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?