Cinnamon Apple Cider.

Want a quick and yummy hot drink? Pour apple juice or cider into a sauce pan and add in a handful of Red Hot candies. Heat on medium until hot, stirring occasionally. The red hots will magically melt into the hot cider making this drink the perfect blend of apple and cinnamon flavors. Yum! If you want a stronger flavor you could add more Red Hots. Less flavor? Add fewer Red Hots.

I'm thinking this would also make a great hot drink for the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. A different twist to an old standby

Homemade Chili
from the kitchen of Jeanette Lynton

1 onion chopped
1 Tbs. oil
3 lbs. ground beef
2 10 oz. cans Campbell’s French Onion Soup
1 12 oz. can tomato paste
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 27 oz. cans kidney beans with liquid
2 15 oz. cans red beans with liquid
2½ tsp. chili powder
5 tsp. cumin
1 ½ tsp. ground pepper

Brown chopped onion and ground beef in a large soup pot. Drain. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes. Or transfer in a large crock pot and set at low for 2 hours. This is best to bring out the flavors. For a smaller batch, just cut the recipe in half…easy. Serves 10-12

Doesn't this just sound yummy??? There's just nothing like a big bowl of hot chili and still warm Cornbread drizzled with honey. Mmmmm.....Give me some flannel pants and my favorite slippers and you've got the makings of a perfect night in!

Beat The Clock.

I love to play Beat The Clock. It's a game I've been playing since Meghan was 9 months old. I set the timer for 15 minutes and go. Sometimes I see how many things I can cross off my to-do list in those 15 minutes. Other times I'll see how much of a closet or cupboard I can organize. Or sometimes like yesterday, I'll see how much cleaning I can get done.

Why 15 minutes? Well, 15 minutes is generally how long my kids will entertain themselves before they notice I've left. 15 minutes is about how long I'm able to listen to them cry if they should happen to start crying. 15 minutes is the average time it takes me to knock one item off my to-do list. 15 minutes is the average amount of time Meghan and Noah can go without fighting. 15 minutes in an easy enough amount of time to get something done or at least make a dent in it and feel satisfied! And finally, because after all these years of playing this little game, I can actually manage to get quite a bit done in those fifteen minutes!

The best part about this little game is I can do it as many or as few times as I want during the day.

So Tasty!

We had this for dinner last night........all I can say is yum! It was the perfect meal for a dreary October day. Not to mention it made the house smell so incredibly good. Add a little classical music like the free Amazon cd I posted about and you've got yourself that awesome homey feeling.

CROCK POT CHICKEN CHILI
2-4 chicken breasts, uncooked
1-16 oz. can yellow corn
1-16 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1-16 oz. can black beans
1-16 oz. can of red or white kidney beans
1-16 oz. can of baked beans
1 package of Taco seasoning powder
1 chopped onion

Place Chicken in bottom of crock pot and put in all the other ingredients. DO NOT DRAIN!! Stir gently leaving chicken breasts on the bottom. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 1/2 hours. Shred chicken and put back in the pot to heat through for additional 20 minutes.

Sounds So Yummy!

Tell me this just doesn't sound yummy! Not to mention dangerous as you are now only five minutes away from chocolate cake any time day or night!

Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
4 T. Flour
4 T. Sugar
2 T. Cocoa
1 Egg
3 T. Milk
3 T. Oil
3 T. Chocolate Chips
A small splash of vanilla
1 large microwave safe mug

Add dry ingredients to mug; blend well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Next, pour in the milk and the oil mixing well. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and mix again.

Place mug in the microwave and cook for three minutes. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but that's OK! Let cool a little and tip out onto a plate. Serve with Vanilla ice cream.

Cold Turkey.

In light of this nasty little habit of mine, I have decided I am not spending any money this week. No going to Target just to get out of the house. No heading off to Cub just because I can get great deals. No nothing. I am going to stay home and break this habit! No family needs 18 tubes of bread dough in their fridge or six packages of yogurt~ no matter how good of a deal they were! Well, OK the Duggars might, but no normal family should have 18 tubes of bread dough sitting in their fridge. I have decided enough is enough and I am quitting cold turkey. I have even enlisted Marty and the kids to help me on this....well, let's call it a journey.

I think once I get going on breaking my habit life will be better. Not that it's bad. But you know how it goes. Once you conquer something you always feel so much better about yourself and about life~ you get that little oh so nice boost in morale. So as I try to figure out how to keep myself from obsessively bargain shopping, I will have to stay focused on how I'll feel once I've mastered my so called addiction.

While the thought of how much extra cash I'll have is great motivation, realistically speaking, I don't know that it's enough! Figuring out a way to stay busy at home is key. If I'm busy, I won't be thinking about the deals I'm missing out on. But what will I do at home all week? That's the million dollar question! Addie is still not napping so that makes doing anything during the day other than bargain collecting, extremely difficult. But I'll need to find something or else I'll be at Target in a heartbeat.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I have tons of things I would love to do. I could make cards, I could scrapbook, I could workout, I could read, I could clean out closets, I could bake cookies; my list goes on and on. It's just that our beloved Princess P doesn't actually allow for such activities!

I guess maybe what it boils down to is where there's a will, there's a way. I have the will. I just need to find the way. Any suggestions??? Any advice???

Um....

Take a look at this picture.......Yes, all those tubes are sitting in our fridge right this very moment. Why? Because I am a compulsive bargain shopper. There, I said it. Whew. We can move on.

Never Before Seen.

Here's something you never see~ a sleeping Addison! And sleeping on the couch no less. As we say in our house....he who wakes her, gets her!

Just For Today.

FOR TODAY October 12, 2009...

Outside my window...It's snowing!

I am thinking...What a great day!

I am thankful for....Marty and the kids!

