Make your own candy

     Ever try to make your own candy?  Well I just did and it is fabulous!  So here's how it's done.
2 cups granulated sugar              
1/2 teaspoon liquid food coloring
2/3 cups light corn syrup              
Powdered sugar (optional)
3/4 cup water
1 dram (1 teaspoon) LorAnn Gourmet Flavoring

In large saucepan, mix together sugar, corn syrup, and water.  Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

 

Bring mixture to a boil without stirring.  When syrup temperature reaches 260 degrees, add coloring.  DO NOT STIR IT IN.  Boiling action will incorporate color into syrup.  

Remove from heat at 300 degrees.  After boiling action ceases, add flavoring and stir.  Use caution when adding flavoring to avoid rising steam.

NOTE: I poured my flavoring into my spoon and set it down in to pot.  It still steamed quite a bit.

Pour syrup into lightely oiled candy molds or onto greased cookie sheet and score to mark squares.

I poured mine into this, stuck it in the fridge and when it hardend i broke it into pieces with my meat mallet!  Hey, you gotta use what you got sometimes.  Dust with powered sugar and store in an airtight container.

This kind is grape and it is soooo yummy!

I cannot take credit for this recipe, I got it from the pharmacy in the Shop N Save in Franklin, Pa.  It is by Lorann Gourmet and they sell her flavored oils there.  She has a website it's www.lorannoil.com.

If anyone decides to make this, let us know how it turns out and if you did anything different.

                                                       

Parents Be Aware

     Ok so I know I don't usually post on Fridays, but I felt this was important.  So last night I get a call from the school.  It was an automated message letting me know that a man was seen, at another school close by, trying to pick up children that weren't his.  This happened on 2 occasions.  He even called the children by name.  The schools called all parents in the surrounding areas so that everyone was aware of what was going on.  I was totally freaked out!  This morning before I put Logan on the bus I had a talk with him.  I asked him if he remembers all the times I have talked to him about strangers and he said yes.  I told him there was a man trying to pick up little kids that weren't his at another school.  Of coarse he had all kinds of questions which I answered as honestly as I could without terrifying him.  I explained to him the importance of never going with someone he doesn't know, no matter what they tell him.  I told him we needed to come up with password, something only him and Ang and I would know.  That way if someone came to pick him up, even someone he knows he is supposed to ask,"What's the password?" and if they don't know it he is not to go with them.  I told him if I ever send someone to get you they will know the password.  I stressed the importance of keeping it a secret and how it was like the Pirate Password on one of his favorite shows, and that he was the treasure. I also spoke with his bus driver this morning and she assured me she would never let him off the bus if I wasn't there.  She also know Ang and my Dad are allowed to get him too.  We had a safe word when I was little and I still remember it to this day.  My parents raised me to be street smart and it's came in handy a couple of times.  Someone even tried to grab Ang when she was little, thankfully she knew what to do too.
     I can't stress this enough, I hope all you parents out there do the same with your kids.
If anyone has any tips on how you keep your kids safe, please share them with us!  Us mama's and papa's gotta stick together!

A mouse in the house...

     I woke up this morning to the smell of coffee, my kids fighting over the Wii, and two cats all up on me wanting their morning scratch.  I come out, yell at the kids, stumble to the coffee pot and there is my note waiting for me like it is every morning.  Except this morning, there were two.  The first note was the usual, good morning baby, I love you, I'll miss you today, call you at lunch, have a good day.  The second one however read.... Guess What mouse in the house, don't know where it went....sorry.
     Um.....ok.....what do you mean don't know where it went?????
     FYI Angela.....don't leave me a note that will freak me out all day long.  Just don't tell me at all.  Do I want to hide it from me? Um... Yes!  Do I want you to lie to me about it? Um... Yes!
     Thought this was too funny, had to share it with you all.
                                                                                                                   ps. I love you baby!!!

As of 6:50 this evening....there is still a mouse in the house! AHHH I hate them little ********ers you just can't catch them.  Hopefully the mouse trap gets it. UGH!!!

