It’s official.

School is out for everyone in our clan, and SUMMER. IS.ON!

Every spring I fantasize about all of the fun memories we will create over the  upcoming summer.  I think that activity helps me limp through the last few weeks of school.  (And when I say limp…I mean barely making it happen.)  I have high hopes for day excursions, a few vacations, educational activities, and plane old back yard fun.  My intentions are noble.  Unfortunately, they often get lost in a mixture of laziness and busy-ness and before I know it, it’s mid-August and back-to-school is looming like a dark cloud of regretful doom.

So…knowing myself the way I do, this year I’m going to tackle this whole summer bucket list with a few guarantees.  Meaning, two things.  First, I’m making a list.  I find that if I write tasks down, my ADHD is less likely to kick in and I can stay focused.  In addition, I’m publicizing my intentions which engages that whole “woman-of-her-word” ultimately upping  my chances that  I will accomplish my mission.

So…here it is…

Summer 2013 Bucket List

• Water balloons.  Somewhere…sometime…with all five of my kids.
• Toledo Zoo (The twins are going even if it kills me.)
• Sand Castles decorated with Pacific shells and Lake Michigan stones.
• Cedar Point with Ryan.  (Drew hates rides.)
• Picnic at the park with the girls.  (Going to make it to at least three metro-parks.)
• Pontoon boat ride. (If you have a cottage…we accept the invitation.)
• Sparklers with Mary Kate
• Sushi with Drew (I hate Sushi.  Drew loves it and he’s leaving…so…I feel compelled.)
• Host girls night at our house.
• Visit my cousins in Indiana
• Get the twins to Jennifer…twice.
• See Logan  (Totally out of my control, but I think it’ll happen.)
• Cookout with Drew’s grade school friend’s parents.
• Read four books before MK starts school.  (Suggestions are welcome.)
• Teach Mary Kate to swim the length of the pool.

Things I’m Looking Forward Too…

• Trip to Oregon with my three boys.  
• Freshman orientation with Drew.
• Our annual week at Lake Michigan.
• July 4th
• Family trip to Colorado for a wedding.
• Twins’ 2nd birthday (Remember their first…)

Stay tuned for my summer bucket list updates!

Now let the summer fun begin…

What’s on your bucket list for summer 2013?

Please share!

There are a few things in our house that are a given on Thanksgiving day. 

Turkey, wine, and expletives.

The turkey?  Well duh!

The wine?  Well…double duh!

The expletives?  Well…let me explain…

First of all, swearing shouldn’t be part of anyone’s Thanksgiving day traditions.  I’m pretty sure the pilgrims and the native Americans weren’t cursing while celebrating their first harvest.

Well…unless…

Mrs. Pilgrim and Mrs. Indian were in the kitchen trying to make the last minute gravy while the stuffing was burning, and the cranberries boiled over.  If that scene was playing out…there may have been some obscenities muttered about how a bunch of men thought cooking all this food at once was a grand idea, while the wee ones played in their skirts…like this…

Plausible? 

Absolutely, especially based on the scene that usually plays out in my kitchen as preperations for the gargantuine feast are climaxing.  That’s usually when tension boils over as someone (usually my mom) is chaotically scraping the bottom of the turkey roaster  trying to chip off the good stuff to make the gravy, and someone else makes a quip wondering why dinner isn’t ready yet…which usually ends up with said inquisitor getting smacked with a wooden spoon and culminating in an expletive.  (In our home it’s usually the S-bomb).

In order to avoid the scene described above, I’ve ripped a page from my mother-in-law’s book of doing things early.  Her motto is, “If you can cook it early, cook it earlier…then freeze it.” 

