Delish!

So...I am learning to how be a stay at home mom again.  I am having to learn to unchain myself from the computer and actually be productive around the house.  From about August until the end of December I was so busy with my business that I didn't really feel like a stay at home mom.  There were some weeks that I was working 40-50 hours.  My poor husband, children and house suffered.  I felt the constant pressure of trying to do laundry, cleaning, dishes and take care of the hubs and kids.  It was a little overwhelming. 

However, now is a slower time for photography (a blessing and a curse).  I am not going to lie, it has been hard to get back into the role of housewife.  I keep sitting at the computer thinking I need to be working on something.

But this slower pace has forced me to be more domestic.  And I like it!  I have spent more time thinking about and planning for meals.  I have spent more time keeping up with the laundry.  If you are to randomly stop by my house you will find it generally in good shape (NOT the case in the last 4 months.....it was embarrassing).  And most importantly, I have spent more time with my kiddos!  That is my favorite.  When Jameson asks me to play a game of Candyland, I don't have to feel guilty about saying yes (because there are a million other things I should be doing), or even worse when I have to say "not right now".  I have been reading more books, playing more games and saying "yes" more often.  It feels good.  I know it is going to be busy again, so I am trying to soak up this time and enjoy it. 

I have also rediscovered my like (not really love, but a strong like) for cooking.  I have always enjoyed baking and cooking thanks to my mom.  She is a wonderful cook and I love to her hear her tell stories of cooking for all of the ranch hands during harvest on their wheat ranch when she was growing up.  She would talk about getting up at 4 in the morning to make biscuits and gravy, bacon, pancakes and sweet rolls for breakfast.  Then they would make a mid day meal to take to the men in the fields.  All afternoon they would make pies and cakes and then start a big dinner for when the hungry men would come in from working.  Then it was time to serve dessert and do all the dishes and get ready for the next day.  Those must have been some seriously LONG and really hot summer days in the kitchen.

My favorite story is when she petitioned my grandpa for more money.  Her older brother made significantly more money working in the fields with all of the men.  My mom went to her dad and explained that she had to be up before everyone, worked all day (15+ hours with virtually no breaks) and then had to do dinner, dessert and dishes after all the men were done working.  He was a loving, wonderful man and came to see her value and work ethic and from then on, she and her sister made more money during harvest season!

So my love for cooking came when my mom made encouraged me to help her in the kitchen.  Thanks mom!  I am pretty sure that is one of the reasons I hooked such a good husband.  Ladies...the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! 

I have been in a rut a little bit in regards to recipes.  We have a lot of allergies and one REALLY picky eater, so sometimes it is tough when it comes to cooking.  I have all of these good recipes that my kids can't or won't eat.  So I did what all modern women do.  I went to Pinterest.  I decided it was time to try out a few new recipes and see how it went.  I have also been trying to be more careful with my waistline and with the budget, so I have been working on doing more meal planning.

The other night I made hamburger patties for us and hot dogs for the kids.  I needed something to go with it, so I looked on my Sides, Snacks and Salads board and found this.

So, I thought I would give it a whirl.  It. was. amazing.  I didn't use the butter (so as to stay as healthy as possible).  I peeled one of the potatoes (to tempt the picky one who LOVES french fries but will NOT eat a potato in any other form...especially if there is skin on it).  The peeled one was REALLY good and a little crispier (more potato chip like) than the others.  I can't wait to make them again.  So much easier (and better/crispier) than making your own fries by cutting them up and then cooking them.  I think next time I will cook them at 400 for 40 minutes and then bump the temp to 425 or 450 for an extra 5-10 minutes to crisp them up a bit more. 

The next night, it was a bit chilly here so I decided I wanted something warm and soupy and the only thing I had on hand was bacon.  So, I found this recipe on my Pinterest "Recipes" board.  I altered it a bit as I wanted to make it more healthy and I didn't have all of the ingredients.

You can find the link to this recipe here.  I mostly used this as a base for mine and then I added/subtracted to it.  I liked it, but next time would change a few things, so I am going to put the changes into the recipe so that when I make it again, I know what to do.

