An amazing thing happened recently...my computer crashed. Well, actually two computers crashed, one of them twice. I was beginning to wonder if it was a divine sign after the first time. After two crashed computers...hmmm. I'm borrowing another of Papa Bear's computers to write this, but my camera is mysteriously broken also, so no pictures. Is it just me or does it seem that all of this broken technology points to more than coincidence?

In the meantime, I've been catching up on all those chores and projects that I thought I didn't have time for. I spent all yesterday afternoon and evening (until midnight) working on:

• Emptying the office closet, so I can make it a quiet nook for the boys and a safe place during storms. It's in the center of the house, under the stairs. I removed the lower shelf and added it to the top one to create a place for emergency supplies. My plan is to paint the walls, put a large cushion or floor pillow in the bottom, and maybe add a section of rain gutter bookshelves or other low-profile book holder.
• Reorganizing the downstairs and upstairs hall closets to make room for stuff from the office closet. That led to culling through our sheet sets. Some had to go, some were suitable for camping, a few lone flat sheets are going into a fort making kit for the boys, and the remaining complete sets are being stored in their respective bedrooms. I still need to find a place for our board games.
• Sorting and putting away a mountain of clothing that I had not wanted to deal with. Some outgrown things that needed to be put in storage. Mostly clean clothes that I had let pile up because putting away clothes is my least favorite chore. To make it easier for me and the hobbits to put things away, this became...
• Taking the sliding doors off of the hobbits closet, hanging a curtain rod, and using ring clips to hang twin sheet curtains. The three youngest share a closet and their chest of drawers is in there also. Of course, I had to straighten and clean out the closet and then that led to...
• Cleaning the hobbits' room. That by itself is a big job. Everything is now in its place. Even the space under the beds is clear. For the moment. Once the room was clean, I got started on... 
• Hanging a couple of pictures and peg racks on the walls for their hats and dress up stuff. I had found the peg racks at thrift stores long ago and finally spray painted them white yesterday, in between my other projects.

The hobbits love the changes to their room. None of them know about the empty closet yet or else they would be in it right now. Kids do love cozy nooks. Needless to say, I did not have a hard time falling asleep last night. Now, I'm off to buy a gift for my niece's daughter's birthday party tomorrow, pick out a paint color for the "secret nook", purchase a new shower curtain liner, browse the thrift store, and pick up a few groceries.

Life With Boys Link-Up

Being a mom is hard work. Being a mom of boys is also an adventure. If you are a mom of boys, whether it be 1 or 10, you know that they can see things a lot differently than we do. Life with boys can get very interesting (and messy and loud and unpredictable and sweet and funny and...). Sometimes, a mom just needs to share it with someone who can appreciate it. Like other mommas with hairy-legged, bear-hugging, bug-loving, risk-taking, on-the-go boys.

Link up your posts and share with us the joys and perils of your life with boys, whether it be about feeding, teaching, training, entertaining, or just loving them. Link directly to your post and keep it family-friendly, please. Don't have a blog? Leave a comment. As you skip through and read about other mommas and their boys, please leave comments to encourage and uplift.

Please link back here or grab the Life with Boys Link-Up button from my sidebar 

so other boy moms can join us!

Homemade Pasta Sauce

I seriously thought about titling this post "I Left Paul Newman" but I was a wee bit concerned about the tabloid paparazzi showing up at my house. Up until recently, my pasta sauce of choice was Newman's Own Sockarooni. One night, I started boiling my spaghetti and discovered that I did not have Sockarooni in my pantry like I had thought. Ugh!

Since my options for a quick dinner were limited, I decided to forge ahead and make my own sauce using the giant can of whole tomatoes that I had purchased at Sam's Club. After all, that's why I had bought the can to begin with. That over-sized can that sat on the floor next to my pantry, sheltering dust bunnies for the past few months. {Ahem} I did a quick glance at the pasta sauce recipes in my trusty Joy of Cooking cookbook and got started.