The first time I experienced a holiday dinner at my mother-in-laws, I was stunned.  Absent were the women running through the kitchen, throwing hips and shoulders to protect their coveted work space.  There was nothing burning or boiling over.  Just serene calmness.  I have to admit it was such a bizarre experience for me, I had to stifle my instinct to shout out a cuss word at…well…anyone…you know…just to remind me of home.  Actually, the whole thing felt a little “Stepford” for me, but I have to admit…I kind of liked it.  There was no swearing and her sink didn’t look like this afterwards…

As I’ve grown older, I’ve implemented a few of my mother-in-law’s do-ahead methods.  Not all of them.  I’ve written before about how I like a little chaos in my life.  I don’t totally want to lose my childhood experiences of the excitement of the last minute meal prep.  So I compromised with three dishes that are tried and true do-ahead winners.  I’m sharing them with you this week just in case you want to try and make your Thanksgiving day kitchen a little more zenlike!

Enjoy!

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Make Ahead Cranberry Orance Sauce

I haven’t always been a fan of cranberry sauce, but this recipe sweetens it perfectly and is easy-peasy.  Cranberry sauce actually tastes better if made at least a few days ahead of time.  It gives the spices of the dish time to mingle, resulting in a yummy sauce that will make even the driest of birds taste like heaven. 

Ingredients

2 12 oz bags of cranberries

2 cups of orange juice

2 cups of brown sugar

the zest of one orange

3 cinnamon sticks

Directions

1.  Place cranberries, brown sugar, orange zest, cinnamon sticks and orange juice  in sauce pan.  Mix. 

 

2.  Bring to a boil and then lower heat, simmering for 90 minutes or until sauce thickens.

3.  Remove from heat and refrigerate. 

This recipe can be made up to two weeks in advance and kept in refrigerator.  Warning…it makes a lot, so if you have a small crowd, cut ingredients in half! 

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Do Ahead Turkey Gravy

Like I indicated above, making the gravy last minute causes chaos in the kitchen.  Who knew you could make it early and freeze it until the big day.  Brilliant.

Ingredients

4 Turkey Wings

Olive Oil

2 cups of chopped onions (I use a bag of frozen chopped onions…easier)

1 cup water

2 quarts chicken brothe

3/4 cup chopped carrot

1/2 tsp dried thyme

3/4 cup wondra flour (you can use all purpose but Wondra is better for gravy)

1/2 c. butter (1 stick)

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Arrange a single layer of turkey wings in a large roasting pan. Brush wings with olive oil.  Scatter the onions over the top of the wings. Roast in the preheated oven for 1-1/4 hours or until wings are browned.
• Place browned wings and onions in a 5 quart stockpot. Add water to roasting pan and stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour the the water from the pan into the stockpot. Stir in 6 cups of broth, carrot, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1-1/2 hours.
• Remove wings from the pot and place on a cutting board. When the wings are cool, pull off the skin and meat. Discard the skin and save the meat for another use. Strain contents of stockpot through a large strainer into a 3 quart saucepan. Press on the vegetables to extract any remaining liquid. Discard the vegetables and skim the fat off the liquid and reserve in a frying pan. Bring the contents of the pot to a gentle boil.
• In a frying pan (with reserved fat), whisk flour, 1/2 cup butter and the remaining 2 cups chicken broth until smooth. Gradually whisk the flour mixture until the “floury smell of the flour is gone”…about five minutes.  (You just made a roux!)
•  Pour the Roux into the simmering turkey broth; simmer 3-4 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Stir in the pepper. Serve immediately or pour into containers and refrigerate or freeze.

 

If you freeze, warm gradually in sauce pan the day of Thanksgiving.  Enjoy!

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Make Ahead Sausage and Sage Stuffing

This is my mother-in-law’s recipe.  It’s truly the best stuffing I’ve ever had.  It makes a huge batch, though.  So…adjust measurements as you see fit.  (Remember…you are freezing it, so buy some smaller containers and freeze for other meals.  What a treat!)

Ingredients

3 pounds sage breakfast sausage (I use Bob Evans)

2 1/4 cups of chopped onions

4 1/2 cups of chopped celery (I chopped two celery hearts)

2 1/4 cups butter, melted

16 cups of dried bread cubes (I used two loaves of Pepperidge Farm House White bread.  Cubed and dried for 24 hours.)

9 tsp. of poultry seasoning

3/4 tsp. ground black pepper

6-8 cups of chicken broth (to be used the day of cooking)

Directions

• Cook sausage. Do not drain!  Put aside.

