afro roots

Wow, this weekend was a complete blur.

But it was sooo good!

Brenden came home, which was absolutely wonderful!!

And now we start a new week.

Menus to plan.

Homework to help with.

Home school stuff to work on.

Clavical surgery.

And so it goes.

On and on and on!

Lastly, here is a little nugget of funny:

I call this,

"Isaiah getting in touch with his Afro roots." 

hedge of protection {tim hawkins}

This is so hilarious.

Enjoy!

life on our homestead

You know you live in the country

when you walk out into your garage...

and find a chicken on your car.

Smile.

my day {thursday}

Here is a partial pictorial of my Thursday:

Isaiah made Lucy's barbie doll into a transformer.

And darn proud of it.

Then he put on a Santa hat.

And a pink stocking on one leg.

Just because.

And since Nick isn't able to drive right now because of

his football injury,

I hopped in his car to go to town.

Though I had to ride around with the windows painted

with various pictures and messages:

"I think you're cute..."

(Written by a certain cheerleader. And I don't mean his mama. Ahem.)

Happy happy!

I'm just glad I didn't drive around with last week's

message:

Which was something about being sexy.

BLAH!

Then I came home and fried some chicken.

That was my day.

egg basket {homeschool moms}

Every Monday I load up a bunch of eggs to sell at

our homeschool enrichment classes.

It's a great set-up for me!

Because homeschool moms are THE best.

And stressed out, unraveled, and bug-eyed.

And Nascar has absolutely nothing on a home-educating mom,

whipping out of a parking lot in her mini-van, having

just dropped off her little darlings for the day.

WOOOOO!

Anyway,

this past Monday I was rushing around trying to get ready

to go and I asked K-Man to grab

the black laundry basket for me because that's what I use to

carry my eggs in.

To which he said,

"Wait...so you're telling me that you're going to

put all your eggs in one basket?"

Hahahahaha!!

I love that man.

**Remember, I'm a homeschool mom.

And my days are filled with the humor of a five and six year old.

It doesn't take much to crack me up.

Or, just plain crack.

Good day to you!

potato stroganoff {homemade hamburger helper!}

I'm totally making a new version of

homemade hamburger helper.

Potato Stroganoff.

Gasp!

Does that excite you as much as it does me?

I bet so.

Especially considering that up until about 2:00

I had absolutely no idea what we would

be having for dinner.

Oh, the stress of being responsible for an entire  

evening meal for a whole tribe of people,

 night after night...after night.

It is beyond what words can express when you suddenly

get an inspired supper idea that leaves you 

leaping through your kitchen.

Here's the recipe!

Potato Stroganoff

1 lb. ground beef

1 cup hot water

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced potatoes

Sauce packet:

1 tablespoon corn starch

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Brown your ground beef.  

Add hot water, milk & sauce packet.

Bring to a boil.

Add sliced potatoes & simmer for around 10 minutes.

Add sour cream in.

Voila!

Mine turned out a little too soupy... but I doubled

the recipe so maybe I miscalculated somewhere  The flavor was great though!

I think next time I might add more potatoes and/or some rice,

just out of sheer rebellion.

I got the recipe from this site.

ENJOY!!!

fun times, fun times

What a crazy day yesterday.

I'll briefly tell you about the very end of it first.

Nick broke his collar bone in his football game last night.

So not fun.

But before that,

Bill, Lynsay, K-Man, and I had a really fun-filled day:

We were so blessed to have a few hours just the four of us!

We were slightly to extremely-to-the-max excited.

We had a lovely lunch together.

Aren't they the cutest?

Then we went shopping.

And Bill tried on new clothing options.

This almost made him change directions in his ministry,

until he saw the price tag.

He then decided that being a plain-clothes orphanage director

was just fine.

(But I'm putting this on my Christmas list for him.)

(Shhhh, don't tell.)

Then he wrestled with a shopping cart.

He had a very busy day.

Then we reunited with the children and started making dinner.

Mercy, Adria, and Lucy.

CUTE!

Bill and Lynsay took charge and planned/cooked THE MOST AMAZING

Chinese dinner for us!
(I am going to adopt them.)

I helped with the jiao zi, ya'll!

And the kids jumped in and had a blast!

Gorgeous and delicious.

Thai Curry Chicken.

OH.MY.

Delicious, folks.

Cabbage.

The kids gobbled this up!

