Cooking Empowerment (& a Birthday)/Friday Flavor

Ok, so I thought I'd keep the birthday thing under wraps on social media. But a couple family members had other ideas. Thanks daughter #1 and Only Sister. I say that with my sweetest reminder that they too will be celebrating someday.........

At least my Mother-in-law tried to sweeten the deal for real with this personal cake.

It. Was. Wonderful!

Thank you Nancy :)

Kirsten surprised me with flowers, balloons and a lovely little package. 

Thank you for making my day special!

#LoveMyDaughters

Fast forward to Thursday,

we worked on a lil' recipe with the children.

This was on Pinterest and as you can see, we altered it a bit to fit my ingredients on hand.

Have you ever tried Pear Honey? It was one of the substitutes for the maple syrup. 

The doubled batch made enough to fill that pitcher in the end.

With special permission, I can show you the 'action'. Just look at the intent on those faces!

Sure added some Flavor to my day.

Hope you'll be back next week for more Friday Flavor!

Ain't Got No Time For This / Tasty Thursday

You can plan and plan and then it just comes down to what works, or not.

This baster was supposed to help with putting muffin mix into baking cups for the little guys who love to help me cook.

I. Bought. 2.

ziplock bag with corner cut to use for pouring.

This was what we had to resort to as the Pinterest idea was a total Fail.

Don't believe everything you see online. Just sayin.

There are 4 helpers, but one is showing his face so I cropped the picture.

Q.T.Pies, in transfixed state. They don't sit still much :)

End result, Gluten Free Martha White Mix blueberry muffins for breakfast.

 For lunch we used up some frozen vegies, diced some celery, and added everything the 'online recipe' (again) said. Only problem we had was that the THyME I had purchased at our good ol' Walmart had apparently fell out of the bag. Has anyone else noticed how easily they get holes in them? So,..... we resorted to using some granulated garlic, onion powder and adding some hashbrowns since I needed to save time after tearing apart the kitchen in search of 'Thyme'. Sounds like a pun. It could be intended.
Have a wonderful Tasty Thursday!



Other great Tasty Thursday blogs:
https://worldandtimeenough.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/tasty-thursdays-caldo-de-camaron/
A special South Indian dish known as ‘challa pulusu’ or ‘majjiga pulusu’ or “kadhi” in Hindi | Living Better
https://checkpackgo.wordpress.com/2015/09/03/tasty-thursday/

I Eats Me Spinach/ Tasty Thursday

Popeye came to mind when I started to write this post. Maybe it's my age, but I loved watching Popeye back when we only had 3 channels and were lucky if it was in color.

That's a blog topic for another day.

Today I'm sharing some cooking fun I shared with a couple of my daycare children. Normally I'd post something like this over on the Honeysuckle Road blog. But Tasty Thursday surely could use some smiles like these.....

These two were more than eager to try one of the recipes from my found treasure

So fast forward to the page we chose for our cooking experience.

Taking a look at this 1932 version of a Spinach dish, I knew we could one-up this recipe to a more modern Quiche-like fare. So instead of the 2 eggs and 2 cups of cooked spinach,

I decided to go with 4 eggs (beaten until frothy),

1 cup of fresh, chopped spinach,

1/2 cup grated cheese.

(be sure to spray your baking dish with non-stick cooking spray,

or go with the 1930's buttering your pan)

 

With a little help from my friends, we ended up with a pretty yummy snack.

 

I can't talk about my time spent with the kids without going educational rogue on you.

So here goes my pitch on cooking and young children.

Areas of learning your young children can experience from helping you cook:

• Creativity - We learned a new name (Quiche) for an egg dish
• How Things Change - Seeing the difference between raw and cooked spinach
• Raising Self-Esteem - They CAN help chop leafy greens with kid-safe utensils
• Small Motor Control - Chopping, Filling, Pouring, Stirring,
• Math Skills - Measuring, Visually comparing portions & MY FAVORITE MATH SKILL.........