 

• Melt margarine in large sauce pan or frying pan. 
• Saute; onions and celery in butter until onion is tender. DO NOT BROWN. Add poultry seasoning, pepper. Stir. 
• In large bowl, (and I mean honking huge bowl) mix bread crumbs, butter mixture, sausage and drippings.  Mix well..with your CLEAN hands.  Be careful it’s hot.
• Place the stuffing in a buttered casserole dish.  (I needed three 9×13 dishes)
• Allow stuffing to cool, cover tightly and freeze.
• 24 hours before meal, place stuffing in refrigerator.  Thaw.
• Before baking, pour 2-3 cups of chicken broth (per 9×13 pan) in stuffing to moisten.  Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, basting occasionally to keep moist.

Wah-lah…done!

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Oh…one last given at our Thanksgiving Day table is Toll House pie.  You see, my family doesn’t like pie.  We like chocolate.  So, I compromise because it seems just plain unpatriotic to eat anything but pie on Thanksgiving day.  You can make this the day before…but it’s best all gooey and straight from the oven so I put in the oven while we are eating dinner! 

Toll House Pie

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts (chopped)

1 nine inch single pie crust (you can make your own..I don’t!  Let’s be real people.  The ones from the grocery store are perfection!)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Beat eggs until frothy, add sugars and vanilla.
• Melt butter or margarine, and add to sugar and egg mixture.
• Stir in flour until well blended.
• Mix in walnuts and chocolate chips.
• Pour into pie pan and bake for 1 hour. Serve warm with ice cream! 

Note…This pie is very gooey.  Pie is supposed to be gooey.  Don’t let the chocolate goo freak you out.  Just eat it and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I swear I’ve written this on a mental chalk board a thousand times this past week.  It’s my new mantra and I’m repeating it to myself over and over again, trying to convince the skeptic in me that a chaos free holiday is possible this year. 

I can do this.  I will do this. 

How hard can it be?

Years ago I had it down.  Even the years I was working full time, I figured out a way to get my Christmas house in order.  Decorating (indoor and out) was always done early…but not too early.  Cards were creatively crafted, licked and stamped no later than the 18th.  Presents were bought, organized, and wrapped long before the big day.  And, I loved every second of the business.  It was as if I was dancing a Christmas can-can down my street wrapped in lights and glittering garland, while dribbling an artfully decorated snowball and slam dunking it on Christmas day.

 Somehow, last year, things changed.

I’ve found myself dreading dragging the decor boxes out of the crawl space, and the cards…ugh.  Considering last year was the first time I’ve ever had to wrap anything hours before Santa arrived, instead of dancing a Yuletide victory dance, I huddled in the corner with a wine cooler (not even an egg nog) chugging until I collapsed into the fetal position.  Christmas beat me last year. 

This year I’ll do better.

I’m organizing my plan of attack, which translates to realistically prioritizing and accepting my role as the mother to five…three of who are very high maintenance at the moment.

So, I’ve been thinking about what my biggest priority should be and have decided it’s about the way my family feels about the holiday.  What is their take-away? 

I want them to celebrate love this time of year.  Of course, I want them to feel loved every day of their lives, but this time of year is an outward act of love towards those that we hold dear.  It’s about  a time to take solace in the blessings we’ve been given.  Time spent together is critical to my kids understading what our family is all about.  That means pushing some of the doing aside in favor of dwelling in the experience. 

Lofty…Right?

Not really, but there is some reality that definitely comes into play.  Particularly the fact that it’s my job to engineer the entire shindig.  What I’ve learned is that if I’m running around like a lunatic muttering obscenities under my breath about rogue Christmas lights, and burned cookies, the ambiance is affected. 

My mother-in-law is infamous for getting her holiday tasks completed early.  I mean…way early.  In fact, I’m sure her Christmas cookies are already baked, tucked away in her freezer.  I used to wonder why she felt the need to get the holiday chores picked off so ahead of schedule, and now that I have a small tribe under my guise, I get it.  There was a time in her life that she was managing nine children in her house.  Think about pulling Christmas off for nine kids…um…without crying.  Now I can see that her need to check off her shopping in October was actually an investment in her mental health.  Doing holiday chores early is an exercise in self defense. 