The sauce for our dumplings.

Gasp.

It was so yummy-yummy.

Tapioca something-er-other.

It was sooooo good, too!!!

That's it for now.

I'll be taking the Lewis' to the airport this afternoon.

We will be soooo sad!

Please be sure to check out their website and "like" their

page on Facebook!

Lots of updates and pictures and prayer requests!

fun, fun!

Having tons of fun with the Lewis family!

More to come!

chipotle lime mayo {oh, yes!}

I totally made some rockin' mayo last night for dinner.

Chipotle Lime Mayo.

The heavenlies rejoiced, I tell you what.

I slathered it on grilled chicken sandwiches,

with a heaping helping of cheddar.

Woot!

Here's my recipe:

(Adapted from here)

**********

Chipotle Lime Mayo

1 cup mayonnaise  

(I shouldn't have to say this, for for the love of all that is good and yummy,

please use REAL mayo.)

2 big tablespoons of Adobo sauce/peppers

2 tablespoons of lime juice

Salt & pepper

Blend it all up & serve.

*******

Easy peasy, people.

And next time I'm going to throw in some cilantro.

Yessssss.

dr. isaiah

Isaiah made this poster at school today.

I was a little taken aback.

Horrified, actually.

Oh, I know,

He started kindergarten pre-med, I'll bet!

He will be a world-famous physician by the time

he reaches 8th grade.

Not sure what his specialty will be yet though.

Pulmonary medicine?

Plastic surgery?

I shudder to think.

But he will be a shoe-in doctor for President O's

healthcare plan.

And we all will shudder.

my lunch yesterday

So the biggest problem with being obsessed

with watching cooking shows on TV is,

it develops this insanely ridiculous craving for,

well....food.

I know, I'm just as surprised by that as you are.

And because of that,

I find myself being very bored with a sandwich

for lunch...

but instead, dream up things that I could

create for myself for my mid-day meal.

Though it rarely works out,

for lack of time and/or ingredients, and/or little children wanting mac & cheese...

yesterday I put together THE most lovely lunch ever!

Take a look:

Blackened salmon with whole-grain pasta,

fresh tomatoes, lightly topped with an incredible butter-lemon-garlic sauce.

My photography skills are lacking,

I know.

It doesn't look nearly as fabulous as it actually was.

But trust me, this so delicious!

All I did was:

1.  Pan grill some blackened salmon in a little butter and oil.

(Mine was from Sam's Club...frozen in individual portions.)

EASY.

2.  Cook pasta.

(Actually, start the pasta first to time it all just right.)

3.  After salmon is done,

remove from pan & add a couple tablespoons of butter,

then add about a teaspoon of minced garlic.

Cook for just a minute or two,

then add some lemon juice (maybe just shy of 1/4 cup?).

Stir it all up, making sure to scrape the deliciousness on the pan left behind

from the salmon.

Then just plate it all & drizzle your sauce on top.

The sauce is the key to it all!!

And then,

feed your youngsters hot dogs and nachos.

Yes, that's what I did.

I did that.

And I have no regrets.

The End.

Enjoy your day!!

And don't forget to make yourself a lovely lunch.

You will smile.

a fun weekend ahead!

I'm sooooo excited to tell you what's happening here this weekend!

Our great friends Bill & Lynsay (and their daughters)

from Morning Star Foundation

are staying at our house for the weekend!

I cannot wait to visit, LAUGH, and have a blast with them! 

Bill, Lynsay, and their girls.

 

We haven't seen them since 2009 when we adopted Macy...

Here's a pic of Corrie and me at Starbucks.

She's the sweetest little thing!

And has grown a ton since this pic.

AND she's up for adoption!!!

I'm so stoked about that.

I'll have lots to post about!

In the mean time, check out their website!

Morning Star Foundation

pajama day {my 6th child}

Well, I wish I had some pics to go along

with my little story,

but I don't.

:(

But it's funny, no less.

(Well, I think so anyway.)

Last night I got an email from Isaiah's kindergarten teacher

(his teacher where he goes to his homeschool

enrichment classes twice a week),

saying that the class had earned a party

for good behavior...

and that they could

wear their pajamas to school as part of the celebration.

Well, that's fun!

No one appreciates pajama day more than me.

(Which is almost every single day.)

So after I talked Isaiah into the idea early this morning,

that it was perfectly wonderful that he wear

his monkey PJs to school,

I decided I should re-read the email from his

teacher, just to make sure I had the facts straight.