From the kitchen...Fresh baked brownies! Yum!!!!

I am wearing... Jeans, black long sleeve shirt and puffy vest.

I am creating...Nothing today. Too many chores!

I am going...Nowhere. Staying put. Well, maybe the library.....

I am reading...See " the bookshelf".

I am hoping....Meghan had a good day at school.

I am hearing...Marty and Noah talking in the kitchen.

Around house...Getting projects done left and right.

One of my favorite things...Monday night television.

A few plans for the rest of the week....Hmm.....Not sure yet. I'd really like to scrapbook a bit, get to Target and Walmart, the kids are off the rest of the week so maybe go out to lunch or catch a movie? It's only Monday........I have lots of time to plan my week!

visit Peggy's to post your own!

Lost Faith.

I have lost faith in the human race. For years I always said there's some good in everyone. You may not see it right away, but everyone has some good in them. Well, I stand corrected. The good people of this world are out numbered by the selfish, evil and dishonest. The world is full of those kinds of people. And what's worse is they're getting away with it. I can hope that there's justice in the world somewhere, but sadly I haven't seen any such thing for a long long time. And I have lost faith. I have lost faith in people. I have lost faith in goodness. I have lost faith in any sort of system. And I have lost my faith in God.

Musical Cupboards.

So, the past couple of weeks we've been playing musical cupboards. It's our attempt at making more space as well as trying to save our belongings from the grips of Princess P.

While we've managed to clear out a lot of extra clutter and have even managed to save (or at least extend) the lives of some of our schlock, it's always a crap shoot trying to remember what cupboard we moved something to.

Ahh, but never fear, Addie remembers! Addie always remembers!

Friends.

It's always good to have friends who'll go along for the ride!

Bittersweet.

This is our last bottle. It was the last bottle we'll ever have in our house. It is now in the trash. And yes, I cried as I threw it away. There will be no more babies in this house. Huge sigh here~ because boy I just wanted one more. Just one. (although knowing our luck it would be twins! happened once, it could happen again.) But alas, we will only have three.

As sad as I am that we'll never have more kids, there are things that I'm learning to get excited about. For example, this past Saturday Marty and I got to sleep until 7:45. Holy cow was that awesome! That hadn't happened since, well, I can't remember the last time that happened! I'm not carrying a diaper bag around anymore and I'll never have to again. No more infant carriers. No more burp cloths. No more flannel blankets. My list could go on and on, but I'll spare you and stop here!

The point of my whole post is that while I'm struggling with the finality of everything~ bottles, diapers, first steps, first words etc~ I'm learning to see the bright side of things. Yep, we may be done with bottles but there are so many other things to look forward to~ like getting to sit down once in a while or sleeping till a more respectable time!

Can't Decide.

All right, I can't decide if I should get the smartest mom of the year award or if someone should call social services. I had a list of chores I needed to get done today but I so didn't feel like doing them. I had other things I wanted to do instead. So....I bribed the kids. Terrible, I know, but hold your comments till you read what I bribed them with. Because that was punishment enough.

I told Meghan and Noah that for every chore they did they could stay up an extra five minutes tonight. Holy smokes........talk about being eager to do chores. Seriously, I've never seen those two so willing to do chores. Usually these two will spend an hour trying to think of how to get out of doing them!

I mean seriously, they suddenly have three hours of homework, and can't I see that they're starving? I wouldn't want them to starve to death would I? Because that would be child abuse and I could go to jail for that, did I know that? Don't I ever want to see them again? But wait! Before I go, they're pretty sure they have the Measles or the Mumps or maybe even Rubella? And shouldn't I take their temperature just to make sure? And maybe they should have some pop, a Mister Freeze and some Tylenol before they do anything else? But oh they forgot! They were supposed to go to so and so's house and they can't be late because that would be rude and aren't I always telling them to not be rude? And thanks to the wonders of fresh air they're quite sure their Mumps (along with their Mister Freeze) will be gone by the time they reach so and so's house....What time should they be home for dinner?

Anyway, all joking aside, within 45 minutes of my bribe, my house was cleaned from top to bottom. Floors were swept and vacuumed, toilets cleaned, sinks cleaned, you name it it was done and done the way I like. The killer part is that they each earned an extra thirty minutes and I don't have to worry about cleaning my house tomorrow. It's a win win situation! Or so it would seem.....Because while my house may be all sparkly clean, it's 9:25 and my children are still up.

I think I'll go to bed!

There Once Was A Mom.

There once was a mom who was running away.
She just couldn't hack it this one long Friday.

There wasn't enough coffee.
There weren't enough shows.
There wasn't enough chocolate.
It just went so slow.

She was tired of the crying.
She was tired of the mess.
She was tired of the fighting.
She just wanted to rest.

Could she exercise?
Could she blog?
Could she whip up a craft?
Nope not a chance.
Her day was all about....a balancing act.

Lunch was a bust.
Naptime a disaster.
After four poopy diapers.....
She wished the day would really go faster.

There's jelly on the wall.
There's snot in her hair.
It has to be 5:00....somewhere.

There once was a mom who was running away.
She just couldn't hack it this one long Friday.

And The Total Is.....

So my total for my below purchases? A whopping $10.23. Yep, ten dollars and twenty-three cents for all that loot. Oh, but wait! There's more.....

Because the bulk of it was Kelloggs and Kelloggs has this Fuel for School program I will be getting a $10.00 rebate from them. So in the end? I will have paid a total of .23 cents! Oh, but hold on.......

On five of the boxes were tokens for a free DVD. All I have to do is fill out my order form for the movie I'd like and send it in with my five tokens. My free movie will arrive at my doorstep in about 6 weeks.

So, for a grand total of twenty-three cents, I got groceries and a DVD......Now that's fun shopping!