Granny's Peach Cake

This weekend, I mentioned making Granny's Peach Cake on facebook.  Maybe it's everyone's abundance of peaches or just a fondness for a rather hard-to-come-by delicacy, but I had several requests for the recipe.

Last year, I posted about a very special cookbook / memory book  that my mom gave to them women in our family.  This collection of my great-grandmother's recipes is quite a keepsake with it's pictures and memories, but it's a valuable resource, too.  The front cover boasts a picture of one of Granny's best loved recipes - her peach cake - and just the other day, I had such a craving for it that I decided to make it myself.  This was the first time I had made it, and it turned out wonderfully (I called Mom first to find out if she had any pointers since she has made it quite a few times).  I've added her tips to the recipe below.

Granny's Peach Cake
the recipe is actually for her Basic Sweet Dough and can be adapted for several types of fruit, but Granny almost always made it with peaches...


2/3 cup milk, scalded
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
6 TBSP shortening
    For those of you who aren't used to such (ahem) old-fashioned recipes, scalded milk just means that you heat it in a sauce pan until it is about to boil but then you don't let it boil.  And, yes, you need to do this part.  Once the milk is scalded, remove from heat and add the sugar, salt, and shortening to the sauce pan and allow those ingredients to dissolve and melt.  Set aside.

2/3 cup lukewarm water (hot from tap, will be lukewarm once you add other ingredients to it)
2 TBSP sugar
2 pkgs dry yeast
    Add the sugar and yeast to the lukewarm water and allow it to dissolve.  Mix and set aside, waiting for the mixture to "bubble," showing that the yeast and sugar are interacting.

Place the milk mixture in mixing bowl (I use my KitchenAid and it works just fine.  Granny, of course, did it all by hand...).  Add the yeast mixture to the milk mixture.  Make sure your milk mixture has cooled a bit as you don't want it to kill your yeast concoction.  In all reality, by the time you've reached this point, it should be just fine.

3 beaten eggs
6 cups flour
      Add the beaten eggs slowly until mixed along with one cup of flour.  Gradually add more flour (about one cup at a time) until the dough is the right consistency to knead (elastic but not too sticky).  At this point, I've switched to my dough hook.  Depending on you mixer, you can allow the mixer to do the kneading.  I still prefer to knead for about 5 minutes with my hands - helps me to "feel" that the dough is right.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a towel.  Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled (about one hour).

Once the dough has risen, divide it in thirds (approximately.  see below) and roll out thin.  Place rolled out dough on 1" pans (jelly roll, cookie sheet size) forming an "edge" with the dough along the outside.  Place sliced peaches on top (can also used sliced apples or plums).  Sprinkle lightly with sugar.  Cover with towel and allow to rise again, for one hour.

Bake about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Makes approximately 2 - 1"x11" pans and 1 - 9" pan.

I baked mine for a little more than 15 minutes.  You don't want to over bake this!  Just let the edges get golden brown.  Serve warm (or cold!) sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Some other tips...
- for me, 3 peaches was enough to make one cake
- I only wanted to make one cake, so I rolled out the extra two portions of dough, placed them on the proper pans, covered them with wax paper, and then put them in the freezer.  They will be ready the next time I have a few peaches on hand.  Just allow to thaw and rise once fruit is on top.

Try it!  Don't be scared off by the scalded milk,  yeast, and rising parts... it is actually very easy and not nearly as time consuming as it sounds.
Enjoy!

Before and after pics... finally!

Well, it's been a while.  And, honestly, that hasn't been by choice.  Blogger, for whatever reason, has not been so friendly when it comes to uploading pictures - despite my daily efforts.  I have no idea why it is cooperating now, but I figure I'd better capitalize on the opportunity.  Here you go...

As promised (although it was so long ago, I'm sure no one remembers), here are before and after pics of our family room.  The room wasn't so bad "before" - it actually had come along way.  But there were several elements that didn't really "go", so our efforts were to make the room a bit more cohesive.  