Ingredients:
1 16 oz. package of bacon
1 small onion (chopped into TINY unrecognizable pieces so as to trick the children into thinking there aren't any onions in it)
2 cups skim milk
3/4 c. flour
1 can mushrooms with juice (I didn't add this to mine because of my 'shroom hating children, but I think they would be a delicious addition).
2 cups rice (I used brown rice but next time I am going to do a mixture of brown and wild rice)
3 cups chicken broth
2-3 cups of water (to make it as thick/runny as you want.  Mine was a bit thick so I think next time I will add more water to make it more soupy than casseroly).
Salt, garlic and pepper to taste (sorry I never measure this stuff.  I just add until I think it tastes good).
Cheese for the top

Cut the bacon into small pieces and then cook it over the stove- set aside for later.  (Save some for the top as garnish if desired).  Cook onions and garlic in bacon drippings.  In a separate pot (while the bacon is cooking) cook rice in the chicken broth (for as long as it takes to cook the rice- depending on what kind of rice you use).  Add the bacon and onions/garlic to the rice.  After removing onions/garlic, use the same pan to make the white sauce.  Add flour, salt and pepper to the pan.  Slowly add the milk until it is thick and yummy.  Add the "sauce" (and mushrooms if desired) to the rice mixture.  Add water until it is the thickness that you desire.  Simmer for a bit to help the flavors blend together. 

Don't you love how specific my directions are?  Sorry, I am kind of a throw stuff in and keep adding until it tastes good.  This was warm and yummy on a cold winter's night.  Sorry I didn't take any pictures of these.

Last night, we had yet another new recipe.  That's right.  Three home-cooked (non-rushed) meals, eaten at the kitchen table together, in a row.  Yeah!

Last night's meal was probably the best.  Why, might you ask?  Because the SUPER picky eater ate it all AND asked for seconds.  It was a holiday miracle!

We had "Cheeseburger Wraps" found here.

This recipe was really easy and SOOOOOOOO good.  I even used whole wheat tortillas and a mixture of ground turkey and ground beef to make them a little healthier.  It only called for 1 lb. of meat, but I used 2 lbs. and we ate it all!  I didn't add lettuce or tomato inside because I was afraid it would get hot and gross.  I did, however, use pickles and avocados inside and it was so good.  I think next time I will use slices of my favorite Tillamook chedder cheese on the inside instead of the shredded cheese that I used.

The best part about this recipe was the genius idea to throw them on the George Forman Grill to firm them up and bind them together.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I will be doing this on all burritos in the future.  It just takes 1-2 minutes on the G.F. Grill and it is worth every second!  It makes them stick together and makes it so all of the deliciousness stays instead and you don't have to contort your mouth/face and/or have half of your wrap fall out onto the plate.

Did I mention that Mr. Picky Pants ate all of it (with no weeping and gnashing of teeth as per our usual dinner ritual) and asked for seconds?  Six Sisters, I am deeply grateful to you for this recipe. 

All of these recipes will be making a repeat appearance at the Lord household.

Have you tried any new Pinterest recipes lately?  You can check out the other recipes that I have tried on Pinterest at the following links below.

Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad and Chile Colorado Burritos
Avocado Eggs and Healthy Vegan Pancakes

Let's hear it for delicious leftovers tonight!

Day 26: Light Painting

I actually learned how to do this last year at a free workshop I went to.  But, I only did it once and couldn't quite remember how to do it.  So I found this pin and thought I would try it out with the kids.



We tried this on the night of the 4th, but it was still a little too light outside.  I had to play with the settings and try to get them just right, but by the time it was really dark out, the fireworks had started.  I wish we would have had more time to do this, but I will try again soon.  The kids LOVED it.  If you have DSLR camera, you should really try it out.  Don't forget your tripod (or have a place that you can set the camera so it will be completely still).  You just have to set it for a really long exposure and work quickly with a flashlight (or glowstick).  Make sure that you cover the flash light when you are in between letters or parts of your picture.  It also helps if you wear dark colored clothes.

Man getting eaten by big fish in water

M for Makai

We will try this again soon to get more images.

Here is an image from the workshop that I did last October.  It is better when you work in complete darkness.  And don't forget to write your letters backwards so they appear correctly in the picture.

Here is a link to the free monthly workshops called night photo walks.  I have only done one, but it was fun and free.  How can you go wrong with that?

You can find this pin on my "LiLo" board.

Pinterest Challenge Day 23-25 (4th of July Pins)

I'm back.  Did you miss me?  I have been working on my Pinterest Challenge but I am just now getting around to blogging about it.

Be prepared to get Patriotic!

Day 23:  Firecracker Licorice

I saw this on Pinterest a LONG time ago.  In fact, it was one of my first pins when I joined Pinterest.



This one was really easy and the kids enjoyed helping me!

All we did was cut some scrapbook paper into small strips.  Then we grabbed 5 red vines and wrapped the paper around them.  One piece of tape and Viola! they were done.  We took these with us everywhere we went before during and after the 4th of July.  We handed them out at the Clement park fireworks, the parade at my parent's neighborhood, and even swimming lessons!  They were a big hit.  We still have a few bundles sitting around and the kids love grabbing one and scarfing them down.

(warning: I got a new camera and I am still learning the settings and fine tuning my skills so some of these pictures aren't as perfect as I would like them to be).