"SO Do You Want Seconds????"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



After All, Tomorrow is Another Day/ Tasty Thursday

A perfect bundle of flowers from a perfect little girl!

This was my birthday greeting on Friday.

I certainly felt a little better about turning a year older with such a lovely bouquet.

Thank you Miss Emmi and family!

Continuing on with the trend for beautiful things, my sister made a very thoughtful choice when she picked this gem up at the Warsaw Heritage Days. The crème de la crème of craft shows in the state of Missouri. I didn't attend this year, but maybe I would have discovered what sister was up to if I had?? Everything works out the way it should!

 A trip to some local Antique shops was my choice for birthday shopping. I lucked into a bargain on vintage flour sack fabric at a favorite haunt of ours, Chelsea's.

Can't find this at Walmart.

But my favorite find was this 1932 children's cookbook. It claims to "Teach children to cook successfully. 

Take a look inside!

Here's the table of contents. Such cute recipe titles. It even shows a proper table setting!

With a bouquet of flowers naturally :)

My question to you is, What is this ingredient spelled "fladousing"???

Effie Jean Carter, I wonder if you're still out there to translate?

I have a feeling this mystery will go unsolved on this Tasty Thursday.



Hopscotch Quilting and Missing Lane

My lastest Etsy creation on Katy Trail Creations

Special thanks to the girls, Morgan (who loves my cookin!) and my youngest daughter Kirsten.

 Yes there's a great meal in the works for their help :)

 

Speaking of Meals,

Pardon my absence from the Tasty Thursday posts. We had a tragic loss in our lives and I just didn't feel like cooking from the stash of recipes.

In short, just because the hurt is still deep, we had an 11 year old tragically killed in a tractor accident. He had been one of our daycare 'kids' and his younger brother just left for Kindergarten last month. The family was like our own.

Please say some prayers for them. There is nothing more needed when there's a loss of a child.

This was our Lane one Fall weekend back in 2011 in Florence, Missouri. He came to greet us while we were having Rachel's Senior pics taken. He had just been out with his dad deer hunting. His home is just down the road in this picture and I know his home now is in Heaven and our forever in our hearts.

 

 

 

 

 

Tasty Thursday/ Cloudy With a Chance for Meatballs

Having a Birthday Party today! Normally this would be something I'd post on my Daycare blog, but it seems more appropriate for a Tasty Thursday post.

As in the title up there, we're celebrating with a little movie and 'meatball w/spaghetti' cupcake dessert.  Also going to do an experiment with some Efferdent tablets. 

Saving that for the daycare blog.

**Sidenote: Did you know Efferdent cleans old china without scrubbing? More on that for another blog post.

 

Close up view. I gotta admit this is just wrong. But the boys are going to love it!

 

A more appealing picture as Tropical Depression Bill leaves us with a spectacular Sunset.

Sis, this is for us :)

Adieu!

 

How Do You Do It?

Keeping an even keel while caring for 9 children is somewhat of a curiosity to some. So what do I do in my down time to remain sane?

Everyone who knows me personally knows I've recently been blessed with a house addition and am even more blessed with a room dedicated to my hobbies, crochet/sewing/quilting. What would I do without my time to be creative?

Another way to keep it real is to spend time gardening. Somehow, with my back yard still in mud pit mode, I managed (with my hubby's help) to put in a raised bed garden. Love my vegies and hoping for a good year since my neighbor so generously donated some of his fertile farm soil to our new garden spot. He's farmer 3 days a week and neighbor 4 days. He and his Mrs. have been living this arrangement for nearly 10 years. I'm getting off track here so on to the sanity savers.

Spending time with my family is also one of the best ways I keep the brain in lower altitudes. I have some of the greatest relatives on the planet. Just sayin. We have awesome get-togethers just bringing pot luck items and shooting the sh*t. We are probably pretty red-neck to most, but we don't judge and most always get along with anyone. Our White Elephant Family Christmas parties are awesome and the reunions ain't bad either. And my husband and daughters are top of the list in keeping me steady. Wouldn't know what to do without them.