Recipe of the week

7 Cup Salad
1 cup of each:
cooked diced potatoes
cooked diced ham or chicken
diced boiled eggs (3)
diced apples
diced cucumbers
mayo or miracle wip
1 small onion
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Parsley to garnish

Flea Market Sunday

      On Sunday we went  flea market shopping, there aren't many flea markets around here.  We found one in Greenville, Pa. called Lisa's.  It is an indoor flea market and boy do they have a lot of cool stuff.  Next time I go I will be taking a truck with me.  There were quite a few furniture pieces I would've loved to have but couldn't fit into my Explorer.  The place was very clean, and the staff very friendly.  A word of advice if you have little ones,  leave them at home if you can.  The place is pretty big and mine were bored and tired of walking around.  We will definitely be going back to Lisa's!

http://www.lisasindoorfleamarket.com/

Kristie's recipe for Homemade laundry soap

1 bar of fels naphtha soap- grated
1 1/2 cups of 20 mule team borax
1 1/2 cups of washing soda
5 gallon bucket

Bring 8 cups of water to boil. Add grated soap to the boiling water until dissolved. Add borax and washing soda. Stir until dissolved. Pour soap mixture into 5 gallon bucket and slowly add warm water until almost full. Stir until mixed. Stir again until the chunks are broken up. Usage: 1/2 cup per load


I haven't made this yet but I am definitely gonna give it a whirl!!  If anyone else has done this before, let us know what you thought.

A date night in Franklin

   Ang and I went out for a date Friday night.  It was nice.  We haven't been out on a date in a long time.  If your in the area, a great place to go is The Commons in Franklin, Pa. located on Liberty St. A warning, the parking is terrible, so we parked across the street at the hotel.  Apparently so did everyone else.  Every third Friday of the month they host a comedy night.  Dinner buffet is provided.  We had cubed steak, chicken, roasted potatoes, beans, salad, and rolls.  It was yummy.  Dinner was from 7 to 8, and desserts were available for $5.00.  Then from 8 to 9:30 there were two comedians to perform.  The first was Alex Stone he was pretty funny.  I enjoyed him.  The second was The Fryman, he was hilarious!  If you would like to go to one of these shows, make reservations, the place was packed.  Also the seating is family style, you are at a table with other people, we didn't know this, we were hoping to be alone at our table but it was still a good time.  Tickets are $20.00 each but if you work at Joy or UPMC you receive a $5.00 discount.  If you don't want to have dinner and just go for the show tickets are available for that too.  After dinner head down stairs, there is McGinnis's Irish Pub.  It's a cute little bar, and they have really good food at really good prices.  Here are the links.

http://www.thecommonsatfranklin.com

http://alexstonecomedy.com/

http://frymanentertainment.com/

Riddle me this...

The man who builds it, sells it
The man who buys it, doesn't use it
The man who uses it, doesn't know he's using it
What is it?

What's new with us

     Well the job with the crazy hours for Ang lasted one day.  Thank goodness, I wasn't really looking forward to it anyway.  Another company called and wanted her to start immediately and it was better money, so she took it. She has been there 5 days and she loves it.  I am so relieved that she has found something that she likes and that pays well.  It's hard to find a good job here.  As for me I am still looking for ways to improve our blog and looking forward to see where it takes me.  Things are getting back to normal with Ang working and Logan in school, it's just me and Wyatt here again during the day.  Ang and I are in desperate need of a date night.  Not just a few hours out at the bar but a real date night.  So I got us tickets to dinner and a comedy show.  We are both really looking forward to it.  This will be our first experience hiring a babysitter.  I am a little nervous.  I know my kids are 3 and 6 and they will be fine, but the thought of not putting them to bed is so strange to me.  Will Wyatt understand?  Will he be laying there in his bed thinking where is my Mamas?  I don't know.  I know Logan will have no trouble and Wyatt probably won't either, I think it's all me.  The over protective Mama bear  in me.  Hopefully I can control the urge to call home every 15 minutes to check on them.  I'd better let Ang hold on to the phone. Will report back on dinner and the club, and whether or not I drove the sitter crazy.  Have an awesome weekend, spend it loving someone!

Recipe of the week

Gram's Orange Julius
(in my family we don't measure anything so here is my best guess)
in a blender put 1 can frozen OJ
fill about 1/4 of the way with milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 to 4 cups of sugar depending on your taste you can always add more
and ice, as much as you like to make your thickness
This is a family favorite!!!

Valentine Love

     I woke up this morning to a hot cup of coffee, a card, a beautiful little glass cube that's inscribed, a love note written in my red lipstick on the bathroom mirror, and a note on the kitchen chalkboard.  The funny thing about all of these things is that...I get stuff like this ALL the time.  Why do people wait until it's a holiday to express how they feel for one another?  I am very fortunate to have someone who reminds me everyday how much I mean to them.  It's not about the money or the presents.  It's about the love.  Caring enough to show someone that you still feel the same way and that they still matter to you as much as they ever did.  She even took the time to sit with the boys and help them make Valentines for me.
     We said we'd do our "real" Valentine's after dinner, which I have prepared Ang's favorite meal...Lasagna. Of coarse I cook for Ang every night but being Valentine's Day I put forth a little extra effort to make it special.   After the kids go to bed we'll sit together and sip on some wine, Ang is a BIG romantic so I'm sure she has a hot oil massage or something along those lines planned.  The point is, that you don't have to go out and spend a lot of money to make Valentine's special.  Sure it's nice to go out, but sometimes it's nice to stay home.
 My love note on the mirror

 a nice dinner for two, and a little something for Ang.

my love note on the chalkboard

 For You, You're the Love of My Life inscribed inside with a heart

After Ang came home, we had our lovely dinner...

and the kids had theirs...

they don't like lasagna...

