Monday Musings

You know you have a large family if........

1. You've heard "Are all these children yours?" at least 18, 349 times.
2. You have more than one set of bunkbeds.
3. You always double the recipe.
4. All the tags on your children's clothing have a series of dots or numbers to know who they belong to.
5. You are no longer embarrassed when your husband has creative answers to "Do you know what causes that?"

Tasty Thursday

Super Sloppy Joes
2 lbs. ground beef
½ c. chopped onion
2 celery ribs with leaves, chopped
¼ c. chopped green pepper
1 2/3 cups canned crush tomatoes
¼ cup ketchup
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. vinegar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. steak sauce
½ tsp. garlic salt
¼ tsp. ground mustard
¼ tsp. paprika
8-10 hamburger buns
In a dutch oven over medium heat, cook beef, onion, celery and green pepper until the meat is no longer pnk and the vegetables are tender; drain. Add the next nine ingredients; mix well. Simmer uncovered, for 35-40 minutes stirring occasionally. Spoon ½ cup mixture onto each bun.

Monday Musings

You know you are a homeschooler when.......

You have maps on your living room wall- or under the clear tablecloth on your kitchen table.

Last week's leftovers become this week's science experiment.

Running to Kroger to pick up milk just became a field trip.

The bones from your owl pellet dissection are proudly displayed on the mantel.

The smallest children have cumulatively eaten the equivalent to a small box of crayons and two glue sticks.

Tasty Thursday

Mom’s Famous Pancakes
(This is what my children call them!)

4 cups flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
8 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
3 cups milk
8 T. butter melted
8 eggs
Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients together in separate bowls. Then combine the wet into the dry ingredients and mix together well. Cook on griddle or lightly buttered skillet. Serve with pure maple syrup.
**This makes enough pancakes for my family of 9 for two breakfasts. I just refrigerate the extras for the next morning. If you have a smaller family, just cut the recipe in half.
I know this is a lot of eggs, but with the extra protein, my kids seem to stay fuller for longer than when I used a recipe calling for less eggs.
Also, sometimes I substitute one cup of whole wheat flour for one cup of the white flour.

Monday Musings

Why is it that children who can eat about 5 slices of pizza and two glasses of soda in one meal, can only manage to eat one bite of meatloaf and two green beans before they are stuffed beyond every reasonable capacity? Or, children who can play for hours on end at the playground are too utterly exhausted to pick up a pair of dirty socks off the floor? Or children who can hear everything I say when I'm talking quietly on the phone with my back turned to a closed door, yet cannot hear me screaming across the house for someone to come take this dirty diaper to the trash?
Hmmm. Life is just full of mysteries.

Tasty Thursday

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
6-8 slices ham
8 medium potatoes, peeled/sliced about ¼ inch thick
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper
Layer the potatoes, ham and onions in the crock pot. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper and cheese. Repeat the layers and pour the can of soup over the top. Cook on low 8 hours or high for 4 hours or til potatoes are tender.

Monday Musings

Brittany's version of a Christmas favorite, Silent Night........
Silent night, holy night
all is calm, all is bright
round yon vertebrae, mother and child...............