My list could go on as I have a multitude of ways I enjoy my free time. Honestly, I have to say my job isn't really that stressful anyway. Who else gets paid to play all day and cuddle babies? They aren't critics of my banjo playin either :)

Oh wait, I guess I should mention that banjo is my ultimate weapon against insanity.
Hear it below:
https://youtu.be/oo5lDg3oKNo

Te"X"as Tea

The object of the song The Ballad of Jed Clampett, is the oil they find, the Texas Tea, that made them millionaires. And so the tv show went on for several seasons in their mansion in Beverly Hills.

But what is your Texas Tea? To children it's "sugar". Make no bones about it, sugar makes the world go round when you are a child. Think fairs and bazaars. Snow cones, cotton candy, ice cream, funnel cakes, taffy, and much more.

My Child Care Food Program is regulated by the USDA and they are updating their regs for meals and snacks. One of their biggies is "sugar". We will be limited, once approved, on the kinds of sweets available to children. There are many pros and cons about this and I am sure I could make a major debate on the topic. But I prefer to find solutions for myself and my little precious charges because the changes are most definitely coming. Here are some options I will be putting "On the Table" instead of "cake-type sweet items" as their laws will Xclaim.

Instead of Donuts, I will be topping off my biscuits with some fresh berries and a dab of Cool Whip.

No Poptarts anymore. Instead we'll be making some toast and strawberry preserve sammies in my Panini press. YUmmO!

Can't have Cookies? How about Graham Crackers topped with Pineapple Cream Cheese? We can use raisins, craisins, banana slices or grapes to decorate.

For partytime, I'm going to let them make their own Yogurt parfaits. Each layer will have different colored fruits and we'll use some of my Auction finds, ice cream glasses.

Brownies eliminated? No problem. We're serving up Muddy Buddies. Chocolate Chex mix has "Whole Grain Rice" as its first ingredient. So There!!

I need to make sure I note that the changes on sweet items is not yet in effect. But where the children are concerned, I will find ways to 'sweeten' their day:)

Check out some other A to Z blogs Here

 

What Child is This?

What child wants.......

• to Share---Set a timer so that when it beeps the toy can go to someone new for awhile and then back again.
• to Wash hands---I buy foamy soap to "smash" it.
• to Go Potty----especially in the middle of play. I am guilty. I bribe with stickers that have "special powers stuck to them". It keeps with the dramatic play they're involved in.
• to Eat their vegies---Puree them an add to the spaghetti sauce. It's ok to be sly.
• or tell them it makes their hair grow fast if they like getting hair cuts :)
• to Be Quiet just because the baby is asleep---Pretend to be quiet so the bear can't hear you in his cave
• to Take a Nap---Whe we wake up, it's time to do a "special" activity. And keep that promise.
• To Sit Still--- During storytime, involve them with asking them to find and touch an item on each page, like "I Spy".

Any helpful hints for children? I'm all ears!

Check out some other A to Z blogs Here

Norwegian Wood

Norwegian Wood is just a "nice" song. If you listen to the lyrics, the guy plays the gentleman and sleeps in the tub. What a concept in the present times.

But about being "Nice".....I have a list of niceness in a day in the life of children.

1. Let me get you a hat.
2. Hey, Steph! He gave me his flashlight!
3. Wanna go on a bear hunt?

4, Macoy: "Ben wants my lucky hat."   Me: "What can you do nice for him to make him feel better?"Hudson (16 months) "Let it go, ok?!" (he has watched the movie Frozen often)

How about trying a little nice, especially when you don't feel like it. Not just when you're dressed up for church.
When you're sitting on the sidelines of a ballgame listening to parents yelling, it can be particularly hard to "feel" it. You'd really like to blast them in the face with some special words. But that could end with very bad results. Trust me.
So I typically grab my crochet hook and start making a piece of mindless work like a shawl or a scarf. And with each stitch I'm praying. For me, for them, for anyone else who needs it. And in my mind I'm hearing Hudson say, "Let it go, ok?!"


