I did do something this weekend

Because it felt like I hadn't done anything this week   I made a list....in  two days, I have managed to:

• sew two toddler skirts, without a pattern mind you....thank heaves for the internet!

•  make a toddler jumper...without even a measurement...that didn't fit dang it

• clean up dog doodoo...too many times to count, luckily most of it was outside

• make four fabulous and totally edible meals...and two more that will pass for something to fill a belly

• put away the ironing board and iron.....that usually sits out with a pile on top..and no I did not finish the ironing...I just made my husband happy by putting it out of sight.
• do the potty dance and all that that entails
• mop/wipe/blot/scrub up when we (and I mean the twins) couldn't wait for the potty dance
• load the dishwasher
• holler at a kid to unload the dishwasher
• read facebook and a  few blogs
• run to the local furniture store and dream of a new bed bed and then laugh with the hubs hysterically at the $4000 price tag.....but oh.....goodness.....would I sleep well at night
• stop by mcpunk #1's work...to make sure he was where he said he would be
• drive and pick up mcpunk #2 from basketball practice and work
•  14 billion loads of laundry (that my be an exaggeration)
• Laugh at my solid little two year old sauntering away walk after she took a swipe at her littler twin.....that totally earned it...but always seems surprised when the first said twin isn't so mellow
• yell stop it and no, and don't pinch or hit or bite..be nice and go in time out
• Share an evening with  Chinese exchange students far from home that were a little sad...but wouldn't admit to homesickness.....and wondered if I was ready to send my fledgling bird out of the nest in the next couple months...the answer is no...not even close... 
•  watch my fav college football team kick some booty....
• watch the news replay over and over all the weekend game highlights
• get called to be a den mother.....more on that later
• feed my 'ittle barnacle and deal with her gumming...OUCH!
• panic, calm, panic, calm.......i need some space
• walk the dogs, or holler at one of the kids to do it...but it is usually easier for me to just go do it.....you know the feeling....
• ruin a chocolate cake..not the first time
• make a trifle out of said ruined cake and hear how fabulous it was and share the recipe with these cute girls from China
• watch Mel Gibson's Apocalypse.....it was pretty good.....I'm only a few years late
• type and expect my laptop to auto correct
• read Llama llama Red Pajama or as the mctwinners call it lalalalamala

although my house now looks like I didn't do anything over the weekend.....I have a record that I did...a blog record counts right? And my list is to remind us all....yes, me included, that even when we feel like we have done little, and feel like we haven't crossed anything off our list...that often we are shortchanging ourselves.  We are busy all the time....and as I read over the list, I am sad to say that there was no scripture reading, or journal writing, no temple attendance...there was a quick peak in at a spankin new baby girl..that made me baby hungry, there was laughing with my girls and hand holding with my love and probably a lot more little things that I take for granted.  So this week I will remember that I am always busy...even if it is sitting on the couch reading a story (the hubs says that I have been using that line for awhile now)...and that it is much funner to make a list of all we have accomplished then a list of all that still needs to be done....because most likely that list will still be there the day after...and the day after that...and the day......

because sometimes we are human and it takes us days, weeks and sometimes even months to cross something off our list! Be good to yourselves and take a minute to read what one of my favorite church leaders has to say on the subject of Forget Me Nots.

So with that I am going to leave you with a little treat recipe, that is fabulous and tastes like you went out to eat...but you didn't and you know that no one spit into our food! AND it was so easy! Even when I didn't have some of the items and just substituted....good thing they turned out...it was already 8:30 when we finally ate!

• 1 lb fresh mushrooms
• 1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons onions, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons red bell peppers, finely chopped
• 1/2 lb crabmeat(and I used a can of salmon because I didn't have crab meat! Mcpunk #2 would say it all tastes the same anyway.)
• 2 cups oyster crackers, crushed (used 2 hamburger buns..because I didn't even have a loaf of bread!)
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (mine was homemade by a friend so that it didn't have msg in it!)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 slices white cheddar cheese
• I used shredded monterey jack cheese...so much better 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400deg F.
2. Wash mushrooms and remove stems.
3. Set caps aside, and chop half of the stems.
4. Saute chopped mushroom stems,celery, onion and pepper in butter for 2 minutes.
5. Transfer to a plate and cool in refrigerator..(I didn't cool at all)
6. Combine sauteed vegetables and all other ingredients (except cheese slices) and mix well.
7. Place mushroom caps in a sprayed or buttered baking pan stem side up.
8. Spoon 1 tsp stuffing into each mushroom cap.
9. Cover with a piece of sliced cheese.
10. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cheese is lightly brown.