We exchanged our gifts.  I got roses...

chocolates, and a necklace that says When I found you I found forever...

and flowers from the kids along with cards and fake money that they made for me, lol

I got Ang a bracelet...

All in all it was the BEST VALENTINE'S DAY EVER!

Valentine's Day

                                                 

Valentine's Day...love it or hate everyone has their own opinion.  But how did Valentine's Day come to be?  For those of you who don't know... here's the story. 
      In the third century there lived a priest named Valentine or Valentinus. He was a servant of Rome.  During that time, emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and children.  So Claudius outlawed marriage for young men.  Valentine thought this to be in just and married these young soldiers in secret.  It was also suspected that Valentine was freeing Christians from the prisons of Rome, where they suffered terrible beatings and were tortured.  When Valentine was caught, Claudius ordered him to be put to death.  While in prison awaiting his death Valentine supposedly fell in love with his jailers daughter who visited him frequently.  It is said that Valentine himself sent the first "Valentine" a note to his beloved that read "From your Valentine".
     While most people think of Valentine's Day as a day to receive expansive gifts and candy and be doted upon by your loved one,  I am reminded of a man who was a hopeless romantic and gave his life for love.
                           

Love  according to Webster - An intense affection for another person based on personal or familial ties.  The deep tenderness, affection, and concern felt for another person with whom one has or wishes to have a relationship based on sexual attraction


When Ang's asks,"Why do you love me?"  My answer is always the same.  I tell her,"Because your the person I wanna spend all my time with."-That's Love according to me <3 <3 <3

Kidz Korner

Valentine's Day Craft

Logan had to make a card box for his valentine's from school.  Here's what we came up with.

You will need:
A cereal box
construction paper
glue
scissors
pipe cleaners
and anything else you'd like to add

Cut the top flaps off of your cereal box, cover the box with construction paper, cut a triangle for the neck and using two pieces of paper cut out a head. Glue the head shapes together.  Draw your bugs face, use pipe cleaners for antenna.  Make arms out of paper or pipe cleaners it's up to you, Be creative.

Upon finishing the Love Bug Box...Logan tells me he is going to get made fun of because this is too girly.  I couldn't help but crack up laughing.  I realized he was totally right.  I told him I was sorry, that mummy is a girl and I think differently than he does.  I told him not to get upset and to be honest with me when he doesn't like something.  He said he was afraid to hurt my feelings. lol.  So we decide to make something else.  This is what he came up with.

                             Still Valentines appropriate, but a little bit more manly. Way to go Logan!

Follow up to Birthday Party on A Budget

So Logan's birthday party turned out to be a great success.  There were 11 kids total, a few caught the bug that's been going around, but 11 ended up being a great number.  I wasn't sure 2 hours was going to be enough time but for kindergartners it was plenty.  They were starting to get bored after the first game so we stopped and had cupcakes and juice.  Then we played another game and around the 7th frame we stopped again and let Logan open his presents.  Then we let them bowl until it was time to go.  We took a group photo which I put it everyone's thank you cards.  I think the kids really enjoyed themselves.  Logan gave me a big hug and said,"Mom, this was the best birthday party ever!"  That made my day.  It was the easiest party I've ever thrown.  Now I just have to figure out what to do for next year!

What's new with us?

A big change is in the works for us today.  Ang has started a new job that is requiring her to work swing shifts.  Starting today she works from 3-11 for 7 days in a row.  Then she goes to 11-7 and then onto first shit 7-3.  It's going to be weird for a while.  She won't hardly see Logan when she is on second shift, and it will be weird sleeping alone when she is on third.  I don't know how she is going to deal with changing her sleeping habits every couple of weeks.  She seems to be totally ok with this since the money is good.  However  I think I will be feeling like a single mother in the evenings with just the kids and I.  To prepare myself and to keep my stress level down I got everything ready this morning for the evening ahead.  Pj's are picked out, school clothes are ready  for tomorrow and I will be making dinner shortly.  I have rented the kids favorite movies for the weekend (Star Wars of coarse) since we will be stuck in the house due to colds and the weather.  Not that I am worried that I can't handle my kids alone but I am very used to the team work schedule that Ang and I have going on.  Everyone should be so lucky.  I do have to say I think I will enjoy the time to myself after the kids go to bed.  I haven't been ALONE since I became a mother, lol.  With this better paying job I think I might have to convince Ang to get me a bigger bath tub, you know the kind with jets you could swim in!  My ideal evening alone....A bubble bath, a bottle of Moscato and a good book.  I also might have to sleep in the middle of the bed surrounded by pillows.  She can just shove me over onto my side when she gets home.  Hopefully all of this new found alone time will entice my creativity so if anyone has any suggestions or specific topics they would like me to write about please feel free to share!  I am definitely up for a challenge!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Chowder