Here is before...

and here is after... 

this is the area that is set away from the family room (across from the woodstove / entrance)

There are still a few things I want to add.  You'll notice the space above the couch with the mirror is a little lacking.  We're still looking for the right lighting options there...  But it's nice to have the room done and feel a bit more intentional.  And I really like the red wall!

a Norwex testimony

Yesterday's tip was about natural, green cleaning.  I know there are a lot of varied opinions out there on the topic, so I thought I'd give a real life testimony of one of those cleaning options.

As I mentioned, I am new to Norwex products.  Their primary product is a series of antimicrobial microfiber cloths that can clean anything... including the human body.  Today, I was talking to a friend who is also a Norwex consultant because I had some questions about how to best use the products.  She was reminding me of the varied uses of the Enviro Cloth (their standard cleaning cloth), mentioning that it can even be used to remove old carpet stains.  The beauty of these cloths is that no cleaner is involved - just water.  I immediately thought of a stain on our living room carpet.  Grandma says it has been there forever (long before we moved in)... and it has driven her crazy, because, although she used every product she could find, nothing would take out the stubborn stain.  

I decided to give my Enviro Cloth a try.  And, because I knew some would be skeptical, I took before and after pictures of the stain.

This stain is very dark and large; Grandma says she often wonders why I don't put something over it to cover it up.  I wet my Enviro Cloth, wrung it out, and liberally applied my own elbow grease as I went to town on the stain.  

After a few minutes, the stain looked like this...

For real.  Can you believe that?  No chemicals.  No cleaners.  No steam cleaning carpet machine.  

When I was finished, I rinsed the cloth clean and hung it up to dry.  

As I've mentioned, I have nothing to gain.  I'm not selling anything.  But you may want to look into these products!

Right now, I'm actually looking for more stains...

in a nutshell...

i've been meaning to do an update post for awhile... but was too busy living life to actually write about it.  here goes nothing...

this fall has been much more hectic for our household.  we added soccer to our schedule - something new for patrick and chloe.  it has been a lot of fun, but having practice two nights a week plus a mid week church service really filled up our evenings.  saturday morning games have been great, though, and i am very grateful to the family members who have filled in for me or chuck when we weren't available to get somebody somewhere.

on top of soccer, chuck and i attended 3 weddings in a one month span - the third being my youngest sister's.  plotting out babysitting and scheduling to make it all happen was interesting but we made it through, and had a great time at each one.

in addition to back-to-school, soccer season, weddings, and church life, chuck is also in the process of completing his masters.  this semester he is completing 2 grad courses and a practicum.  he will be so glad when it's all over - he is so busy, and consequently, so am i.  we're trying to focus on the end result - no more grad work and a completed masters in educational administration.  yay!

last weekend, on top of halloween / fall party activities, we celebrated chloe's 8th birthday.  she had 17 girls over friday evening for a party (fun - LOUD - but fun...).  in the midst of that 4-party weekend, my cousin called me with a job opportunity at the local Christian school where she works.  although i wasn't looking for a job, i have been thinking about what i'm "going to do" next year when all 4 of my kids are in school.  this particular job completely fit my availability and need for where i am right now - part time (3 afternoons a week) in a Christian school (meaning my current educational status is sufficient) located 7 minutes from my house (so i am still accessible to my children should they need me).  and, although, tucker is still home, several friends and family members have been incredibly gracious to "hang out" with him in the afternoons that i work.

so, that's it.  i signed my contract yesterday and i start teaching this afternoon.  here we go...

and so it goes...

nothing terribly exciting or blog-worthy going on here.  and,  yet,... here goes.

i am enjoying the Little House books but have been forbidden by chloe to move on to the next book until she has caught up.  lucy has also decided to join us and is starting the first book.  patrick and tucker are enjoying watching the series with us, but that's about it!

parsley and i are going to the vet in a bit.  she's had diarrhea for almost a week now, and i have no idea why.  i tried changing her food back to the "good stuff" but it didn't help.  thankfully, she's housebroken enough to only do the deed outside.  regrettably, however, she only has the urge to do said deed in the middle of the night.  several times.  so, every other hour, she whines and cries, until i drag myself out of bed and take her outside.  and then we repeat that process until morning.  this has made for a long and tiring week.  add to that the fact that i woke up yesterday with a very stiff and sore neck...  good times.

