Courtesy of my Snapple lid, Texas is the only state to accept absentee ballots from outer space.
If anyone finds the new Snapple Iced Green tea made with white tea leaves decaf green apple flavor at the supermarket - can you let me know? I can only find this yummy stuff at 7/11. Thanks!
I have become a junkie. I check it all day every day. I have gotten a lot of awesome stuff for super cheap. I am currently in the process of trying to get our snow stuff for cheap. I have recently started selling as well.
I also frequent garage sales every Friday and Saturday. Yes, you heard it here Californians, they have garage sales on Fridays and a ton of people come! Saturdays are sloppy seconds. Nothing really happens here on Sundays. Thats an adjustment. No one can buy any alcohol, car dealerships are not open and a lot of other businesses close.
Update on my garden - I took out my sad cucumber. I tried planting snap peas and butter head lettuce in its place. I will let you know if I get anything before snow happens. 
Well, totally a beginner. It is kind of fun though. I am growing cilantro, yellow and red peppers, basil, tomatoes, cucumbers and pumpkins. I think I had skipped science class when I learned about boy and girl flowers and how bees help pollinate the flowers. Boy am I learning that now! The cilantro is flowering because I am allowing it to go to seed to get more cilantro plants.
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I thought I had failed as an amateur gardener when I have been growing these plants for 6 weeks and no signs of coming fruit or vegetables. Well, after a lovely google search and learning that there is a whole reproduction cycle for plants, it reminded me of that song from Grease 2 “Reproduction” tag line - “Where does the pollen go?”
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Now I know the difference between boy and girl plants and I show my kids every day. (Really, I am totally serious) They are still at the stage where they are excited to see the difference in the plants everyday. Pumpkin vines can grow up to 6 inches in one day! I had some other plants with it but had to transplant them so the pumpkin could take over. Right now it looks like I will have about 10 pumpkins. I have used my cilantro in recipes and as a fragrance for my kitchen sink disposal. The peppers are still developing and I have high hopes that I will at least get one before our first frost. I have about 25 tomatoes growing but the picture shows my biggest so far. The heat killed my cucumber and I did not know that it would grow better on a trelis. Oh, maybe next year.
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Today the kids started school. They really enjoyed it and have already started learning some French! They know greetings and some colors. I took the baby to a pediatrician out here and she has the official seal that she does not need anymore physical therapy! So excited - doing the happy dance! So excited in fact, I made Jon take me and the kids out to eat to celebrate!
Here’s a couple more pics:
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Just wanted to give you an update: We figured out why Rachel kept getting out of bed - she liked the security of being closed in because when she was sleeping in her port-a-crib she would sleep just fine. So, in her big girl bed - we just created the same type of environment. She can climb in and out but it is a little harder to do at night.
She also is completely potty trained. Thank goodness because I kept forgetting the diaper bag anyway.
We have started a family karate class through the YMCA here. Rachel is in childcare while the rest of us learn karate. We go twice a week and Jon and I are the only adults. That’s okay though because the look on the kids faces is great when we are kicking and punching with them.
We are getting ready for school to start in one week. Two of the three will be in school. The school has an ice cream social the family goes to to meet the teachers and put your school supplies in your desk. S will be learning French this year - I think they get it three to four days a week and then A will get it once a week. Don’t worry - I have plenty of stuff to keep me busy! I think this year I will be a professional volunteer for 6 different places/clubs. Daisy scouts, AWANA, hospital, PTO, and church stuff . I also have recommitted to get back in shape. I have met with a trainer to get my abs back in pre-baby shape and joining yoga and pilates classes thru the YMCA.
We have been finding lots of fun stuff to do around town. Today we went to a BBQ cook off and got to vote on the best BBQ. The whole family loved it! I even ate a bunch of BBQ on a bone. (Normally I don’t eat that stuff) We went to a fountain downtown that plays music on the hour that the kids can play in the water while a teen battle of the bands were happening. All next to a playground to play after. What a fun day! I think Jon and I are even going on a date tomorrow!
I just learned that our local school is a nut free school. (insert your corny jokes here.) Kids cannot bring in any kind of peanut butter or snack that has been processed in a plant that manufactures peanuts.
I find myself getting a little upset about this. I mean, I am allergic to certain nuts and if I eat them I don’t die or anything but break out in some fabulous looking welts all over, so I certainly understand the sensitivity. But if your kid is going to die if they eat nuts - home school them. Don’t send them to public school to affect everyone else.
Peanut butter sandwiches are great according to me! They are fast to make, healthy (yes, I use the real peanut butter with no sugar or corn syrup) and cheap. Now I cannot make them for my kids? Are you serious? A lot of breads nowadays have the “has been manufactured in a plant that manufactures peanuts” so I cannot pack that! No granola bars or certain crackers. So what am I supposed to do? I do what my neighbor says most moms do - the school lunch program.
