Doughnuts for Good Grades

Did you know that your children can receive free doughnuts at Krispy Kreme for their good grades?  All they need to do is take in their report card and choose their flavors.  That's right- they can choose other doughnuts besides the glazed ones.  I'm not sure how they determine how many doughnuts according to the crazy number elementary grades.  I believe that for each "A" they get one doughnut, not counting P.E. or music classes.  I know Corbin scored the most doughnuts (seven) - I had him share two with me!

Laundry Detergent Recipe

One of Olivia's friend's mother gave our family a fabulous Christmas gift, it was a gift bag full of homemade items and their recipes.  I particularly loved the homemade laundry soap.

I quickly used all the laundry soap so I decided to make some more. I have made laundry soap in the past, but I liked this recipe better because it has a couple extra cleaning ingredients.

Laundry Detergent Recipe
1 (4 lb 12 oz) box Borax
1 (3 lb 7 oz.) Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 (3 lb.) Oxyclean
3 (5 1/2 oz.) Fels Naptha bars (grated)
1 (2 lb.) Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
83 oz. Purex Crystals Fabric Softener (I used the lavendar scented crystals)

Mix all ingredients together in a kitchen trash bag until thoroughly mixed.  Pour into desired container.

Use 1 Tablespoon detergent per wash.

This batch will make approximately 535 loads, which equals about 6 1/2 cents per load of laundry!

Tiff's notes:

• I bought all my recipe ingredients at Walmart and the total came to $35.00 (tax included) - that is the price of using no coupons and no specials sales.  I just went one day and bought all my supplies.

• I actually used my Vitamixer to help blend the grated Fels Naptha bars into smaller pieces.

• I store my laundry detergent in a 3 gallon bucket (an old frosting bucket that I got years ago from  bakery) with the recipe written on the lid.  

• I keep a small jar of detergent by my washer and refill it when needed.  It has a small cup inside that measures the 1 TB.

My House Smells of Lemon Goodness

 Yesterday I decided to use the lemons I was given by a friend at church (they come freshly picked from California).
  I wonder what I can make?  

(Pic of lemon brownies comes from Baker Girl's Blog, link below)

I have always wanted to make lemon curd but just haven't taken the time.  Today I learned that it is surprisingly simple to make (it can even be canned in a water bath) and at a fraction of the store price.

In addition to lemon curd, I also made Cakey Lemon Bar Brownies (which I love and have made several times), a delicious Warm Lemon Pudding Cake (best right out of the oven), and Lemon Crinkle Cookies (which were okay but nothing to die for, however they did win the best cookie award at ldsliving.com).

After my baking escapade, I froze the remaining freshly squeezed lemon juice and the lemon zest for later use.

Menu Monday

I did pretty good last week....just didn't make Saturday's meal.  I guess I should have known that wasn't going to happen with the girls having a ballet rehearsals and recitals (yes, two performances) that day.

Monday - No school, this was for lunch.  Avacado, Arugula, and Walnut Sandwiches, Crisp Cucumber Salsa (I added an avacado - and it was delicious),  20-Minute Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
....for dinner we all went out to Dickey's BBQ
Tuesday - Baked Potato Soup, bread
Wednesday - Linguine with Clam Sauce, Easy Arugula Salad, baked acorn squash, french bread
Thursday - Taco Salad with some more cucumber salsa
Friday- Easy Pork and Three Bean Chili, cornbread

Baked Goods from a Cold Kitchen

Yesterday after a long winter's nap (trying to get over a cold/larnygitis), I baked up a few things (click below for recipes).

Poppy Seed Bread with Glaze

Baking Powder Biscuits (that we enjoyed today for breakfast with country gravy - Olivia's favorite)

Banana Bread

Pie in a Jar

Are We Living in Alaska?

Today I braved the freezing cold 4 degrees (according to my phone) for a few minutes this morning and captured some pics in the fog with the frozen trees.  It is beautiful.  But wait, it gets better.....

6 OBSERVED Hi  34°F Lo  30°F Precip (in) -

7 OBSERVED Hi  34°F Lo  30°F Precip (in) -

8 OBSERVED Hi  28°F Lo  16°F Precip (in) -

9 OBSERVED Hi  21°F Lo  5°F Precip (in) -

10 OBSERVED Hi  23°F Lo  10°F Precip (in) -

11 OBSERVED Hi  28°F Lo  16°F Precip (in) -

12 OBSERVED Hi  39°F Lo  21°F Precip (in) -

6 OBSERVED Hi  27°F Lo  12°F Precip (in) 0in.

7 OBSERVED Hi  29°F Lo  13°F Precip (in) 0.20in.

8 OBSERVED Hi  36°F Lo  19°F Precip (in) 0in.

9 OBSERVED Hi  46°F Lo  21°F Precip (in) 0.11in.

10 OBSERVED Hi  36°F Lo  26°F Precip (in) 0.08in.

11 OBSERVED Hi  28°F Lo  8°F Precip (in) 0.01in.

12 OBSERVED Hi  21°F Lo  5°F Precip (in) 0in.

Can you guess which week of weather observed Jan 6-12, 2013 (last week) is for Wasilla, AK and the T. Valley (here)?