thankfully, we have a pretty easy weekend ahead of us.  the kids are spending tonight at my parents' house, so chuck and i are hoping to put a big dent in season 2 of Lost.  i am actually pretty excited about that.  tomorrow morning is a staff meeting for church... and those are always fun, too.

i wish i had a bit more energy to make this day more productive, but i'm not seeing that happening.  maybe more coffee?

maybe.

catching up with the rest of the world

so, i've felt as if i've dropped off the face of cyber-earth lately.  nothing major going on... just life.  but sometimes that's all it takes.

something fun that's been taking up our free time is watching Lost, a series that everyone else seems to follow.  although we feel a bit behind the times, chuck and i have enjoyed watching such a suspenseful series this way.  we can watch it instantly with Netflix - no commercials, no waiting for the next episode.  and, honestly, i don't know how the rest of you have waited it out each week.  this show is killing me!  we're hoping to finish season 1 tonight... but that's about 5 episodes.  hmm...

a new era

well, this has been a long time coming.

i love dogs. i mean, i really love dogs. when we took our youth group on a missions trip to mexico, we made a border stop at walmart to stock up on gifts for the local children. the group bought crayons and candy. i bought dog biscuits for all the strays i had heard would abound.

early in our marriage i stressed chuck out every time we took a walk and i’d stop to talk to the neighborhood dogs. he was sure i’d get mauled.

suffice it to say, our 11 years of marriage has involved lots of pet-related debates, as well as on and off pet ownership. this time, it’s the real thing.

because, this time, i got MY dog.

i had been thinking about what i wanted. and what chuck did NOT like about dogs. he can’t stand the hair. and the poop. i told him there was not a bald, constipated dog breed out there. and if there was, we wouldn’t want it. but i know from childhood experience that there are small non-shedding dogs. (small dogs make small poop). so, a few months ago, i told chuck i had been thinking. and he totally surprised me by saying that he had been thinking, too.

so, i moved forward with the necessary research... knowing exactly what i wanted. and then, he shocked me even more by saying, “katie, you always loved that your parents actually bred dogs when you were a kid. why don’t you do that?” so, i did some more thinking. and some more research. (i like to research).

this week, we agreed that the time was right. i found the right dog... at the right place... for the right cost. and today, i made the drive with a wad of cash in my purse.

we joked about the fact that i was negotiating with a man whose last name was “stoltzfus” in lancaster county who had a distinctly pennsylvania dutch-sounding accent. but, i know from experience that not everyone named stoltzfus in lancaster is amish, thank you very much (i can just hear them now...) not to mention, what amish dog breeder is going to be advertising on the internet and taking phone calls.

well, i’ll tell you who - because i found him. tucker and i drove an hour north on winding country roads only to arrive at a farm. a farm that also had a one-room school house on its property. a farm with no electrical lines running to its house. and a buggy in it’s driveway. after a few minutes in the driveway, an amish woman about my age came out and told me that amos would be in from the fields in a few minutes. man, i can not tell you how much i wished i had brought my camera... except that, yes, i know that cameras are a no-no with the amish... but, come on. the irony.

so, after a few minutes, amos did indeed come along with a wiggly parcel wrapped in his coat. we chatted, i handed over the cash, he handed over the pup... and tucker and i made the hour long drive home... dodging buggies as we went.

the puppy is adorable, of course, but definitely smelled like an amish, farm puppy. the first thing we did when we got home was give her a bath. pictures and details will follow... but first, i’m waiting for my kids to come home from school and meet their surprise. they have no idea!

i’m still not exactly sure how the amish are on the internet...

here we go again...

yesterday was chloe's 7th birthday. however, in true chloe-fashion, she gave up the spotlight for another family member. yes, we celebrated. there was dessert and presents. but most of the attention went to lucy... and her chin.