Shear brilliance.

So, I have revamped my holiday plan of attack and am getting my ducks in a row earlier than ever.  I started last week by picking off one of my first chores.  My mother-in-law smartly gives me money for each child. My charge is to buy their gifts from her.  She wraps them and gives them on Christmas Eve (I said she was brilliant…right?).  This year, instead of running around last minute trying to get my act together on her behalf, I picked her list off first.  Saturday morning I piled all the gifts in the car, and proudly delivered them to her…on November 10th.  She was giddy.  I was giddier.

Boo-yah.  Score one for the new Christmas Carolyn. 

I realize that the chores of the holidays are not really what the holiday is supposed to be about.  I have also learned that in order to get my family to focus on what the holiday is all about, I need to have my act together.  This year it’s “game on” Christmas. 

I will win…even if it kills me.

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Make sure you tune into 101.5 on Wednesday morning.  I’ll be sharing three do-ahead Thanksgiving day recipes that will ease the chaos of the Turkey Day kitchen and render you a happier chef!

Do you have any tricks to simplifying the holidays?  Do tell.  I’m begging you!

 

 

 

As I’ve stated before, I’m not exactly a Halloween enthusiast.  Some years I’ve been more inspired than others, but usually, I’m old school. 

“Go to the box.  Find yourself a costume!”

Yes.  We actually have a costume box.  It’s not exactly like the one my mom had.  Mine isn’t made of musty cardboard and has never survived a flood.  I’ve actually upgraded to a   plastic tub.  But just like my mom’s, pieces of costumes are missing, and there’s evidence of moth’s.  (I’ve never bought a moth ball in my life.)

I didn’t start out with this half baked “whatever” kind of Halloween attitude.  At first I was all gung-ho!

When Drew was in kindergarten I made him a robot costume.  Spray paint and duck tape, complete with battery operated Christmas lights punched through the chest.  I was proud of that creation.  I remember when he came home from school after his parade I drilled him for details.  “What did everyone say about your costume?  Did they love it?”  I was downright giddy when he reported the oohs and ahs.  I was so proud.  Crown me mother of the year.

Reality set in later that night.

You see, as cute as my blood, sweat and tears efforts turned out to be, apparently robot costumes aren’t great for maximizing trick-or-treating speed.  And let’s face it…when it comes right down to it…it’s all about the candy.  I knew the costume was screwed when I caught Sean weighing Drew before trick-or-treating began. 

Me      Sean! Why the hell are you weighing him?

Sean    Uh…to see how much he weighs!

Me     WHY?

Sean   I’ll weigh him afterwards with his treat bag.  Let’s see how fast he can move and how much candy he can get.

Within minutes of beginning what turned into a foot race, Drew had shed his robot costume in favor of streamlining his candy retrieval speed.

I’m guessing people thought nobody loved him when he showed at their doors.  What kind of mother sends their kid trick-or-treating dressed like this?

 

 

This is why Halloween 2000, marked the end of my Halloween costume making.  We are store bought…all the way baby.

That beings said, our costume box continues to grow.  Not only does it include this Disney Peter Pan ensemble…

 

We still have this Superman get-up…

 Eventually we moved onto Pokemon characters…

Poor Batman.  He looks like he’s lost his Robin.

One year Drew was obsessed with Harry Potter.  I even duck taped Hedwig to his shoulder…or neck.  Can’t remember but I’m guessing, based on the look of discomfort on his face, it was his neck. 

 And then there was the infamous banana.  I love that banana.

 Honestly, I loved going to the kids’ school Halloween parade.  The passion some folks have for this holiday is truly inspiring.  I try not to let their spooky over-achieving ways stress me out.  Neither should you.  I’ve collected a few ideas that might be good for us last minute, Halloween procrastinators to whip up. 

 

Warning…proceed with caution…you may end up inspired.

 

 

 

For more fantabulous ideas, visit Coolest-Homemade-Costumes.com.  The inspiration is  endless! 

