For my "Oh so kind" seventh graders

Today in our Connections class we celebrated the birth of Christ. Remember that we thought about what we would give Jesus for His birthday. We all wrote something down, sealed it in an envelope and placed it under the Christmas tree. Then we drew a name of a classmate from a bucket. Your assigment is to "gift" that person by perfoming a random act of kindness and then report back here in the comments section. For example:

To: Hannah C.

Today I bought an admission ticket for the next person in line at the basketball game and asked the attendant to wish the receiver a Merry Christmas.

I cannot wait to read all the ways you have spread the kindness and love of Christ to the people around you. Be creative. Bless us all by sharing your kindness in the comments section.

Love you
Mrs. Dorman

(this idea was borrowed from a fellow blogger. If you are not one of my seventh graders and would like the link, leave a comment requesting it.)

In case you were curious...

about what we did over Spring Break:

Guess who got a new...

webcam.
And how much time do you think we are wasting with this small piece of technology?

That's My King!

I dare you to watch this video and not be moved!
Do YOU know Him?

We laughed and laughed

Actual sign spotted during our Spring Break trip to Carolina Beach. Guess how many times I told the children "Continue cut'n up and I will tan ya hide?"

Grab a tissue!

If you have a few minutes, watch this video.
What did I take away? I can thank God EVEN for the obstacles in my life and the lives of my children.
http://vodpod.com/watch/1165857-walk-on-espn-video

Same ingredients, different recipe

So...How did the muffins turn out? I would love to hear about some new variations you try. Try adding strawberries or chocolate chips.

Now, there are many recipes using these same basic ingredients. Remember, always keep these stocked in your pantry: Dry milk, all purpose flour, baking powder, and margarine.







Here is a family favorite:
Garlic Bread Sticks
3 cups flour
1t. salt
1t. garlic powder
1T. dry parsley
1T. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 stick margarine

In large bowl mix flour,


salt,

garlic powder,

parsley,

and baking powder.

Mix the dry ingredients well.

In a 9x13 baking dish, melt the margarine.

To the dry ingredients, add milk.

Don't be afraid to get your hand dirty. It becomes tough to mix it with a spoon so use your hands.

Knead the dough 5 or 6 times until it holds together. The dough will not be "pretty", it will look pretty rough. That's okay. Keep going.

Roll the dough into an approximate 9x13 shape. Doesn't have to be perfect.

My rolling pin is a good measure.

Place the rectangle of dough in the pan on top of the melted magarine.

Cut thin strips in the dough. The margarine will seep up between the strips. This is a good thing!! I happen to have this handy Pampered Chef cutting tool, but I've used a pizza cutter or a knife.

After all the strips have been cut, it should look like this.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until brown.

Serve with Marinara Sauce or alongside your favorite Italian meal.
YUMMY!!

This batch lasted about 30 seconds.

Next recipe: Homemade Buttery Biscuits

The family needs to eat, therefore, I cook.

I've never enjoyed cooking. It's just not my thing. As a newlywed, I prepared crunchy lima beans, undercooked turkey and a meal that was so bad that my husband still brings it up from time to time and has a hearty laugh. But over the years, I've improved. I will never be a Paula Deen but, trust me, you will leave my table content.

Not only have I had to learn how to cook tasty meals, I've had to learn economical, satisfying, and quick meals. Feeding a family of nine can be expensive but I've learned a few tricks to make it manageable.

One important tip:

These are basic staples you should always have stocked in your pantry.

I mean, really, does it get any more basic than this? This may seem like an obvious thing, but folks, I didn't know what to do with all of these. If it didn't come in a box with specific directions, I was lost. So if you already know how to make basic muffins, bread sticks, homemade biscuits, then ignore me. But I'm posting this in case it will be a blessing to someone just as it was to me.

Today I will give you the recipe for Basic Muffins with some variations. These are a favorite in our house. Oh the freedom! If I do not have french bread or dinner rolls to go with a meal, I just whip up a batch of these. They are fantastic. AND...I always have the ingredients on hand. If you are out of milk, just reconstitute dry milk. You cannot tell the difference.

Basic Muffins

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 cups flour

Combine oil, egg, milk, sugar and salt. Mix well. Add baking powder and flour. Mix until moistened. Do not over mix. Spoon batter into 12 well oiled muffin cups. Bake 400 degrees, 20 minutes.