on saturday night, after returning from our church costume party, we were eager to get the kids showered and put to bed. chloe and lucy were the last to get cleaned up and were supposed to be drying off when i heard some commotion. it sounded like laughing but quickly turned into crying. further investigation led me to chloe comforting a rather distraught lucy. chloe said, "i told her to stop fooling around, but she fell and hurt her mouth." apparently, she had slipped and landed on the tub floor. her mouth was fine, but her chin had not fared so well. the one inch gash was gaping open. not pretty. so... chuck got her dried off and dressed as i began the ordeal of calling and waiting on hold for our insurance to give the approval for the few stitches she would need at Patient First. we taped her wound closed, and lucy and i got back into the car to go out.

thankfully, the approval came, and Patient First was not busy. we were in and out in less than a half an hour. the more interesting details are better told by lucy, so you'll have to wait for her next video installment. for now, a close-up will have to do...

it's the little things...

those of you who have followed me for a while, heard about the evolution of my kitchen. chuck spent nearly two years updating our kitchen, and i love it. even though it was "done" there were still a few finishing touches it lacked - mainly hardware and a curtain. recently, we added those finishing touches and i'm so pleased with the result.

here is the "original" finished kitchen...

and, now, here is my current kitchen... complete with a few changes.

there is no denying it. chuck does some good work. i am so pleased every time i walk into that room. ironically, when he's in the kitchen, all he sees is the ceiling - the only thing left to "do."

a chatty sort of all-encompassing update...

well, at least, that's what i'm hoping to accomplish. lately, i put off blogging in search of uninterrupted time, but i'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that i don't really have any of that. at all. but that's ok.

so,...

i took patrick to his 8 yr check-up today. not that thrilling, i know, but it still reminds me of how old he is getting. and that makes me think of how quickly my children are leaving their current phases and entering new ones. of course, that's all part of the plan,... but i'm always making a conscious effort to really appreciate who and what my kids are now. it seems like just yesterday patrick couldn't get enough of bob the builder and his toy guitar (he used to write his own worship music... but that's another post entirely...). now he's reading Treasure Island and drawing pictures that already surpass my most artistic moments. i love him. and i love watching him and his siblings grow up.

three weeks into the school year, i feel like i'm finally starting to fall into a routine of sorts. this year has brought many changes: lucy entered kindergarten which leaves only tucker at home with me. this is a good thing... but it's taking some getting used to on his part. some days he's not sure what to do with all the attention and other days he turns into a monster if he doesn't get all my attention. in the long run, the good and bad attention he's demanding is helping to work off some of his rough edges. he's at that age where he needs a little "polishing." when people ask what the kids are up to these days, i tell them, "the older three are in school, and tucker is in boot camp." it's true.

another change is that the two kids i watch, K and A, are down to just A now because K is in kindergarten, as well. however, his is half day kindergarten, so some days i get to pick him up and keep him for the afternoons. i'm glad for these days, because tucker enjoys the added company. he's recently started asking if we can keep A forever. not sure her parents would like that...

i finally feel as if we're really moving into fall. the kids clothes are all switched over (with the exception of some shorts and stuff, because, let's face it, this is maryland...). i'm ready to get back into the kitchen after a spending the hot summer avoiding it. my mental baking list is growing... now i just need to work up the nerve to get started. hmm...

winter baking inevitably leads to the dreaded "winter weight" which makes me think about giving exercise another go. ever since last november's broken ankle, my attempts to re-acclimate myself to any exercise has left me a bit sore (that and summer exercise routines are too hot for my liking). i think it's time to get back on the treadmill - but maybe in smaller, more manageable doses. now, i just need to figure out how to work it in to the schedule...

i guess that's enough for now. my uninterrupted time is just about up...

an update from the slacker...

once again, i've been posting in my mind instead of on "paper."

today is lucy's first day of kindergarten... we leave in a half hour for her first gradual entry day. patrick and chloe are 3 days in, now, and seem to have adjusted as if there was no summer separating them from last school year.

yes, i have pictures to share. but between patrick and chloe's first day, lucy's first day, and lucy's first day on the bus (friday), i figure it will be easier to show them all at once.

busy week...

one week to go...

i LOVE the first day of school.

i love the first week of school.

ok, let's face it, i'm a big fan of school in general. it's a good time, all around. and, i'm very, very grateful that my children feel the same way thus far.