Day 24: Sparkler Shield

When I saw this, I thought "genius"!



Little kids (especially my little kids) are always afraid that the sparklers are going to burn them.  So I had to try this out.  All of the kids LOVED this (even the big 10 and 12 year old).  It made sparklers even more fun as they didn't have to be worried about it burning them.  I will definitely being doing this again next year.  All you need is a red solo cup (cue song) and something to poke a hole in the bottom.  Slip the sparkler in the hole and light it up!  Easy peasy.  This would be great for really little kids too.  The big kids kept pretending that they were Captain Hook.  It was a HIT!

Don't mind the cyclops eye on JJ.  He took a fall a few days before and got a nice big goose-egg!

Day 25: Patriotic Strawberries

Haha!  I saw this one on Pinterest, but never pinned it.  I had pinned this one instead, but it is the same concept.



I just used white chocolate and blue sprinkles to make it patriotic!  These were fun, festive and easy.  I wish I had a better picture, but it was getting dark outside (and you know how I do just about anything to avoid using a flash) and I didn't have them in a pretty dish.  I had to snap a quick picture before everyone dug into them.   They were very delicious (despite the horrible way they look in this picture).  Very sweet, but very delicious.

We had a lovely, but crazy busy 4th of July. I love 4th of July.  It is one of my favorite holidays.  Most of all because there aren't any huge expectations and we usually just do things spontaneously.  On the 3rd the kids rode their bikes 4-5 miles (mostly uphill) to my parent's house.  They had a blast even though it was a really hot day (and they were riding in the hottest part of the day).  Then we set up the tent in my parent's backyard.  Next we headed to Clement park for the fireworks show there.  It was a good time with friends, family and thousands of little gnats (better than misquitos).  After the show (around 10:30) we headed back to the grandparents to "camp out".  All 10 Luebckes and Lords hanging in the tent.  A good time was had by all (although it was a short night).

We then got up to decorate our bikes/tractors and get set for the Bear Creek Ranchettes annual parade.  It is a great parade with bikes, tractors, atvs, old fashioned cars, horses, etc.  The only thing it is short on is spectators.  Everyone in the neighborhood gets out and participates in the parade, but that leaves no one to watch it.  No matter, everyone has fun.

After the parade, the kids rode their bikes back to our house and then headed back for some swimming.  We swam with all of the cousins and had a great time.

We then headed to Mimi's house for dinner and more fireworks.  Are you exhausted from reading this?  Trust me, we were exhausted after 2 REALLY full days.  All in the name of fun.

I hope you had a wonderful time celebrating our great country and that you maybe had some time to try out something from your Pinterest boards.

These pins on my "Holiday" and "Recipe" boards.

Pinterest Challenge: Days 19- 22

This weekend was full of Baseball, swim meets and BBQ's.  Makes for a fun, but insane weekend.  I had the house perfectly clean in anticipation of our busy weekend and after 2 days of only coming home to drop something off and pick up something new, the house was trashed.  Does anyone else have this problem?  House clean on Friday.....start over on Monday.

Our boys have been in baseball for 6 years now (Makai 3 and Tanner 3).  Five of the six years, the boy's team made it to the championship game.  They have always lost.  Always the bridesmaid.  Until yesterday!  Tanner's team finally WON!  They beat an undefeated team and played an amazing game.  Way to go Storm!

I did manage to do a few Pinterest things over the last few days.  But I am still playing a little bit of catch up! The kids are really into it now (and have used the fan-fort every single day) and can't wait to see what we are going to do next.

Day 19:  Lens Friend.
I do a lot of photo shoots with little kids.  Sometimes it is really hard to get them to look directly into the lens.  So I found this on Pinterest.



I thought I would take a whack at it and make it myself.  Here is mine.

I think the nose could be a little bigger.  I made this at baseball practice so I couldn't use a glue gun, but next time I think that will make it lay better.  It is still really cute and will totally help when I am working with the littles.

All it took was a red scrunchie ($5 at Target, but it came with 8 scrunchies.  I couldn't buy just the red one, but I needed some new ones anyway), some white and orange felt ($.25 for each one), black buttons (which I already had in my button stash) and some thread.  It literally took me about 10 minutes to make it.

I would highly recommend this for any photographer or mom of little ones.  It is a great way to get them to look directly at your camera.  Another hint is to ask them to watch your camera wink at them.  They can see the camera wink when the shutter closes.

You can find this pin on my "Prop Ideas" board.

Day 20: Couples

Couples are sometimes hard to get to express themselves.  Many couples (especially guys) tend to feel shy in  front of the camera, especailly when asked to be affectionate.  I did a shoot on Saturday with some newlyweds.  They eloped a few weeks ago and wanted some "formal" wedding pictures.  I like this shot on Pinterest (for two reasons).  The picture is by sylemepretty.com.