My first attempt was pretty good, but since then, I've made our pasta sauce from scratch several times, tweaking and getting familiar with it. Now, I'm ready to share with my readers. Just in case there is someone else out there who is brave enough to leave Paul Newman (or whoever else may make your pasta sauce). I suggest looking at the ingredient list of your favorite pasta sauce and adjusting whatever recipe you use to reflect that. This is a great large family or once-a-month recipe.

Pasta Sauce (makes about 12-14 servings)

 

1 (102 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste (you could probably use two cans)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2-3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1-2 tsp. jarred minced garlic)
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. oregano
1-2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
honey, to taste (I use about 1 tsp. to balance out the acidity)

Pour the undrained tomatoes into a large, shallow dutch oven or deep skillet. Heat over medium.

Using a potato masher, crush tomatoes until no large chunks remain. Add remaining ingredients.

Bring to a simmer. Simmer on low for several hours or until sauce is reduced and thickened, stirring occasionally. Taste and add more seasoning, if desired.

At this point, I remove half of it and put it in a large jar or gallon-size freezer bag to freeze for another meal later. If you use a jar, fill it leaving a few inches for expansion. With a freezer bag, make sure it's sealed (double-bag, if you're skeered), lay it flat on a cookie sheet and freeze until solid. Then remove cookie sheet and store the sauce horizontal or vertical, your choice. You don't have to use the cookie sheet, but it keeps the bottom of the bag flat instead of sagging through the gaps in the wire racks and making it a little more difficult to remove from the freezer.

We like a meat sauce, so I use ground beef that I pre-cooked with onions and garlic and froze. I add it about 15-20 minutes before serving and simmer until the sauce and meat are heated through. Serve over your favorite pasta and add a salad.

Linked to: Homemaking Link-Up, Tasty Tuesday, Healthy 2Day, Simple Lives Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday

Wordless Wednesday #20 - "Marble Painting"

DIY Molded Crayons

Chances are very good that you have seen this before. Shaped crayons make unique gifts and are just more fun to color with. And it's a great way to recycle your old crayon stubs that no one wants to use. Or you could just buy a dozen boxes of new 24-count crayons in August when they are 25 cents each. We happen to have a shoe box full of old, broken crayons, but, yes, I melted perfectly good crayons instead.

 

Before you start, make some spaghetti sauce. Well, that's what I did because I needed some cans. You may already have some cans set aside for recycling. Make sure they are clean and dry. Place as many will fit into a saucepan and fill the pan with a few inches of water, enough that your cans won't bob around.

Sort your crayons according to tones. For example, I combined yellow and dandelion, purple and indigo, blue and cerulean, red and scarlet, etc. Have the kids peel the wrappers off. You can help them out by using an exacto knife to slice it open first, but be very careful. I have a scar on my left hand from a box cutter incident many years ago.

If you don't have enough cans for each separate color, start with the lighter colors first or a primary color and then a secondary color that is made with it. Melt yellow, then orange or pink, then red.

Let the kids break up the crayons and put each color/tone in its own can. Heat on low and once they begin to melt, stir with a craft stick (one for each color) until liquified.

 

Carefully, pour into silicone ice cube trays or candy molds. This is a job for an adult because the hot wax pours quickly and may splatter. Let sit until solid or place in freezer to speed up the process. You'll probably have to help pop the crayons out of the silicone molds, but the ones in candy molds should fall right out when you flip it over. I recommend doing it over a towel to soften their landing. No matter which type of mold you use, you won't be able to use it for anything else after making crayons.

I bought a two-pack of silicone heart ice cube trays in the dollar spot at Target with intentions of giving them as Valentine's gifts. Wouldn't these be cute bagged up with a tag that says "You color my world, Valentine"? 

The silicone molds left more of a matte finish. Personally, we like the super smooth feel of the candy mold crayons. We were only slightly tempted to eat one because they reminded us of cute little chocolates.

Life With Boys Link-Up

Being a mom is hard work. Being a mom of boys is also an adventure. If you are a mom of boys, whether it be 1 or 10, you know that they can see things a lot differently than we do. Life with boys can get very interesting (and messy and loud and unpredictable and sweet and funny and...). Sometimes, a mom just needs to share it with someone who can appreciate it. Like other mommas with hairy-legged, bear-hugging, bug-loving, risk-taking, on-the-go boys.