Pottery Barn Give Away…

I’d love to hear your most creative Halloween costume ideas.  Please share the in the comments box and one of the comments will receive a $50 gift certificate to Pottery Barn….to decorate for Christmas.  Winner to be announced in the post on Wednesday, October 24th! 

 

 

 

Holy cute! 

That’s all I have to say about Mary Vogel’s latest contribution to Mama on The Fly!  She’s whipped up a darling Halloween inspired treat bag that is so simple to make and is sure to brighten a friend’s day!  MK and I will be making a couple this afternoon!  Enjoy!

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Halloween is just around the corner and I have a simple treat holder to share with you. And a treat to put inside as well, so let’s get to it!

 

Here’s what you need:

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 felt squares  – black

1 felt square each of white, orange and yellow

No-Sew fabric glue

Black ric-rac – wide

Ribbon  * See note below*

Black thread and needle

Pins

Tape measure

Scissors to cut fabric

 

*Note: When I got to the step in which to add the ribbon, I realized that the ribbon I had chosen (see above) didn’t work well as the print is not on both sides. Therefore, I changed the ribbon to one that doesn’t have a specific right and wrong side. The ribbon I used looks like this:

 

 

 

To start, fold one piece of black felt in half long-wise. Mark the center with a pin.

 

 

Using the corner of the folded felt as point A and the pin marking the center as point B, place your tape measure from point to point. Run pins along the tape measure. This will create half a triangle.

 

 

 

Cut along the outside line of the pins. Remove the pins and open the felt. You now have one triangle.

 

 

Repeat the process with the 2nd piece of black felt – or use the first triangle as a pattern for the second.

When both pieces are cut into triangles, measure 2 1/2 ” down from the top along the widest side. Cut this area off. This will create 2 triangles that are approx. 9 1/2″ long.

 

 

 

Now grab your three colored pieces of felt. Cut a 3″ wide strip from each. Pin these strips to one of the black triangles, leaving a little space between each color. Orange goes in the middle, white at the tip and yellow at the widest end:

 

 

Cut the ends of the strips even with the side of the black triangle.

 

 

 

Unpin and set the colored pieces aside. Now let’s assemble. Start with one black triangle and apply glue along the long edges. This is what the ric-rac will adhere to:

 

 

 

Repeat along both long edges. You can leave the ric-rac overhang at the top and bottom for now.

Add glue to the long edges of the second triangle and adhere to the first one, sandwiching the ric-rac between the triangles.

 

 

At this point, you should allow the glue a chance to dry before moving on. You can leave it glued, as is, or add some stitching to make the piece more durable. To do this, I threaded a needle with black thread and simply added a few stitches at the points along the sides between the ric-rac bumps like this:

 

 

 

Whip stitch at each ric-rac “valley” (bring your needle up through one side, wrap around to the reverse side and repeat. To get to the next point to stitch, slide your needle between the layers of triangles. This will hide the thread along the way. If you are comfortable with machine sewing, you can also zig-zag stitch along these long sides for even more durability.

 

Once you are finished tacking everything down, if you chose to do so, you can trim off the excess ric-rac at the top and bottom. To prevent it from fraying, rub a little glue along the edges with your finger and allow to dry.

Now we are ready to add our colored pieces. I added these with glue. Be sure to leave space between the strips so some of the black background shows

 

 

Again, allow glue to dry. Our last step is to add a ribbon so you can hang the treat holder. Cut a length of ribbon, about 20″ long. I used this length because I tied a bow at each end but if you prefer to add the ribbon without bows, you can adjust the length of the ribbon to a length that works for you. Once I had tied the bows, I added the ribbon to the top corners and stitched them through all of the layers of the piece. While you can forego the stitching that was suggested earlier, stitching the ribbon in place is a necessity as the glue will not hold as well once you put anything in the treat holder. So add the ribbon with 4-5 stitches in order to secure it to the candy corn treat holder.

 

.

And your project is ready for filling!

 

 

I made a simple Halloween bark to fill mine – here are the directions.