Cornmeal muffins: Replace 1 Cup of flour with cornmeal. Use 1/3 cup of sugar.

Cinnamon Raisin Muffins: Add 1/2 cup raisins and 1 -1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Use 1/2 cup sugar.

Cheese muffins: Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of shredded cheese. Use only 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Breakfast Meat Muffins: Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup of finely chopped, cooked ham or 6 slices of cooked, crumbled bacon or 1/2 cup finely chopped, cooked sausage. Add 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Use only 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Corn Muffins: Add 1 cup well-drained, cooked corn. Use 1/4 cup sugar.

That's it...Easy, huh?

If you try these, let me know what you think!

Tomorrow...a favorite afternoon snack.

Garlic Bread Sticks

Luvada

This is Luvada Walker Hollingsworth, my grandmother.

Isn't she beautiful? I've never met her. She died when my father was a teenager. She had breast cancer.

My middle name is also Luvada and I would love to know her. Since she has 4 children, I like to imagine that she enjoyed being a mother as much as I do. I know she had very good taste. For heaven's sake, look at those "to-die-for" spectator pumps. From my Dad's stories I know that she was a disciplinarian, a strong woman, and rarely missed church. I gather that she had a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and is worshipping Him in heaven right now.

What a treasure to have this photo!

It got me to thinking...

What will the next generations "gather" about me?

What will my legacy be?

I wonder about the granddaughters and great granddaughters who I will never meet in the flesh. What do I want them to remember about me and my life?

What about yours? Have you given it much thought?

In the meantime, I look forward to meeting Luvada in heaven. We will worship the Lord together. Do you think we will be rockin' some awesome shoes? I can guarantee that painful high heels will not be there. Crocs? maybe.

We are still here

I wonder if anyone noticed I haven't posted in a while. Well, I've been super, crazy distracted with my consignment sale and then there's the seven kids and all. They have grown accustomed to eating and wearing clean clothes. So that had to be done.

I will update you on everything...in time. And I have SO MUCH to catch up on like the surprise I found in the dryer, my unfortunate incident with the Polly Pocket house, my hormonal meltdown last weekend....and there are a few "How do you do..." questions left to be answered.

In the meantime I will share an original poem by Scooter (14 yrs). The assignment was to write a poem that imitates the poem "December" by Thad Stem. I think she did a great job. She has submitted it to a poetry contest. We'll see what happens.

August

August waded into our sleepy town

With her flambeaux blazing streaks of orange and crimson

She lethargically fans her sweltering face

So powerfully, humid air crested over the rooftops

Like a cascading wave.

Then she flipped her fiery auburn hair

And the flames were provoked higher and more vigorous

To stew us and reveal her deceiving mirages

With an occasional performance from vivacious, pounding drummers

That make her flash a smile.

An encouraging verse

John 10:27
Karen listens to my voice; I know her, she follows me. I give Karen eternal life, and she shall never perish; no one can snatch Karen out of my hand.

These are Jesus' words as He was speaking to the unbelieving Jews about His sheep.
Can you put your name in the blanks?

If you do not know or do not understand, read this.
Or let's chat. I would love to tell you what Jesus has done for me.

No camera. I'm sad.

Why do camera batteries last for about 12 minutes before they die?

So, no pics for my posts because I'm taking my time getting to the store for batteries.

I wanted to do my "How do you..." post on Thurs but was waiting on pics. Here it is without pics. Not as fun but use your imagination.



Jen asks, "How do you get your children to do their chores in a timely manner?" or something along those lines. I'm going to answer her question in Palin-esque fashion and tell you how we do chores, not necessarily the timely manner part.



I divided the public rooms of the house into 6 zones.

• kitchen


• den and living room


• downstairs bathroom and garage entry


• bonus room


• upstairs bathroom and hall (including the linen closet)


• laundry

The dining room is rarely used and not very messy, so I didn't include it. Since we have six children capable of carrying the responsibility of a chore, this works perfectly. Each child can be responsible for a zone. I wanted to rotate the chores but still allow each child the opportunity to learn how to effectively clean each zone before rotating to the next one. We determined that a week works well.