Well, after an almost sleepless night,

when I read the email again, I interpreted it as the

party being on WEDNESDAY, not today.

I suddenly felt like a super hero,

sparing my little guy from all kinds of embarrassment.

I told him to get dressed immediately into normal clothes.

What a relief that I read that email again!!

I am THE best mom ever.

I totally saved the day.

However.

The minute we walked into school this morning,

Isaiah quickly noticed that all his friends were in their

night-clothes.

And HE was not.

Sooooo,

all I said was, "Oh honey, I'm so sorry."

Too bad, so sad.

Mommy really does need to learn to understand

instructions better.

Oh well!

To which his teacher said,

"Oh, I will run home to my house and get him

some PJs to wear!"

Me,

"Oh, really?  That'd be great. Thanks!"

And so goes the story of this 6th child of mine.

The End.

Your nominations for Mother of the Year will be

greatly appreciated.

friday night lights

K-Man and I got to go to Nick's first high school football game on Friday night,

ALL ALONE!

Cute pic, right?

Even though it's sooo close.

(Remember, I'm rustic.)

(Nothing a little nip, tuck & Botox couldn't fix.)

(Don't hold your breath for that one.)

And we may or may not have had our passports

hanging around our necks.

With luggage in the backseat.

Never mind about that.

Looky at my Nicky!

#23, right there in the middle.

His very first football game since 6th grade!

It was a super fun night,

even though they lost.

Oh, and K & I did end up coming back home after all.

(No flights available.)

(Next time!)

lori's rustic pumpkin scones

In hopes of putting an end to the threatening emails,

I am posting my pumpkin scone recipe.

Now, leave me alone, people!

(Just kidding)

My recipe is adapted from THIS recipe.

I call mine,

Rustic Pumpkin Scones

The word rustic covers a multitude of imperfections.

In fact, start calling me,

Rustic Lori.

Thank you.

Here we go:

Rustic Pumpkin Scones

2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-purpose flour

3/4 Cup Multi-grain flour (I mill my own special blend)

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 

(which is probably nothing more than a combination of all the above, but whatever.)

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter

2/3 cup canned pumpkin

2 large eggs

1 cup white chocolate chips

Almond bark for drizzle on top

Oh, and some cinnamon sugar

1.  Mix all the dry ingredients.

2.  Cut cold butter into small cubes, then add to flour mixture.

Using a pastry cutter thingy 

(or a food processor if you're fancy or a fork if you're rustic)

Blend until butter is worked into the flour.

3.  In separate bowl, mix pumpkin & eggs until smooth.

4.  Add pumpkin mixture to flour/butter mixture.
Also add white chocolate chips.

Blend until it all holds together.

5.  On a piece of lightly floured parchment paper,

dump your mixture & divide in half.

6.  Shape each half into a 6 inch circle.

7.  When both halves are shaped,

move onto a baking sheet, parchment paper & all.

(Or grease your cookie sheet)

8.  Lightly brush on some milk,

then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

9.  Put in freezer for at least 30 minutes. 

*Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

10.  With a sharp knife, cut into six triangles.

(Do your best to cut evenly.)

(Or just emphasize that they're rustic.)

11.  Separate triangles so they're scattered around

the cooking sheet.

12.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

(The original recipe says to bake for 22-25 minutes...

I found this to be WAY too long.

But use your own judgement according to how

your oven behaves.)

13.  Once your scones are completely cooled,

melt your almond bark in a bowl.

14.  Drizzle across the top.

15.  ENJOY!

You're Truly,

Rustic Lori

PS:  Baked doughnut recipes coming soon, too.

the perfect day!! {rantings, fire, and dumped pizza}

Today was perhaps the BEST day ever.

Weather-wise, anyway.

Rainy.

Cool.

Fabulous.

Yesssss!!!

And here's what happened:

Nick dumped half his entire pizza on the bottom

of my already- filthy oven.

Actually, this wasn't today...

but the smell lingers on and on....and on.

And he's adorable, so I'll excuse him.

It was THE perfect day to throw all our pop cans

onto the driveway for K-Man to smash

with the tractor.

Have you ever seen a more manly man,

doing more manly things?

No, no you have not.

Then the littles picked them all up.

Then Lucy pooped out and

Isaiah picked up the slack.

He's very manly, just like his father.

