This makes for a fun day

Just in case you were procrastinating (as I was) Thanksgiving is TOMORROW. That means I have to bake two pies, cinnamon rolls and prep celery and onions for dressing. (I know, it doesn't seem like a whole lot, but I do have those children getting into everything... it's sort of distracting.) I've got the cinnamon rolls started and I have 25 minutes until I have to mess with them again. I've not changed out of my pajamas and neither have the children. (In all fairness it's only 8am.)

I'm making this apple pie. Did you know apple pie is somewhat labor intensive? I have only made it once before, but right now I'm just thinking: peel four apples, core & chop four apples, make, chill, roll out 2 pie crusts. Pie crusts: grate 16 tablespoons of butter. (what? 16 tablespoons is totally acceptable for dos pie crusts.) (Grating butter is something I learned from Dwija from a simple little tweet back in October.)

That brings to mind the talk radio show I was forced to listen to yesterday morning. They were talking about how Thanksgiving dinner is full of sodium and it's just terrible for you (even once a year it supposedly makes you more susceptible to heart disease and blood pressure issues) and I out loud strongly disagreed with them. Take, for example, the average person that eats out on a weekly basis. (I actually said monthly, but T said that was really low-balling it and that most people eat out weekly.) Okay, so on average, you go out to eat (I realize most of my readers may not do this because most of you have children and restaurants are a thing of the past or very far off future...) and are served outrageous portions and usually eat them all up. Full of sodium and preservatives. How is this so different from gorging on a Thanksgiving "homemade" meal once a year? If you are smart you don't go adding extra salt or butter or even eat excessively. Maybe you eat more carbs than you would usually and you probably indulge more than you normally would. Come on, it's Thanksgiving. I will not go "light" for the holidays. End rant.

I had to make the cinnamon rolls before I was done with this. My house is smelling so nice right now.

The kids are really quiet, too. Probably because they are busy stuffing their faces. What a wonderful sound.

I guess I better get them dressed and do some housework. The pies are on the afternoon docket as I now have to clean the giant mess up in the kitchen. (and sneak another cinnamon roll without the kids seeing me. not an easy task.)

Have a delightful day.

Rain and a How To by Rose

It rained yesterday!!!! 

Rain drops!!! on roses

um.. rain gauge was a little dirty and had a dead grasshopper in it...

 

only patch of green grass I've seen... due to leaky water hose leading to chicken coop

and now a beautiful child guest posts.... 

How To: make enchiladas of mediocrity while making your mommy's life more exciting. Take note all you children reading this!

First, if you're making the kind with chicken please hand the child the leg so she can scare mommy by shoving it all the way to the back of her throat.

Then, in your nicest screamy voice, demand a tortilla. Now that you've successfully impaired your mother's hearing run to the living room and hide half a tortilla behind the curtains. Your mother loves surprises!!

Make sure you do a taste test for mommy while she is joyously washing up the dishes. She will appreciate your approval on her cheese selection and how you decided to decorate the kitchen floor, a chair and the table with it. And! She won't have any photographic evidence because she's too embarrassed by the amount of dirt and crumbs on the floor.

 When your mother tries to ban you from the kitchen until you are at a more responsible age to help... Raise your eyebrows and slink in your chair while blaming your brothers. This is a crucial step to making your way back into "kitchen circle of trust"

IF blaming your brothers doesn't work... offer to help clean up their mess. This will score you major points. 

Then... you should be right back to this place

These steps can be applied to almost any situation. Just remember to smile during each step... and time your excessive shrieking to just the right moments. You can get almost anything you want because your mommy values her ability to hear. Don't overdo the shrieking, though. It can lead to something we call "selective hearing" which, apparently, isn't limited to men hearing their wives, but also mommies hearing whining and other things they deem annoying.
Have a ball with this! My mommy loves it when I help in the kitchen!!

Have a beautiful Friday,
Rose and Mama

Bargains make me happy

Over the weekend we went to Lowes. (I know, big surprise!) We went to get some fencing for the backyard and I was going to ignore all the beautiful plants...until we got there. The first thing we heard (we went straight into the garden center) was that all the plants were 50% off and vines were 75% off. The exception was vegetables. Oh my word, I picked a fence out and then ran back to flowers and did a celebratory dance. At that price I could actually afford some really nice plants! I picked out two pink Knockout rosebushes (2 gallon pots), another plumbago, Esparanza (yellow bells), Carolina Jessamine (a beautiful vine) and a Bougainvillaea vine (both already about 3 feet high). I would have paid around $200 for those plants full price. We all know I can't afford that for my "Can I Keep It Alive 2011" experiment. It was a steal for about $45. Since we have black clay for soil and it's very difficult for me to work with I'm going to make a raised bed for the roses and pot the rest of the plants. I'll take some pictures for you while I'm out working and try to post them tomorrow.

We are getting ready for a trip to the grocery store (another big surprise). Also, I am getting the "rip it out and start over" bug. In my kitchen. We don't have any budget for a kitchen makeover so I'm going to be browsing the DIY blogs pretty heavily. To give you an idea of what I want my kitchen to look like here's these:

Sorry, I didn't save the source

 bhg.com It bothers me that the photo isn't "level"

So, open shelving.... what's your opinion of that? And I'm not into the curtain below the sink (no way! I need locks to keep the kids out!) Light blue walls and clean white cabinets with black hardware. No clutter. I am ready to throw a lot of things out. I have some motivation... but I also need follow through. Help me out friends! Give me some ideas down in the comment section or some "I've been there" encouragement. I'd really appreciate it!!

Have a totally terrific Tuesday,
Mama