I wrote on 6 index cards the schedule. For example:

Week #1

• Kitchen - Scooter


• Den/Living - Triple H


• Down Bath - Banana


• Bonus - Rosebud


• Up Bath - Bucket


• Laundry - Mojo

Week #2 will have Mojo in the kitchen and everyone else shifts down the list. After six weeks, every child has had every chore for one full week. If everyone does what they are supposed to do, all public areas of the house, including laundry is done. Each child is responsible for homework, zone chore and their room. I have a list of penalty chores. If they do not do what is expected, then a penalty chore is added to their responsibilities. Penalty chores are NO fun, like scrubbing the inside of a trash can, organizing the silverware drawer, cleaning out the van, etc.

Now, Jen's real question was how to get them to do the chore in a timely manner. I don't think I have gotten the timely manner part yet. I would love to hear from all of you. How do you get your children to do their chores quickly and without procrastinating? The only suggestion I have is to offer a reward. On the weekends we usually offer an incentive to do their work right away and with excellence. Usually it is family movie night or an ice cream cone or a family game night. That's right...we don't mind bribing our children.

Today's post is sponsored by the letter B

For starters, I KNOW, quit yelling at me. I forgot to post my "How do you do..." post on Thurs. To satisfy you all, "How do you do time management?" I don't. But stay tuned, this Thursday Jen asks, "How do you get the children to do chores in a timely way?" If anyone has another "How do you do..." question, leave a comment.

For today's post Carpoolqueen, tagged me to list 10 things I love that begin with the letter B. I know you are on the edge of your seat, so here they are:

• Bible Study. I participate in LAMBS at my church. I love it! Sweet girls, great teaching, and the book of John. What could be better? Of course, Bible study on my own is wonderful too. He speaks, that is all I need.

• Basketball. Watching not playing. Six of the children play. I am especially enjoying watching the two oldest girls play for their middle school team. It is so exciting. By the way, they are undefeated in their conference so far this season. Due to a cancellation because of snow, they have four games this week. I'm tired just thinking about it. Do you see why I don't play?

• Best Friends. I have the best friend in the world. You know who you are! ...and bloggy friends are awesome too.

• Bath. I love a hot bath after a long, cold day. Ahhhh!

• Blue Jeans. Does it really have to be explained? These would be on everyone's list, right? One little problem, though, I don't have a really good pair right now. Anyone have a suggestion for a reasonably priced yet well-fitting jean? PLEASE, share!

• Byebyepie. This is the funniest blog. I'm not kidding. HILARIOUS! I love June.

• Blogging. There is something therapeutic about writing a blog. I'm amazed that anyone actually reads it. Maybe I'm saving people money on sleeping aids....zzzzzz.

• Beans. Don't laugh. We have them all the time. And, NO, we do not have the problem you are thinking about. My sweet friend SL gave me this recipe for 5 bean soup. Brown 1 lb. of sausage in a pot. Drain off fat. Dump in 5 different cans of beans (eg. Navy, black, kidney, lima, pinto), 1 can tomato soup and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Heat through on stove or in the oven until flavors blend. This is yummy on a cold day with cornbread.

• Bojangles. When I'm pregnant I have very BAD morning sickness all day long. The only thing that gave me a temporary reprieve was Bojangles cajun fries and sweet iced tea. Sounds like a terrible idea if you are nauseous but it worked every time. One more reason I love the Bo....Bacon and Cheese Biscuit. Delish!

• BC. If you have a headache ..these are the BEST.

"B" is a challenging letter.

What do YOU love that begins with the letter B?

What must it be like...

...to be the youngest of seven children?


Take a peek:

Should I be more concerned about

• the child giving the wedgie?



• the child receiving the wedgie?



• the child quietly filming the wedgie with no apparent concern for his/her little sibling?

How do you do...?

I've got a new idea. Every Thursday will be a post titled, "How do you do...?" As a larger family we often get questions that begin with these four words, for example, How do you do naps? potty-training? eating out? dinner time? grocery shopping? You get the idea. Sometimes I have a nugget of wisdom, sometimes I have a very poor way of doing stuff and need your bright ideas.

So, let's get started. "How do you do all the kid's paperwork clutter?"