Then, then, THEN...

later in the evening K-Man made a wonderfully

wonderful fire in the fireplace!!

With windows wide-open...cool air pouring in,

we enjoyed a roaring fire.

OH, it smells and feels like pure heaven, I tell ya.

(Okay, the fire doesn't look roaring...but it was.)

(Don't question me...

or the poor photography of my husband.)

And THEN....after some experimentation,

I made some beautiful and delicious

Baked Chocolate-Espresso Doughnuts.

Gasp!

Oh, yes I did.

It's the least I could do after all my political ranting

on Facebook.

Recipes WILL eventually end up here,

don't worry.

But don't hold your breath.

Enjoy the rest of your Thursday evening, people!

lucy

Lucy is memorizing a ton of Scripture these days!

Here's a sample for ya:

 

I'm soooo thankful for her fabulous

homeschool enrichment school she goes to twice a

week!

AND for Awana at our church.

All these verses will be etched on her heart

forever and ever.

Love that.

what i'm doing today

Lest I unleash my fuming fury

over our so called, Commander-In-Chief,

frolicking around campaigning like a school girl

running for prom queen

instead of paying attention to the world-altering

attacks going on,

and shunning the leader of THE most

spiritually important country in the world,

(%$*#$*&@!!!)

I will tell you what I'm going to do today.

I'm baking!

Here's a couple of things I'll be making

for our church coffee bar for this weekend:

Baked Dutch Apple Doughnuts

Rustic Pumpkin Scones

Plus one or two other things that I don't have

pictures of.

And that's all I'm going to say.

Good day to you.

And hey, let's bless God, America.

my friend, hannah

I was going through my pics

on my cell phone and found this little

gem from a couple months ago.

This is my friend, Hannah Mercy.

Isn't she the cutest?

And we happened to have the same hair style

that day.

We are rockin' our curls!

She's from Ethiopia and I'm from Missouri.

We have sooooo much in common.

I love her!

keep my big yap shut

Well I've really painted myself into a corner this time.

Not only am I continuing to ignore

 the sourdough-starter-monster

in the corner of my kitchen,

this weekend at church I signed myself

up for a 5k run.

So now, on top of everything else

I have to do, I need to train.

Because my prideful personality will NOT

allow me to walk for one second

of that race.

I would rather die!

Oh, and a girl at church talked me into

coming to her Zumba class.

Mercy be.

I really do need to just mind my own

business and keep my big yap shut.

If you need me,

I'll be on my treadmill until Oct. 5.

beer-like muck

Dear Diary,

I am so embarrassed.  I recently told all the nice people who read my blog about my mighty acts of fermentation.  I brazenly boasted of my sourdough starter.  Shameless, I was.

But then, after a few days or so, I forgot all about my little starter friend there in the corner of my busy kitchen.  I left it to fend for itself....and for that, I am horribly disappointed.  But the truth is, the squeaky wheel gets the grease around here (just ask the people in my house.)  And so in many ways, it's not my fault.

Who am I kidding....it's all my fault.

But now what I have to deal with is a jar-o-mess that I am terrified to open, lest it reach out and grab me...or its fumes, inebriate.  (That actually might not be so bad....quite welcoming, in fact.)

So now I face the decision of just being a woman about this and discard the beer-like muck...or throw the whole concoction away, jar and all.

But I do love my mason jars.

I will ponder this a bit more and make my decision later.  You know, after it's crawling across the kitchen counter or something.

Love ya,
Lori  

lori's doctor appointment {aka, shop class}

 I had an impromptu doctors appointment yesterday.

(And I use the word doctor, quite loosely.)

Here's what I mean:

The littles beckoned me to the living room.

Isaiah had his tool kit.

And Lucy had her doctor kit.

(I use the words doctor kit quite loosely.)

"Welcome to my office, lady."

(Insert evil Asian giggle.)

Isaiah got right to work.

And just so you know, there's

 a fine line between a pedicure and a physical

(and shop class) 

with this one.

The thing is,

my feet are extremely ticklish.

Which Dr. Lucy thought was the funniest 

thing ever.

Seriously funny.

ROFL.

Literally.

Onto my ears.

With a screwdriver.

Then a little hammering on my 

already-strained knees.

Then they both joined forces for

plastic surgery.

The changes are stunning.

I'll save the after-pics for another day, though.

I think we've all seen enough.

Book your appointments soon!