chuck went back to school today for a week of teacher in-service and preparation. i can't help but laugh about that first year that i didn't go back to school because i was 9 months pregnant and waiting for my firstborn to arrive. i realized that i had enjoyed a "first day" every year since i started kindergarten in '80 (from school to college to my career as a teacher), and i was so sad! i kept bugging chuck to let me go out and help him with his back-to-school shopping. you know - the posters and red pens. he wasn't having it. he's a low-maintenance, bare minimum kinda guy and it shows up in his classroom. so, instead, as the neighborhood children stood on the corner awaiting the bus with their shiny new shoes and lunch boxes, i sat in my house, all fat and pregnant, waiting for a child that was in no hurry to arrive.

well, he did eventually arrive. and i was quite distracted for a while. then #2 came the next fall. and the following fall i discovered i was expecting #3. by the time #4 came along the year after that,... well, let's just say that school was not at the forefront of my mind. i always got a little nostalgic around the beginning of september, but that was the extent of my longing.

the longing, however, has returned. not for me to return to school but for my children. and, i don't want to get rid of them. really, i don't. in fact, i'd have to say that this summer was a lot of fun having them and chuck around (i'm not too proud to admit that my love of schedules and structure has made previous summers... uh... less than appealing). but my kids are ready to get back to "normal." they're bored (don't even get me started on my well-practiced sermon aptly entitled "How the Heck can You be Bored; Have You Seen How Many Toys You Own?"). and this year, as i shopped for their supplies and clothes and shoes, and as i read their back-to-school letters and talked over their teacher assignments, i actually wasn't reliving my longings. i think i've finally let go of my love of school as a student and a teacher; now, i love school as a parent.

i love to see my kids learning.

i love to help them with their homework (really).

i love hearing my kids' stories and my husband's stories at the dinner table.

i love volunteering in their classrooms, watching their teachers do their hard job and appreciating, from experience, the effort they are willing to give for the sake of my children.

i love watching them interact with peers and sometimes learn the hard lessons that come with that.

i love the structure our days take on as my children assume the responsibility of their lives (albeit, in small ways).

now, i'm not saying that's what all mom's mean when they say they're glad their kids are going back to school.

but that's my story.

the day's bounty... and the fruits of my labors.

one day last week, my daily garden harvest resulted in this.

in all fairness, this was quite an abundant day for our little garden, but as the summer progresses, abundance such as this is becoming more and more common.

i decided it was a good time to make some tomato sauce. i discovered a really simple and relatively quick way to make homemade tomato sauce when i was inundated with someone else's "abundance" a few years ago. i've enjoyed using it so much that i thought i'd pass it along...

i can't give you exact amounts here, because everyone's produce is different sizes. i figured the pictures would help, though.

Roughly chop enough tomatoes to fill a 15 x 11 sheet pan. you can also do 2 pans at once. on top of the tomatoes add one onion and one pepper and about 3 cloves of garlic (you can adjust according to your preference) all roughly chopped drizzle with olive oil and season with coarse salt and pepper. i also add some basil and oregano (fresh or dried).

place the pan in a preheated oven (350 works well) for about 30 minutes to til the vegetables begin to break down. they should look like this.

after allowing the veggies to cool for a bit, place them in a blender. i've learned from experience that putting the tomato mixture in a spouted bowl first will save a lot of mess and hassle, even if it means cleaning another item.

the veggies will only need to pulse in the blender for a few seconds. when blended, they'll look like this! the other bonus of using a large measuring bowl is that it is easier to tell how much finished product you end up with.

pour the sauce into a large ziploc bag and carefully remove as much air as possible. label with the contents and amount. lay the bag flat in your freezer, and don't forget it's in there the next time you need sauce!

ps) forgot to add that i often sprinkle some sugar into my final product depending on the flavor of the tomatoes. another trick is to season your sauce further once you are ready to use it. tweaking it to make it your own seems to be the key!

weekly report...

my children are outside enduring their daily torture, aka "playtime." i thought maybe that would give me time to post, but i seem to spending more time acting as referee than writer. i am counting the days 'til summer is over - not because i don't like having my kids around,... but because they are tired of being home!