Well, for a long time we dealt with this:

And this:

Do you have these stacks on your countertops? They are usually filled with the important papers the kids bring home in the Monday folder, like permission slips and tests that need to be signed and that appointment slip from the orthodontist that needs to be added to the calendar and the numbers off of your sisters paint can that you need so you can buy a gallon for your bedroom. You know, all those important things that can't be thrown away or lost but don't have a specific place to be kept.

Well, I got sick of it! I discovered a solution that has been working perfectly for our family for a few years now. I bought a hanging file box/crate/thingamajig and some hanging file folders. A file was created for each family member, even the little ones and babies, and files were made for Miscellaneous, coupons, bills, etc. It looks like this:

Yes, you're right, it is not the most beautiful thing in the world. It will win NO style awards and my "cute" friends, the ones who do everything with flair and have creativity oozing out of every pore, would definately have found something pink, decoupaged, and bedazzled. Alas, no flair here. But organization...YES! No more lost permission slips. No more piles on every countertop. No more stuffed papers in drawers. When a kid asks where the owners manual is to his new Nintendo DS, my answer is...have you checked your file? When it's the night before the overnight field trip and we suddenly need the packing list that was sent home two weeks earlier from school, no more panicked shuffling through piles of paper, I simply say, "Let's check your file."

If you have a burning question for the "how do you do...?" Thursday post, leave a comment and I'll try to answer it next Thursday.

Changing the subject, lately I've begun to notice that everytime I needed a new toothbrush, my supply was gone. I stock up on toothbrushes almost EVERY time I go to the store and yet there is never one in the closet. So I went on a mission to find out what was going on. This is what I found in the bathroom drawers. Do you think it was pleasant to be in my house on this particular afternoon? I.think.NOT! At least the mystery was solved. I know where all the toothbrushes were going, but now I wanted to know why. I still don't know. Do you think they thought these were a "use once and throw away" product?

By the way, I know that some of you are counting. Aren't you? I'll save you the trouble. There are thirty-eight brushes. 38.

38!

Oh dear, that's all I have to say about that.

Great News!

We've been heard!

Clarification has come from the CPSA regarding the legislation that could have potentially shut down my business and others like it. Read all about it here.

Thanks to everyone who wrote and called their congressman.

Y'all are awesome.

http://www.twiceasnice4tots.com/

Where I've been

I've not posted lately for a couple of reasons.

#1. Christmas.
I enjoyed a lovely Christmas with my family. I would have to say that it has been the most meaningful Christmas we've ever had. Jesus was the focus, rightfully so.
Not to say that we did not have presents. Oh, we had presents. First of all, shopping for seven children is a full-time job. Wrapping the gifts for seven children is another full-time job. Watching seven children open their gifts...well, that's like a full-time vacation. Pure joy!
If we were to give this Christmas a gift theme, it would have to be photography. Five of the children received digital cameras under the tree. {I got a great deal on Black Friday but that's a whole other post. Insanity!} I was so excited knowing that I would be able to borrow one of their beautiful 10.2 megapixal, red cameras. {Red is my favorite color.} As you've probably noticed I've been using a sad, little, 2.0 megapixal camera that was a hand-me-down. It has a broken battery door that will not stay closed so to operate it must have a tight rubberband wrapped around the body of the camera. Sad lil camera. BUT, what do you think my sweet husband handed me to open first thing Christmas morning. That's right! A new digital camera.
You are saved from the barage of bad pictures on my blog. Thank the hubby.
Old Camera

New camera...and, yes, it is red!



#2. My sister and I received some interested news last weekend that greatly affects our business.

A law has been passed that will make the reselling of used children's products illegal after February 10th. In order to be legal we have moved the sale date up from the end of February to February 5th - 7th. Obviously, we have had to kick it into full gear. We are very hopeful that the law will be amended and we will be able to continue with future sales, but not before the Feb 10th deadline. If you would like to know more about this law google CPSIA. You will get a ton of information. If it is not amended then it will continue to be illegal to sell children's clothes and toys on CraigsList, Ebay, at garage sales, Consignment Sales, Consignment shops, and Goodwill. This affects us all. It would be extremely helpful if you would contact your congressman and express your concern about this. In the meantime, check out our website and register to consign if interested.