Sunday Sum-up

I have decided to get working on some scrapbook layouts in my spare time. I want to do one for every month of Princess Snifflefritz's first year of life (The same as I did for Princess Magpie). It will be a nice way to de-stress.



I am really longing for Spring to come now. I have enough of being cooped up all day every day with the girls, we need to get out and enjoy parks and outside again. It doesn't help that I don't remember the last time I got a full night's sleep. I think it was about 14 or 15 months ago before Princess Snifflefritz was born. These days the girls take turns tag-teaming me to keep me up at night and still get me up at 6 or 7 in the morning and I am chronically sleep-deprived. And they love to get into trouble. The minute I turn my back on them, they have either destroyed something, broken something, taken something they shouldn't have, or someone has made someone cry. So, if my girls are awake, I am with them, watching over them, loving them and keeping them out of trouble. I love me girls but I would be better equipped to spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with them, if I could do it on a full night's sleep. Today, Prince Charming (God Bless his soul) saw that I was losing it and took over care of the girls so I could get a nap and a shower. It is amazing how much difference having a chance to just de-stress and get a shower can make.

I am making Lazy Cabbage Rolls and Cornbread for supper.


Lazy Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients

* 1/2 medium cabbage, shredded
* 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
* 2 onions chopped fine
* 2 - 3 cups tomato sauce
* 1/4 tsp garlic powder
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp pepper
* 3 cups cooked rice

Directions

* Place 1/2 of the cabbage in buttered 9x13" dish
* Pour about a fourth of the sauce on the cabbage.
* Saute onions and brown the ground beef.
* Mix beef ,onions,spices, rice and another fourth of the sauce and place on the cabbage.
* Top with the rest of the cabbage, and pour on the rest of the sauce.
* Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 1/2 cups milk (I used water)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup cream-style corn

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan (I used muffin tins).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs, oil and remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean

Saturday Stuff

Well not a bad morning, we cleaned up and made some muffins I call Morning Muffins because they remind me of some Muffins I used to buy years ago that were called Morning Glory Muffins.

I am going to spend part of the day going over the books I got from the library on Canada and preparing our geography curriculum for next week. I plan on spending some time on Canada as a whole first and then spending some time on each province individually after. I think it will be great fun.

I am going to make bread again either tomorrow or Monday. I am going to use the same recipe as last time as I really like how it turned out. I am going to experiment with making pizza that same day too.

I am considering our future move as well. I would really love to move to a town we lived in before, I liked it a lot there, I just don't know if it is in our budget to do so. Homeschooling would be so much better there, as there are so many more opportunities there.




Good Morning Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup apple - peeled, cored and chopped (or 1 or 2 apples grated)
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup flaked pumpkin seeds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together milk, egg and butter. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Fold in chopped apples, coconut, and pumpkin seeds. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Comparing Kids

I know you shouldn't compare kids, but every once in a while I am struck anew by just how different my girls are. I have pictures of Princess Belle wearing a bathing suit at 5 1/2 years old and I have pics of Princess Magpie wearing the exact same suit at 2 1/2 years old!!!!! That is a THREE year difference and Princess Magpie fills it out more at 2 1/2 then Princess Belle did at 5 1/2! They are such different girls. Princess Belle was always so easy going and tiny. Princess Magpie is all personality and cuddly curves. There will come a day in the not too distant future when I can see Princess Magpie being big enough to stand up to Princess Belle even though Princess Belle is 6 years older than she is!

Here is the photographic evidence:


On a little extra note, my littlest baby has TAKEN HER FIRST STEPS!!! She is so sweet and growing so fast these days.