we were glad to have chuck and patrick arrive home safely on friday after a full week of camp. however, by saturday afternoon, patrick was complaining of a headache and woke up sunday morning with a fever (apparently, a few other campers had it, too). by sunday evening, tucker was complaining of a sore throat (surprise!) and fever, but it was not the same virus patrick had. tucker had been exposed to hand foot and mouth disease earlier in the week and had finally come down with it. thankfully, both boys were back to normal my monday afternoon, but tucker's throat was sore for another day or so.

on tuesday, i took tucker to the ENT for his consult regarding a possible tonsillectomy. although his current symptoms were not due to strep, the spots in his throat were definitely convincing, and the doctor agreed that a T and A was the best option, stating that tucker being sick so often at that age would "only get worse." we'll be scheduling the procedure for september - as soon as the kids are in school but before the next "strep season" begins.

for now, it seems that everyone is healthy. despite the presence of 2 viruses in the house at once, the girls both managed to escape getting sick. this week, the older three are enjoying CFC's vbs. tucker is enjoying having mom and dad to himself each evening (and a few dinner outings...) he's finally caught on to wii sports, so we've played a bit of that. he and i enjoy playing golf... although a 3 year old trash-talking golfer is something to behold.

i've spent a lot of my free time this week catching up on photo organization. the most current pics in my photo albums are from this past christmas, which is really not that bad. i did some online investigation and, through website sign-ups, coupon codes, and photo credits, ordered around 400 prints this week for just the cost of shipping (woo hoo). i love having my albums up to date... and because i keep them out, the kids look at them a lot. i know this is one of those things that's slowly becoming out-dated, but one of my fondest childhood memories is looking through family photo albums which my mom so faithfully update. i'm glad my kids can do the same thing.

in addition to catching up on prints, i've also been taking advantage coupon codes for different photo projects. a few weeks ago, seehere.com was offering 25 free photo cards (for just the cost of shipping). i cashed in on this offer three times (3 email accounts = 3 website accounts) and ordered our christmas cards. premature? maybe. but that's one less thing i need to remember or budget for in december. this week, i used shutterfly's offer for free shipping and 30% off all photo books to create 2 different books (one of tucker's train trip and one of lucy). although i do keep my albums current, i've wanted to start scrapbooks for each of the kids - with a page or 2 for each year of their lives. however,... this has not been happening. with a good coupon code, i can make a photo book with less effort and about the same cost. i'm not planning on doing this each year for each of them... but i know they'll enjoy them just the same.

chuck has been home all week and will be home next week, as well. after that, he's back to school! i'm kinda glad he opted out of any summer work for these two weeks, because it's allowed him some time to work on other projects around the house - like painting patrick's room and the living room. he also replaced 3 ceiling fans that had mysteriously begun to die (after only 4 years!). we were going to just buy new ones, but he decided to call the customer service number he found on the motors. upon talking to a service rep, he discovered that we were able to return them to Lowes for a store credit equal to the original price of the fans. most fans have a limited lifetime warranty - i guess most people don't pay much attention to that, though. it worked out well, though, because we got 3 new fans for way less than what we were prepared to pay for 2 fans. i use coupon codes,... chuck uses warranties. it's all good.

well, the kids did their time and are back inside now. time to make lunch...

i'm persevering...

the truth is, that i'm such a creature of schedules and stability, that my "normal" life may have to wait til summer is over.

i know it sounds odd, but i've never liked summer. even as a child. especially as a child. summer meant an end to school and waaaaaay too much free time. i never knew what to do with myself and was often told to, "put that book down and go outside." in those cases, i usually just took my book outside.

as an adult, i'm learning to like summer a bit more. vacation is fun. having my kids home is a nice change (when they are enjoying summer). chuck is around a bit more,... usually. but, still, i resist this terrible urge to compartmentalize and structure our free time and "fun." so, i've been learning this about myself and, as a result, backing off. and that's a good thing. except, that once i hit summer's half way mark, i start getting the shakes and have to start, at least, thinking about the beloved fall season.

i know, i know. it's sad. pray for me.

