours.
2. Put in bread pan that's been sprayed with cooking spray and coated with cornmeal or flour.
3. Let rest 1 hour, bake in pre-heated oven at 450 for 20 minutes.
** If desired, sprinkle salt/seasoned salt/herbs on top of bread before baking

Why we love it

I have it toasted, spread with cream cheese for breakfast. The kids douse it with butter and honey, or we dip it in homemade soup. Its yummy any time of day!

 

My only recipe so far that's 5 Stars!

Original recipe from BudgetBytes

Great Grandpa's Farm

Taco Stuffed Shells

This one was a big gamble when I made it, I call these kinds of dishes the "Freezer Experiment." Sometimes the experiments work, sometimes... Well, on other nights we resort to pizza.

This one worked out, David told me its a keeper, so here it is!

Taco Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 (or a few more) cloves garlic
1 yellow onion
1 lb. ground beef
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 packet taco seasoning
12 ounces jumbo shells
2 cans red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheese
3-4 whole green onions (optional)
sour cream

Instructions

1. Dice onion and mince garlic, cook both in a large skillet over medium heat with the olive oil until soft.
2. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain, then add taco seasoning and beans. Stir until combined.
3. Remove beef/beans from heat. Cook pasta shells just until tender.
4. Preheat oven to 350. Drain shells and rinse in cold water until cool enough to handle. Spray inside of 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Fill the shells with the beef/bean filling and place in casserole dish.
5. Pour enchilada sauce over the stuffed shells, cover with shredded cheese. Cook in oven until its hot and melty (about 30 minutes).
6. Slice green onions and sprinkle over top of casserole when its done in the oven. (Or not, whatever you want.)
7. Serve with a dollop of sour cream... yummm.....

Why we love it

This one takes a little while to prep (about 20-30 minutes total) but its so good, even the leftovers for the next day or two are good. The sour cream really puts the finishing touch on the whole thing!

These weren't really a hit with the kids, but the grown ups loved them, so I'm definitely going to make this one again.

original recipe from BudgetBytes

The Nightly Parade

Every night there's the parade of children in and out of our room. They're supposed to be in bed, they can't seem to stay there. Tonight they followed, one after the other...

Archer: Dad, Eli got into my bed and I told him to get in his own bed but he won't get in his own bed.
   Close on Archer's heels
Elijah: Dad, I got in Archer's bed and he told me to get in my own bed but I won't get in my own bed.

   Much laughing, sorry I know this is not how parenting is supposed to work but E followed Arch so he could tattle on himself???

There were instructions to go back to bed, Archer would allow Eli to climb into bed with him and Dad would move Eli in fifteen minutes.

Five minutes later (maybe less), the parade commences.

Archer: Dad, Eli keeps hitting me and he won't stop.
   Again close on Archer's heels
Elijah: Dad, I was hitting Archer.

   Again I know we shouldn't laugh, this is why he doesn't take us seriously, Archer is both angry and laughing at the story that's unfolding. However, I have work to do, I don't want a third parade in five minutes and so...

Game over - Mom steps in and shoos the boys off to bed, their own beds, no more talking, laughing, sitting up, asking for water, anything. Bed time.

Five minutes later -
Both boys fast asleep. Victory!





Followed by an appearance by Shelly. Sigh. They'll ALL be asleep eventually, right?
Bad dream discussed, daughter led back to bed, tucked in between her puppy, giraffe, cardinal, doll (anyone else?). Hugs, kisses, song, for real bedtime.

Goodnight world!

Violin Across the Generations

The violin was invented in Italy in the 16^th century. One of the most famous composers is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was born on January 27, 1756 and died at the age of 35 on December 5, 1791.

Ludwig Von Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 and died on March 26, 1827. In 1801 Beethoven lost his hearing. The cause of his deafness is unknown. In 1802 he became depressed and considered committing suicide. These were two great composers for the violin.

My great great grandpa was born without an arm but still played the violin professionally. I’m not sure how he played it but now my dad has it. He plays with me when I practice sometimes.

~ Archer Fortier

Lyrics

Remember when we went to see this?



Everything is awesome!
   Everything is cool when you're part of a team
Everything is awesome!
   When you're livin' your dream

That was exactly one month ago. Every day since then, we've been singing this song. E knows almost the whole thing and often sings it on his own. Last night I took some liberties and adjusted the lyrics to fit our current activity.

Everything is bedtime!
   Everything is cool when you're goin' to sleep
Everything is bedtime!
   When you're havin' sweet dreams

I sat on Archer's bed while I sang this, I continued singing as Eli protested that I was singing it wrong, I kept singing while he started singing the real version of it trying to drown me out. I gave the kids each their hugs and kisses and walked out.

Elijah immediately started calling for Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad!

I told David his son was calling him, and David went in to see what was going on. David came to me later with a serious issue. "Mom was singing it wrong. This is how it goes. Listen. Everything is awesome... (insert entire song here) So you have to tell her, ok? She was doing it wrong. You have to tell her. Ok Dad? Ok? Tell her, ok?" Elijah was pretty shaken up by my change to the lyrics. Of course now I can just barely resist singing my version at every chance I get, but I guess I need to back off, I'm sure its not really good to intentionally antagonize your kids. (For the record, I sang my version to David and he thought it was funny.)

So who is going to break the news to him about our song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Toes?

Twinkle twinkle little toes
   You can stick them up your nose
   Don't they smell so nice and sweet
   They can be a tasty treat
Twinkle twinkle little toes
   You can stick them up your nose