You will need the following:

 

 

At least 1/2 pound white melting chocolate (this picture shows a 1 pound package)

Package of candy corn

Bag of small pretzels

Waxed paper

A microwave safe bowl and spoon

Sprinkles (optional)

You can also add peanuts if you wish – just decrease the amount of pretzels and fill in with peanuts instead!

 

Break pretzels into small pieces in a bowl and add candy corn to the same bowl. I used approximately 3/4 c. of pretzels and a large hand-full of candy corn.

 

Spread a piece of waxed paper on your countertop or a cookie sheet. Place 1/2 pound of chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir. There will probably still be some lumps so microwave a little longer – 15 seconds at a time – until smooth. Do not overheat heat or the chocolate will start to break up. Once the chocolate is smooth, you will need to work quickly. Add the pretzel/candy corn mix to the chocolate and stir well to coat. Spread the entire mixture onto the waxed paper. You can add a few additional candy corn pieces to the top, pressing into the bark and add sprinkles, if you wish. Orange sugar works well but I had some yellow cake sprinkles on had so I added those. Allow to cool completely – this works best of you can transfer the waxed paper with the candy to the refrigerator for a short time.

 

Once the candy is set, break into chunks, wrap in plastic wrap and insert into the candy corn treat holder. One batch of candy will make 2 nice sized packages of treats – one for you and one to give away! (To keep the candy from settling to the bottom of the treat holder, stuff the tip with some bunched up paper towels).  You can also add candy bars or other treats to your felt candy corn holder or fill with other goodies. Make one for a special neighbor and hang on their door knob or maybe on your child’s bedroom door Halloween morning.

 

 

All materials to make treat bag were purchased at Hobby Lobby! 

 

To see more Mary’s handy crafts (like this beautiful fall centerpiece) or learn more about her party planning business, visit her at her blog, Petite-Party.net!

 

I am so thankful for my life.  This morning, as we attended our town’s Memorial Day parade at a friend’s home located along the route, I teared up as I thought about how lucky we are to live where we live.  It was MK’s first parade and although it was a short and simple, to be able to watch her clap for the bands, squeal at the delight of catching candy, and to practically have a conniption over the bubbles that the other kids were blowing, enjoying this lovely tradition is such a privilege.  A privilege that I didn’t earn, but other’s have given me by sacrificing so much. 

I cannot express how grateful Sean and I are for our freedoms.  The idea that we can attend a church of our choice, exercise our opinions freely through our democratic system, and are able to build our family in a manner that we see fit, are not privileges taken for granted. 

To all of the men and women in our armed forces that have given us so much….Thank you! 

Our Memorial Day Parade Party at a friend’s house!

MK waving her flag in one hand, and gripping her bubbles with the other! 

Holiday spirit was filling the air and lights and decorations were up everywhere I looked. All seemed right except for me. I found myself in a similar position as I was two years ago, masking a secret known only to me and Carolyn. But this time the secret was my health. (more…)

Every year I have the boys give me a Christmas list and this year, after the car door slamming incident, I’m guessing that Drew will have an iTouch on his.  It’s hard to imagine that it is already December, and the hustle and bustle of holiday preparations is upon us. (more…)

This was our year to host my family for Thanksgiving!  After having spent the morning at the hospital with Sean during his colonoscopy, I was racing through the store, knocking a few more items off of my “to-do” list when my cell phone rang.  It was Sean.

Me: What?  (tone…not so nice)

Sean: We’ve got a problem. There’s water pouring through the family room ceiling.  The master bathroom toilet overflowed.

Me: Are you on drugs?

Sean: Yes…but that’s not the point.  I tried to soak it up with towels but there’s too much.  I turned the water off so it’s stopped. (more…)

I’d be willing to testify under oath that I did not in fact have a gun to Carolyn’s head while she typed those sacred words: “Sean is right.”

Had she repeated it 100 times, then that’d be a sure sign that I might have… But what a fine entry that would have been.

In an effort at full disclosure, my lips have received almost no training forming the words,” Carolyn, you are right and I am wrong,”  Even if I am thinking it, normally what comes out of my mouth is “blah blah blah” or “whatever.” (more…)