I'm Done

I'm done......

that's what i said over my shoulder  to my husband (and family)as I walked up the stairs....

I was done with sassy teenagers, a weekend cluttered house, walking puppies that I was guaranteed would never be my responsibility (um, yeah, the dogs have been here a week), making dinner only to hear "did you think  would like that?", potty training twins, housebreaking puppies, picking up socks, sorting laundry, waiting for poop to happen, stretching the budget, find healthy snacks, clean windows, get dressed,  live in a warm and comfortable but oh so small house...and on and on


...and I was done....at least for a few minutes....

baby and I took a breather....actually I breathed while she gobbled and gnawed her way through her fifth helpings of milk in a two hour span. and then my hubs came up...and long story short, eventually he made me laugh and all was alright with the world in our warm and comfortable but oh so small house.

 Do you ever have those moments when you ell like you have given it your all...and now you just a nap because nothing else has worked out?  No, just me?  Well good......but if you have, I hope you have a someone that knows how to make you laugh at the world and know that it isn't the end.....yet.


{pause while I go help a twin that just did the deed in her big girl panties.....eeeeewwwwww}
But I do know....that something had to change...whether it was just my attitude or my expectations, which are are way too high (ask anyone that knows me well.) So after some thought and most likely inspiration, I decided that I need to get dinner ready/prepared/completed before the kiddos come home at 3.....after that all he.....well you know...breaks loose.

This is when I am in the car the most, when the mickiddos need to be somewhere or picked up from somewhere, when I am shouting orders for chores, homework, music practice and generally referring....it aint pretty sometimes, I admit it. It's a roller coaster that can sometimes have you holding your guts from laughing so hard or pulling out your hair with frustration....and sometimes, like I said, your done and you need to get off.

{pause...I have to take "it won't ever be your responsibility" puppies out for a potty break }

{Sigh}So that's my goal for this week...and we'll see after the next if I can get dinner ready for the most part before the bulk of my clan comes home. Hopefully it will make for a smoother transition into evening and a quieter dinner because everyone is not on edge because their madre (me) isn't yelling, biting her tongue or banging pans in frustration.

{pause...have to peel an orange for mctwin #!}

So in between typing this, asking if two two year olds need to go potty, tell a puppy no and keep an ear trained to hear the baby cry (all while I forgot my kindergartner was getting out of school and needed to be met at the bus...another sigh) I am getting dinner ready.....stuffed green peppers. Which was requested by mcpunk #4...I don't even know if she likes them?!  But we shall see, and I should be calmer when she tells me that she doesn't like them....because I prepared them hours ago!

wold love, love, love to hear from y'all on how you make life less hectic and smoother around those bumpy corners!!

And because you know that I have to, have to, have to include a recipe here.....(afterall...the kitchen is the heart of the home/farm)

{long interruption while I took a picture of the twins doing this......

.....And a really long pause to make lunch, nurse my little barnacle, finish dinner, talk on the phone, laugh with  friend...and start a batch of french bread.....which is an experiment on making a light but hearty multiple grain bread...we will see how it turns out...

We return you back to our previously recorded program....

For that recipe.....I will leave you with a scrumpitalious pumpkin cupcake with cheese cream frosting...and it has whole wheat flour in it!!  Go figure...but then I love what bread, but the real kicker was that the kids loved them and they were an excellent hurry up and go breakfast in the morning!! Even the hubs liked them...I think...he was probably starving, so he had to like them!

Cupcakes:
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter,
softened
3 large eggs
1 can (15 ounces) or 1-3/4 cups
pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter,
softened
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin
pans with paper baking cups and set aside.
Place the sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Add
the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, add the
pumpkin purée and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, salt,
allspice, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the batter on low speed, alternating
with the buttermilk; blend completely.
Fill each muffin cup with about 1/3 cup of batter, or about three-quarters full. (You may
end up with a little extra batter.) Bake until the cupcakes are set in the middle, and a
skewer inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the muffin pans from the oven and let the cupcakes cool for 15 minutes, then
turn them out of the pan to finish cooling on a wire rack.
To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium-size bowl and
beat until smooth. Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar, beating until smooth and
creamy. Stir in the cinnamon and vanilla.
When the cupcakes are completely cool, decorate them with the cinnamon frosting.
Sprinkle with sanding sugar or decorate if you are bored. HA!. The cupcakes can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days.