...and then the sun came out.   Just two hours later, it is so much more beautiful!  You can even catch a glimpse of my giant American flag in the window above the front door.

The Answers for the weather above are:

1st week picture is weather for Wasilla, AK

2nd picture is weather for here!

It's not much different....actually four days in AK were better or close to our weather here.  

I am DONE with the cold weather.  I am done with having a cold house.  Our home is heated exclusively with our wood stove, because we learned the hard way two years ago (after just moving in) that one month of propane heat in January came to $900.00 (and that Jan wasn't even close to being as cold as it is now, plus the thermostat was set to 64 degrees during that trial period)!

My bedroom this morning was  a chilly 50 degrees, comparable to Corbin's downstairs bedroom at 51 degrees.  The warmest room in the house was 56 degrees.  So how do we survive?  I have taken over the girls' small upstairs bathroom in taking my showers, because I can heat it up with a small portable heater, where as my bathroom takes too long to get warm.  We frequently wear our coats (actually I still haven't taken mine off from taking these pics) in the house.  It reminds me of living in Wasilla, AK as a youth, ages 11-15.  Our home was cold even though we had a wood fireplace and electric heat (which was very expensive so seldomly used). I remember wearing coats and hats in the house all the time. 

I invited my Mom and Keith to town this weekend for the girls' ballet recital. The only catch was that they would have to stay the night at someone else's home, because it's just too cold here for a non-acclimated person.  Her quick response so my dilemma was to move.  She said that she would be finding a new house right away.  I guess she also remembers the cold AK house and the hours she spent chopping wood in the cold, I don't blame her.  

The blessings:

In this home we haven't had any issues with frozen pipes, like we did in AK.

These extremely cold temperatures this winter are not normal.  The average Jan temps are 38 H/25 L.

Spring is coming, I hope!

We are very grateful for a wood fireplace and a lot of wood (we are burning through it like crazy).

If we ever have natural gas heat again, I will be VERY thankful!

The kids and Paul are thankful for the warmth at school and work.

We have more empathy for those experiencing cold homes.

We are getting tougher...no wimps here.

That I know we could survive (with cooking and heating) if our power was out for a long time.

I'm sure there are more....I will keep thinking!

P.S. Baking!  On cold days, I keep myself warm in the kitchen with the ovens baking away!  One cold day I made a huge double batch of granola along with dozens of muffins.

  I wonder what I can create today!

Menu Monday

I need to get back to menu planning....it's been over a month of just wingin' it!

Monday - Homemade Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese & Tuna Sandwiches

Tuesday - Tacos (easy night)

Wednesday - 20-Minute Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup, Kale Salad

Thursday - Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce, brown rice, edamame

Friday- Pizza, Smoothie, veggie

Saturday - Easy Pork and Three Bean Chili, corn bread

Sunday -   Baked Potatoes, Something with chicken?, Salad, Bread, No-Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake,

Meanest Mother in Wyoming

I love this ad!  This is what I call good parenting...the mom is holding fast to her principles and values. Her son will learn a huge lesson from this (and probably even thank her someday).  This story actually comes out of Casper, Wyoming!  Take a look at the rest of the story, here.

Girls Bake Up A Storm on Their Snow Day

School was cancelled today for the girls (not the boys...they were not happy).  So they worked for hours in the kitchen baking all sorts of goodies, including cupcakes, cake balls, muffins in the Easy Bake oven, and chocolate dipped marshmallows & biscotti.  

 They then made play money and sold items to each other.  The boys were sure happy to see all their creations when they got home for school.  We are all on a sugar high here!

They worked so happily all morning.  They were only sad when they had to clean up their huge mess!

The Entitlement Trap

I am currently reading this book by Richard and Linda Eyre.   I have been conflicted with the idea of giving my children an allowance.  They have been begging for one for years, but I haven't felt good about it (but I did want them to earn money so they could learn to manage their own earnings and learn more fully the law of tithing, from personal experience and sacrifice.  So this book is very timely. I find this quote from the book fascinating:  "Entitlement is a double-edged sword (or double jawed trap) for kids.  One one edge it gives kids all that they don't need--indulgence, dullness, conceit, and laziness; and on the backswing it takes from them everything they do need--motivation, independence, inventiveness, pride, responsibilitiy, and a chance to really work for things and to build their wown sense of fulfillment and self-esteem."

More from the book:

"We give them too much and demand too little of them; and thus we place our children in an environment and a mind-set where a sense of entitlement is the inevitable result."

So what is the solution?  Ownership!

"If the perception of ownership can be given to children, a sense of responsibility will follow (just what I am needing in my home - from Tiff) and a sense of pride, and a sense of purpose."

Thus when they show responsibility, they will want to put forth the needed work to get the desired results which will be the ability to earn and spend their own money.

"True ownership is the antidote to entitlement and the prerequisite to responsibility

I am just beginning chapter 5: Ownership of Their Own Stuff.  I am learning how to put this information to work.  I will keep you updated.

Check out this link for their website about this book and a couple videos from the authors, Richard and Linda Eyre!