Sure It Is Pretty, But I Don’t Like It

It started snowing and looks like there is no sign of it stopping too soon. It is pretty to look at, but oh my goodness I can’t drive in it, and today I spun out on some black ice taking my oldest to school. Not cool…

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Thank goodness we were fine, but boy was I angry. The roads were untouched, and traffic was backed up everywhere. There were cars and vans stuck on the hills with their hazards on, and hmmm the school didn’t think it was a good idea to cancel. I’m scared to go back out there this afternoon and pick up my big kid. I’m planning on leaving extra early, and trying a different route, but it is going to be rough. The snow is in the forecast for the next few days, and I just want to stay put. I’m praying for a snow day tomorrow and Wednesday too.

Jan 9

Snow Days

Is it selfish to hope for a snow day, so I don’t have to bundle up three kiddos and make the school run? If it is, oh well. I’m hoping for a snow day tomorrow. The snow hasn’t arrived just yet, but it should be here by the afternoon. James and I are getting stocked up, and getting the vehicles ready just in case.

We have put the sandbags in both of the vehicles, and I gassed up both of them today too. He is out right now getting a few Winter supplies, and I’m going to make the grocery run once the little miss is up from her nap.

We’ll see what the weather has in store for us, I guess Winter-weather had to arrive sometime this season.

Jan 8

Simple Saturday: Turkey Stock

O.k. I know I have posted this recipe a time or two (or maybe three) before, but I think it is a good one to revisit. If the weather in your neck of the woods happens to be extra chilly, this might just come in handy for a nice bowl of Winter soup.

For today’s Simple Saturday let’s talk Turkey Stock. I like to try and make a turkey at least once a month. You can usually find frozen turkey decently priced, even if it isn’t Thanksgiving. One turkey will last my family several meals, and make for some very quick lunches too.

Stock is a great way to stretch the turkey even further, and you probably have a lot of these items already on hand to get started.

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You’ll need:

A large Stock Pot with a colander insert
Around 10-12 cups of water
Carrots, Celery, and an Onion (I’m using whatever I had chopped in the fridge)
One turkey carcass

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It never fails, as soon as my kitty spots the stock pot, he is in the kitchen to see what’s cooking. Feel free to feed your kitchen-kitty-helper a bit of the leftover turkey. He’ll thank you.

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Also feel free to add:

Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Poultry Seasoning
Bay leaves, or Thyme work well too

The stock is very simple to make… Peel your onion, and rough chop it. Then to your stock pot add in the vegetables, turkey carcass, and enough water to almost cover the bird, but not enough to boil over all over your stove top. Bring the stock to a boil for a few minutes, and then take it down to a simmer. Once your stock is simmering add in your salt, pepper, garlic, and poultry seasoning. Let the stock simmer for a few hours. I let mine simmer until the entire house smells like delicious turkey soup.

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After your veggies have given all of their tasty flavor to the stock, it is time to discard the turkey carcass, and the spent veggies. Don’t forget to taste the stock to see if it needs a little more seasoning. Add in a little more salt and pepper (if you need it), and remove it from the heat. At this point I like to cool my stock, and then portion it out into glad-ware containers to freeze for later use.

The stock works great as a substitute for Chicken broth. I like to use it in soups, chicken and noodles, and even chicken chow mien. Give it a try, and make some tasty Turkey Noodle Soup for a super Simple Saturday.

Jan 7

No School Today

I am still putting the house back together after the holidays, and the kiddos are out of School today. They are happy though, being noisy, and playing the Wii. I’m happy to have them home too. I’ve been catching up on the normal home-keeping duties: dishes, laundry, cleaning out the icky litter-box, but my mind is on paint.

Over the Christmas break we switched rooms with the boys. We gave them the largest bedroom, so they could have more room for their toys, and we took their smaller room. We really like the switch though, but we need to paint.

The boy’s have picked out a cool color gray for their room, and I’m looking at a pretty heather-gray for our room too. I just need a bit of time and cooperative kiddos, so I can get the painting projects done. I love the changes to our home that painting brings. I can’t wait to get started on some Winter projects.

Jan 6

3 Christmases

This year I had planned for one Christmas celebration with all of the family, but we ended up having three. It was really fun though.

On Christmas day it was just the five of us, and it was great, even though we were still feeling a bit sickly from the flu.

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The big kids have this present-opening-thing down.

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They tore through wrapping paper as fast as they could.

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Even the Little Miss tried her best at tearing apart the red wrapping paper.

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All of the kiddos (James included) loved the Yo Gabba Gabba! tent. It was really cool, and has become a hide-out in the boy’s room.

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I got some pretty rad gifts from my hubby. He is the best.

When it was New Year’s eve Grandma joined us for some more holiday fun. The kiddos couldn’t wait to see her.

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Oh yes, there were more gifts to open, and two bouncing boys that were having a blast.

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The Little Miss was getting better at opening gifts too.

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We had a fantastic afternoon filled with food, fun, and lots and lots of presents. We had to call the evening short though, snow looked like it was moving in, and we wanted to make sure that Grandma was home before the weather turned.

New Year’s Day we had one more Christmas celebration. This time it was with Nana and Uncle Rob.

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The kiddos were beyond excited to see Uncle Rob, and Nana too ( now I’m going to be in trouble) Just in case you didn’t know, he is my super-rad brother.

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