2 cans (19 ounces each) ready to serve creamy potato with garlic soup
1 cup cubed cooked chicken breast
1 cup diced fully cooked ham
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Heat soup, chicken and ham in 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Stir in cheese. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring frequently until cheese is melted.
For a fancy twist, sprinkle each serving with fresh chopped chives or dried dill weed.

Planning a party on a budget

     So my oldest son Logan is about to turn 6 and I want him to have a real party this year.  Of coarse we have the typical "family" party for him, but this is his first year in school and he has friends he wants to invite. I asked his teacher for a list of all the kids in his class, there are Eighteen of them... So how do I make this work on a budget?  First things first... Figuring where to entertain all of these kids being that it's winter and an outside party is just not possible.  There aren't many places around here to start with so I thought it would be fun to have it at the local bowling alley.  Logan loved this idea!  Great I was off to a good start.  I called to see what they offered as far as pricing, food, drinks, shoe rental and so on.  At first the lady told me $10.50 per child plus $1.50 for shoes. Now that did include cupcakes and Pepsi.  Hmmm, hyping a bunch of kindergartners up on Pepsi.....not my idea of a good time.  These were the prices for a Friday or a Saturday.  I asked, "What about on Sunday?"  She said if I had it on a Sunday between the hours of 1-3pm the cost would be $7.00 per child and it would include their shoe rental but not the cupcakes and Pepsi...now that's more like it.  I went to Walmart and bought enough juice, not soda, for the kids, and got the invitations at the Dollar Store. I filled out the invites requesting a weeks notice for an RSVP.  I am waiting to purchase the rest of my supplies, paper products and party favors, so I don't over spend and end up with a bunch of things I don't really need.
     Ok so we are now 4 days away from the party.  I had sent out the invites 2 weeks prior, on a Monday, requesting a weeks notice by that following Sunday.  As of now I am still getting rsvp's!  Um hello I don't understand.  The reason I asked for and rsvp buy a certain date was so that I could properly prepare for the exact amount of children coming.  I was planning on doing my party favor shopping this week to get everything in order.  Now I will have to do a lot of unnecessary running around for last minute parents calling me to rsvp.  Very frustrating!
     Thursday night was my last rsvp, thank goodness, I had already made up the party bags on Wednesday but made a few extra just in case.
     The party is tomorrow!  I am very excited, I think Logan is gonna have a blast with all of his little friends.
So my grand total of kids is 14.  That is including mine.  The gift bags are done, 30 cupcakes are ordered, I pick them up today.  I got 30 so the parents could have some too.


Budget: $300.00
Bowling Alley: $98.00
Juice: $4.14
Invitations:$2.12
Party Favors:$14.84
Paper Products:$2.12
Cupcakes:$20.00

     My total comes to $141.22.  Had all eighteen kids rsvp'd, plus my 2 totaling 20, my total would have been $183.22.  Coming in under budget is an awesome feeling, it allowed me more spending money for his gifts, which kept me from dipping into my pocket.  You should always set a limit for yourself, otherwise you could end up spending more than you planned for.

Kidz Korner

Make a time capsule

Start with an old coffee can.  You can let your kids paint it if you want or just leave it plain.  Sit down and think of some questions to ask your kids.  Kind of like an interview.  Ask them their favorite things, what they want to be when they grow up, write down some of their funny words or sayings.  You can put in some pictures, drawings, cards, notes.  Ask them to pick out a  small toy or figurine, for example my kids have tons of How to Train your Dragon figures and they put one each in ours.  I also put in Wyatt's binky.  You could even take video of them making it and then put the video in the capsule.  Of coarse you'll have to wait until spring to bury it but you can continue to add things to it until then.  When spring comes bury your capsule, somewhere you won't forget, with your kids.  You can even make a treasure map to it.  Decide how many years you'll wait to open it and put your map somewhere safe.  You could even frame your map and hang it up as an exciting reminder of the treasure you will one day find.  I promise you your kids will love this, now you just have to find a way to keep them from digging it up until your ready!

Riddle Me This...

What gets wetter and wetter the more that it dries?