Check out some other A to Z blogs Here

Kangaroo Valley Ramble

I don't think I'll be writing anything about kangaroos for my Letter K post. 

You should be very thankful, believe me!

But I can tell you about some funny things Kids say. 

My most recent one I wrote down was when I asked my daycare kids (all boys except one of my babies. There are 2.) if "Girl" Scout cookies were ok with them for snack. I'm still chuckling at their response of "We can't have "Girl" cookies." So without further ado I pulled out the Oreos. I added that 'maybe Boy Scouts could start baking so I could buy some of their "Boy" cookies.'

If you get a second or two, check out my "Kids Say the Darndest Things" tab at the top. 

Check out some other A to Z blogs Here

Irish Washerwoman

Bet the Irish Washerwoman was just searching for a pot of gold. How many times, Mom, do you find change in pockets when doing laundry?

So switchin gears now to my picture topic in the slideshow......
Imagination.
We decided to spend some time Inventing stories this morning and I thought it was way more interesting to read than googling some top ten ways to get rich like that Irish Washerwoman. So hope you enjoy the Imaginations of my In-home daycare boys.

Weston: age 4 (fish photo)
Once upon a time he gets that down at the pond. He carried it back up to his house and he's going to cook it and eat it

Macoy: age 3  (boat/dog/pumpkin photo)
That's in the water. That boat drive in the water and that dog sat and eat.
and pumpkins in the basket and the end. (on 2nd thought Not)
and that phone called somebody
and bird pecked and that bird pecked too and the end.

Hadley: age 3 (hat lady/watch photo)
Once upon a time there was a girl in the field. The clock says time to go to bed.
They're standing by a block.
The train was coming for the lady . The End

Ben: age 3 (man and girl/ cliff photo)
Once upon a time they went to a wedding and now they want to go home.
How about this one? They went to a doctor. They was sad. Now they was scared.
They want to go home.
Can I be done?

Love those boys!!

Bulgar (Jewish Dance)

What makes you Dance?
Go ahead. Turn up the volume on your favorite song. Find a private space if you must. And dance.

My dad tried to teach me the 2-step. No matter how many beers he had, he knew I was doomed to failure. A disappointment for us both. I really, really wanted to learn.

But that didn't stop me from my sole personal moments of bursting out in dance.

On your worst days, there's nothing like blaring song and a dance around the room.

 

There's something therapeutic about Dance. It has many benefits.

 

 

I tell my daycare kids that it makes you Smart :)

 

 

 

It's linked to:

• Boosting memory
• Improved flexibility
• Stress reduction
• Diminishing depression
• Heart health
• Weight loss
• Improved balance
• Increased energy
• Healing
• Creating friendships

Well......I make friends with 2,3 & 4 year olds at least.

 





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About my Day Job

Just sharing a post from my day job blog. Hope you'll take a peek. FIY Easy Reading :)
Honeysuckle Road

Shame on you Missouri Congressmen & Governor Nixon!!!

Child care cut by $10 million in Missouri

I have been working on the accreditation process with Child Care Aware of Missouri for over a year now. They have directed me on the path to raising my quality of care in my familyl home daycare. With their help I was well on my way to becoming accredited. Now we have come to a complete standstill.

Trainwreck comes to mind.

I am saddened that our congressmen in the great state of Missouri find it unimportant to raise the bar in what is best for the children.

So Mr. Congressman, when you're old and gray and wonder why you can't get "quality care" in your nursing home, I hope your conscience bugs the crap out of you!!!!

"And may the nurse's aids forget to change your diaper."

(A new Irish blessing)