Link up your posts and share with us the joys and perils of your life with boys, whether it be about feeding, teaching, training, entertaining, or just loving them. Link directly to your post and keep it family-friendly, please. Don't have a blog? Leave a comment. As you skip through and read about other mommas and their boys, please leave comments to encourage and uplift. 

Please link back here or grab the Life with Boys Link-Up button from my sidebar 

so other boy moms can join us!

Moments to Remember

Snack time ~ "hummie" & pretzels

M2 loves our Schleich animals right now. He always makes sure that the babies are paired up with the parents. His favorite is the chimpanzee pair {"monkeee"}. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the momma has "nurnies".

Usborne Books & More...Again

In 2001, we were in our second year of homeschooling and living in a new town. Papa Bear had gotten his first job as a police officer in his small Kentucky hometown and to say that money was tight is an understatement. I wanted to find a way to add some income while staying at home with our two boys. After a lot of researching online, I found Usborne Books At Home {now Usborne Books & More}. I had never heard of it before and, of course, there weren't any local consultants. {There were barely any people!} With Papa Bear's blessing, I signed up through a wonderful consultant from Texas. When I received my kit filled with those shiny, colorful books, I fell in love!

I continued as an educational consultant for about five years, supplementing our income and adding many educational books to our home library. Then I became pregnant with boy #4 and, as it goes with big life changes, my passion for it waned. We continued to use our history and science books regularly for homeschool and my younger sons still gravitate to our well-loved Usborne books almost daily.

Miles loves the touchy-feely books and finding the duck in the Farmyard Tales books. Levi's current favorites are Lift-the-Flap Sharks and See Inside the World of Dinosaurs. Being an 8 year-old boy, Isaac really likes the old Agent Arthur puzzle books and Gladiators from the Young Reading series. They have all loved the Flip-Flap Body Book, especially What Happens to Your Food? and How Are Babies Made? The latter has been very popular each time I was pregnant.

Although I started my new child ID and safety business, To Love and Protect, this year, I still have a place in my heart for Usborne Books. And when I saw that the New Consultant Mini-Kit is only $29 this month, I knew that it was the right time to sign up again. Sooo...

Visit my online Usborne Books & More Store!

And if you're interested in becoming a consultant, either to earn money or support your book habit, just send an email to raising5knights at gmail dot com or sign up online. How many well-respected businesses can you get started with for less than $30* that include display products, supplies, and a free 6-month personalized website? Usborne Books & More offers great incentives during the first 12 weeks and there are no monthly minimums to meet. If you like books and kids {and a product that sells itself}, then this may be the perfect opportunity for you too!

*New Consultant Mini-Kit is only $29 until 10 a.m. CST, February 29, 2012.

Healthy Homemade Hamburger Helper

This is kid-friendly comfort food. Savory. Creamy. Hidden vegetables. While searching for a ground beef stroganoff recipe, I found Eating Well's Hamburger Buddy recipe {which is much prettier than mine}. I haven't had Hamburger Helper for... I don't even know how long. I can't honestly remember what it tastes like, but this is supposed to be just like it, only healthier. Then, as I was reading the comments to see how everyone made adjustments, I clicked through to Amelia's version. Armed with all of those suggestions for adjusting the original recipe, I began whipping up my own, also increasing the amount to feed my small army, of course. The results were delicious! All of us had seconds, even Miles. It's definitely going into the regular meal rotation, along with salad.

Here are the changes I made:

• I used a 32 oz. carton of organic beef broth and added about 1-2 cups of water with the pasta.
• I used 3 carrots {probably 4 next time} and a 16 oz. box of farfalle pasta.
• I added extra garlic, 1 tsp. thyme/1 tsp. oregano instead of all thyme, and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
• The original recipe recommends using a food processor to chop the veggies, but the commentors said that it pureed them instead. So I used the mince grid on my handy dandy Vidalia Chop Wizard for the onions and mushrooms. I diced the carrots by hand and used jarred minced organic garlic.

Linked to Homemaking Link-Up and  Better Mom Mondays.