Stone Soup

This past weekend we hosted our first "stone soup" party!

How did we do it? Well first I decided the rules and sent out the invitations. On the invitation I explained that everyone had to bring at least one ingredient for our stone soup that we would make that day all while playing board games and card games.  My idea was that we would have at least one soup, possibly two depending on what ingredients everyone brought. I asked everybody to come early in the morning around 10:30 AM and planned on us eating around 5 or 6 PM.  

I set out some crudité with homemade cucumber lime dip, as well as an assortment of chips.

After our first guests showed up we started the base of the soup.  The first thing I did was sautéed some celery onions and carrots in butter.  I then added some home made chicken bone broth that I had cooked the night before. Our first guest brought mushrooms, so those we decided would be one of the last items to add to the soup. (We didn't want them to get mushy.)

Since everyone who was coming looked as if they were only bringing vegetables, I decided to rummage through my freezer and found some chicken apple sausage that we decided to add. Along with the sausage we added seasonings. Seasonings consisted of Thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt, pepper, and 2 cloves of freshly minced garlic.

A while later, more friends showed up with fresh carrots onions and kale grown in the garden.  After the soup had been simmering, we sautéed these ingredients in butter to give more flavor then added them to the pot.

We had another two friends show up with beef broth and a chicken with spinach and a siracha sauce.  I added the broth, then waited for it to come back up to a simmer then added the chicken siracha mix.  

At this time we sautéed the mushrooms with butter and added white wine, let it steam for a few moments then added that to the soup.

I made some rice in my rice cooker at this point.  Then we let the soup simmer while we played the game Munchkin!  Once the game was over, we read the Stone Soup story.

I believe everyone had 2 bowls of this fantastic soup!  I couldn't believe the taste!  All the flavors melded perfectly!  We will most definitely do this again!

One room with three boys!

Life with three young boys can be exciting! When you have a small house it can be tricky to fit all their stuff.  Today I would like to show you how I fit three boys and their toys in the same bedroom.

First off we do have enough room in our house that the two oldest boys would be able to have their room while our youngest to have his own room. In our family though this doesn't work.  When we first moved in, that was our set up. Our two oldest shared a room upstairs and our youngest stayed in the bedroom next to ours. After two or three months of the oldest two constantly telling us they could not sleep in the room by themselves. The two oldest boys would tell us they heard noises, were scared of the dark, complain there was something up there, and ultimately would procrastinate their bedtime every single night. Every single night was tough and long trying to get the kids in bed.  It was exhausting! The next thing was that they started asking why the youngest got his own rooms and the older two had to share a room upstairs away from the family. I felt horrible that they had thought of that!  When we first moved in I had thought of putting everyone in the same room but ultimately decided to try to give the big boys a bit of freedom.  

After having such issues with the boys bedtime, I decided to try and put them all in the same bedroom. So far, they have been in the same bedroom for two months now and it is like night and day. I was scared that my youngest would have a hard time going to sleep with his two older brothers in the same room, but I am so grateful that every night when it is bedtime, it is a breeze! We read a book each night, we sing songs, then I give each boy hugs and kisses and they all go to sleep so easily. The two older boys have no problem and do not procrastinate like they used to. The two older boys also do not complain of noises and other paranormal kind of things as before...  Bedtime is quick, painless, easy, and enjoyable for everyone!

Our house is not big!  The 2 bedrooms downstairs are fairly roomy though!  The boys share the larger room, while my husband and I take the slightly smaller room.  I made my eldest boys beds in Japan, and they love them!  They work nicely for this small room.  I have the youngest in a twin bed on a medal frame, and the oldest two use their loft and platform bed in the "L" configuration as they prefer.

I'm not saying it's easy, but it works for us!  Here is our room...

The entrance, you see we use over the door shoe hangers for extra vertical storage.

Under the first bed are 3 bins that house extra sheets and blankets for all the beds.

This dresser has 3 draws on top, one for each child's socks and undies/diapers.  The 4 draws on the bottom go to 1 per child and the extra drawer is misc. 

As you pan the room, you can see all 3 beds here...  The extra room under the loft is where I have the smaller "library".  (Our upstairs room has 4 book cases full of books!)

Our cat loves to hang out in this room you see!  The book area could be a fort, a house, anything really!  I even hang my wrap up and he swings sometimes! 

The great thing is when we are done swinging, I can just in-tie the wrap and use it for carrying little boy!

Continuing the tour, you see the long set of cubbies? They make excellent you storage!  I also hung a shelf to put other items on including the boys fish tank nightlight.

Here is the closet area.  I currently have 1 long panel hanging down, but I'll provbavly grab another for easier getting in and out.  The medal doors that are suppose to glide on the rail were broken when we moved in, so I took the doors off and just left it "open".

Inside the closet I have more cubby space to hold toys with more pieces, and then all school clothes/nice clothes are hung up. 

Under the bottom bunk bed I have more bins that house "play clothes" the kids everyday not school nor church clothes items.  

We love our set up, and the kids are HAPPY! That's what counts!  It might be a little crammed, it might be a lot messy when all the toys are out, but this is what works for us!

Breakfast sandwiches on the cheap!

I love a good ham/sausage/scrapple, egg and cheese on a bagel/English muffin/biscuit sandwich for breakfast... But with the prices they cost at any fast food place or gas station, could you really afford one everyday? No, at least I can't! I decided to try my hand at saving some money and still getting what I want in the morning...

I was at the supermarket today and found some mini ciabatta buns in the discount bread area!  I took advantage of the low price of day old (maybe 2) bread... $1.49 for 12!  I had to get deli ham anyways for lunches, so I grabbed a little extra and got home to start!

First I used my PC brownie pan to make egg patties. These are the perfect size for the buns!

Then I prepared my buns.

Added ham, then cheese.  I used pepper jack from a 1 pound block I sliced up.  Buying a pound block and slicing your own cheese can be much more budget friendly!

Finally I put the top bun on and packaged them in lunch ziplock bags making sure to take all the air out as I sealed them.

Now they are in my freezer!

All you need to do is remove them from the bag and wrap loosely in a paper towel and microwave for about 1.5 minutes in the morning.  Great for on the go busy mornings!  Enjoy!!

Happy New Year!

So, I decided I really suck at blogging... But here is to another year!  I am really going to try this thing again...  

Did you make a New Years resolution?  I didn't officially make one, however I would like to try better at blogging, eat a little bit healthier, and hopefully find a way to save some money!