Now this ticks me off! Not only is this expensive, but I have no idea what my kids are eating and most things are not that healthy. Some are but those are the choices.
When are we going to stop being so sensitive - what about the people that have milk allergies, chocolate and/or wheat? Do we ban those from schools? What about when these children get to be adults and get into the workforce? They are so used to having everything peanut free that they demand it in the workplace too? What about bees? Are you going to ban bees from coming into the schoolyard?
Ahh. The main thing I am upset about is how this affects my 5 year old. That is all the kinds of sandwich that she will eat. What do I have her eat while at school? Sorry to rant - just had a bee in my bonnet.
Sorry it has been so long since my last post.
Lately, I have been not getting any sleep. Rachel is not sleeping and I am not sleeping. Not fun!
We are here in beautiful Colorado and we love it. We have found a church, a small group, I am volunteering at our local hospital doing infant hearing screenings and the kids have been in all kinds of fun camps - VBS, theatre camp and Spy camp this week.
The kids have been playing with neighborhood kids since the day we moved. It truly is a great place to be.
We have been doing some remodeling - new carpet in the basement and main floor, new tile in the kitchen and new paint everywhere else. My parents came for a visit and took my dad to the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. He was able to go into wolf enclosures and feed and pet the wolves. Some baby wolves even gave us kisses! It was awesome.
I had a birthday and I loaded myself up with a bunch of fun new games from Amazon. We have been enjoying playing them. One of my favorites to play with my card shark 5 year old is Rat-a-tat-cat. It is a mix between a math game and a memory game.
Hope you all are well.
After having a housecleaner for the last year, I have officially started cleaning my house again. I recently was laid off so gone are the luxuries!
We are doing a lot of work for our upcoming move. Everything needs to be clean and organized. Hopefully, we can get the house ready for showings in the next two weeks. If you want to buy a house from us - let us know!
Audrey’s birthday is this weekend - we are having a tea and makeover party for her and her five friends. She is turning five!
Well, that is a short update - hope you all are great!
One of my favorite desserts is donuts. I know they are horrible for me so I don’t have them everyday. So, when I saw in one of the magazines I receive that a muffin recipe was claiming to be like a freshly made homemade donut - I said, “I have to try that.” It was so good. I was going to take a picture of them to show but they were gone before I could do that.
Here is the recipe:
French Breakfast Muffins (like a cinnamon sugar donut)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (next time I am going to increase the amount a bit)
1 large egg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
Step 1: Heat the oven to 375. Butter the bottoms only of 12 standard size muffin cups and set the pan aside.
Step 2: Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl and combine them with a whisk.
Step 3: In a medium size bowl, whisk the egg until it is frothy. Blend in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid mixture.
Step 4: Using a wooden spoon, mix the batter just until it is evenly blended, then spoon it into the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.
Step 5: Bake the muffins on the center rack for 15 minutes. Then rotate the pan and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack until the muffins are cool enough to handle , about 5 minutes, then remove them from the cups.
Step 6: Before the muffins lose their warmth, prepare the topping. Mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt the butter and transfer it to a seperate small bowl. Set both bowls next to the muffins.
Step 7: Working one muffin at a time, quickly dip the tops in the melted butter and then the cinnamon sugar, rolling each muffin in all directions to cover the entire top. (I DID THE WHOLE MUFFIN) If you want more topping roll again on the top.
These were so good. Much healthier than donuts - no frying involved.
Enjoy!
Went to my old work last night because I had been craving their food. (That is what happens when all you eat is that food for over three years!) We took all the kids but equipped them with their Leapsters. (learning software) It was kind of like a date!
Anyway, food took a long time. From working there - I knew what happened. The food was ready but the pizza was not. Earlier, I had seen a manager that I knew from Rancho (where I worked - we were in Corona) The server told him about the pizza and he comped it. My food was sitting there for awhile I could tell because of the hard tortilla and limp salad. The server noticed that I was not eating it and said she would have him comp that also. (it was really fine - I was actually used to eating it that way because of all my time as a server - I never ate food right away because it was always busy when it was ready) I was actually just full. She said he wanted to buy us dessert. Yummy - carrot cake! To go of course!
Jon had the prime rib. He said it was yummy! When it came time for the bill - it was all comped. This was at least a $65 bill! We left a nice tip - $30. But yeah - I told Jon he had his cake and ate it too because he was able to have a nice meal, he pleased his wife and it was totally cheap!
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| Jon on Happy Birthday to my hubb… |
 | Jill Schwantes on Peanut free and hating it… |