the sure sign of improvement, however, is that most of my work is being done in my head. and in my trusty spiral notebook. inventories, lists, plans - as long as they are on paper, i feel somewhat productive. and, like i mentioned yesterday, searching for clearance racks gradually is a nice way to shop. and it doesn't hit the wallet like a bucket of cold water. i'm also starting to think about christmas. not in a psycho way. (not yet anyway). but, as people make comments about things they like or need, i add them to my list. should i find a deal, i may make the purchase. yesterday, i made a particularly strategic holiday move when i stumbled upon a coupon code for 25 free photo cards at www.seehere.com (one of my favorite photo websites). the code was intended to motivate people to send cards highlighting their summer fun, but i decided to use it to order christmas cards. and,... if you happen to have multiple email addresses, you could also have multiple accounts... you see where i'm going. let's just say, for the price of shipping, i have 50 personalized christmas cards en route to my house. i think i may keep an eye on more photo freebies... i could build up quite a collection that way. hmm....

despite my overactive brain and compulsive need for productivity, i am making progress. schedules are fun,... but for now my kids are playing with trains. tucker is still in his pajamas. and, if yesterday's course of events is any indications, he may stay like that til lunchtime.

victory!

this is all i got

not sure why my posts have been so few and far between these days - we have been keeping busy around here. maybe that's why. by the time i have a minute to sit down, i just don't feel like doing anything. i have, at least, been faithful to keep up-to-date with all our fun summer pics.

we've been home from our outer banks vacation since saturday. chloe is still there with my parents but will be returning this saturday. i'm glad. i miss her. we miss her.

chuck and patrick leave this sunday for Camp Pinnacle, a church camp held in Carlisle, PA. this is our second year sending kids from our church. patrick is less than enthused (so is chuck) but both of them, by nature, would rather be home. for that reason alone, going is a good thing. i know they'll have fun and come home on friday with lots of stories.

in the midst of living with bits and pieces of my family, i'm trying to get life back in order. there is something about coming home from vacation that makes me want to get ready for fall. a bit premature when vacation takes place in mid-july, but i'm in the zone nonetheless. most of the kids' school supply shopping is done (except for the tissues and ziploc bags - and the fat 8 pack of crayons. cant find those anywhere for some reason). the last few days have been spent taking inventory of the kids' clothes for the upcoming season - and trying to decipher who needs what, what fits whom, etc. once i figure out what everyone needs, then i get to hit up every clearance rack i can find in search of spending the least amount of money for the most stuff. even better is the "trip" i took to my own basement only to discover several pairs of shoes for lucy and tucker as well as a box of clothes for patrick. such discoveries definitely help!

i did make some great purchases at target this week (and, yes, i went to all 3 in our area for my quest). i bought 4 pairs of shoes for about $20 - LOVE their clearance shoe rack :)

with all the new purchases comes some much needed purging. i'm looking forwarded to down-sizing the kids' toy collections. since lucy will be in school this fall, she'll be playing much less with toys, which means that the girls' bedroom will take a more grown-up look. don't worry, i'm not getting rid of everything. but there's only so much playing to be done after dinner and on the weekends. patrick is down to just legos and star wars action figures. and he doesn't miss a thing. i'm wondering if the girls would be ok with just polly pockets and barbies. ok,... i'm starting to ramble now.

this afternoon, i'm going to take a break from my frantic organizational pace to sit and read. we'll see how long that lasts.

this one's for you, geidl-girl

yesterday's sunshine and laundry motivated me to use the clothesline.  i like to use the clothesline as much as possible, but sometimes i simply forget... or don't want to be bothered.  yesterday, i didn't mind.

however, as i grabbed the bucket of clothespins that grandma has had forever, it began to crumble in my hand.  time for a new clothespin holder.

i looked online, thinking that target or walmart would have some cute solution.  nothing.  several crafty blogs, however, had all kinds of suggestions.  huh, i thought, how hard could it be?  often that question gets me in a lot of trouble.  this time it worked out ok...   

this is one of tucker's old shirts.  well, it used to be.  now, it's my new clothespin holder.  i sewed up the arm holes and the bottom and added a few other strategic stitches.  although i was quite proud of myself, i couldn't help but think that the whole process would have gone a lot faster if i had used my sewing machine.  that is, if i knew how to use my sewing machine. 

but, how hard could it be...