Initially, I loved the chalkboard and how it is almost forgotten because they are so into each other.  I recreated this shot last year with a cute couple for their engagement pictures.

However, I like this one even better.  It is just slightly different, but so much more expression!

Beyond the obvious cuteness of the chalkboard, I like the way the guy is kissing the girl on the forehead in the Pinterest picture.  So I had my couple this weekend do that.  This is what I got.

Cute, hu?  For more nice ways to pose couples, look at my "Couples" board!

Day 21:  French Dip Crescents

I actually did this one a little while ago.  I have been saving it for when I had a busy day and didn't have time to do anything.  Well, now it is time to pull it out.

Here is the recipe on Pinterest.



I thought this looked fun and easy.  The kids are starting to like french dips (except the picky little one) and they all love crescent rolls so I thought I would give it a whirl.  All you do is take a crescent roll and put some roast beef in it and roll it up.  I also added some cheese.  I didn't have any sliced cheese, so I used a string cheese.  Use what you got, right?  Just bake it at 375 for 12 minutes or so, just like you would with

It was really easy to do and I was excited to try it.

We all liked them, but they were nothing spectacular.  They were easy, which was nice, but I am not sure I will make them again.  I like french dip with a big ol' hoagie attached.  I would skip this one if I were you, unless you are looking for an easy recipe to incorporate roast beef.

You can find this recipe on my "Recipes" board if you are interested in trying it.

Day 22: Watermelon Frosty (Today!  Finally I am caught up)

In the summer it is always nice to have a sweet treat to drink.  For me it is usually an ice cold fountain coke (the best being from McDonalds).  But today I decided to make a frosty treat for the boys and some of their friends that were over.

My mother in law gave me a watermelon that she wasn't going to use, so I thought this was a perfect way to use it up.

I even thought ahead and cut it up and stuck it in the freezer it this morning!



This afternoon when it was hot and the kids were starting to get bored, I pulled out the blender and got to work.

This is what I used.  Frozen watermelon cubes (I only used 2 of the 6 bags of watermelon), applesauce (I didn't have a banana as she suggested and I hate how banana tends to overpower), maple syrup and some lemon juice (I didn't have any real lemons).  I am lucky that I had all of this stuff.  I avoid going to the grocery store at all costs with three kids in tow.  Maybe I will go tonight when the kids go to bed because I am out of everything!

This is the finished product.  It made a lot.  Enough for glasses this size for 5 kids and a little left over.

Here is the behind the scenes of what most Pinterest posts don't show you....

The aftermath

This recipe sounded good, but was REALLY sweet.  Why do you need to add maple syrup to sweet watermelon?  Tanner is the only kid who finished his.  One kid didn't even take one bite and the other 3 got tired of it after a few minutes.  I didn't love the flavor.

I think I will use the remaining watermelon to make fruit smoothies and add other fruit like strawberries, oranges and blueberries.  Now that sounds delicious!  I do like the idea of frozen watermelon and now I am pretty excited to have 4 more baggies of watermelon in my freezer.  I had run out of large ziplocs (see, I really need to go to the grocery store) so I put them in little baggies and now I am really glad.  I can use them one at a time!  I love it when things work out like that.  Who knew you could freeze watermelon?  I will remember that when I have tons of watermelon left after a party.

If you want to look at the full recipe (and maybe tweak it to your own liking- the consistency was really good with the frozen watermelon) you can find it on my "Liquid Refreshment" board.

Happy Pinning Everyone!  Stay tuned for some 4th of July ideas coming soon!

Pinterest Challenge: Day 18

Shhhh.  Do you hear that?  It is quiet at my house.  Usually a quiet house means that the chanchos are into something they shouldn't be.  Even during "quiet time" I hear a lot of giggling, fighting and "are we done yet?".  But I have had about 2 hours of virtual silence.  I feel like I am on vacation and I have gotten SO MUCH DONE!

This is all brought to you by today's Pinterest Challenge.  The kids are really getting into it.  After yesterdays fun ice excavation they woke up this morning asking what today's challenge would be.  To be honest, I was going to do something crafty or make a special drink...but the begging children changed my mind.  So did the 15 minutes of crying and fighting after swim team practice.  So I took matters into my own hands and went to "The Chanchos" board.

And this is what I found.


Genius!  Why haven't we thought of this before?  It is perfect for hot summer days.  I used the duvet cover from my bed and put a big fan in the hole at the bottom of the cover.  Turn on the fan and Viola!, you have a fan fort.  And you have 2 hours all to yourself.

I didn't take any pictures for several reasons.

#1  DON'T UPSET THE BALANCE.  As soon as you poke your head in and disturb the force...it is all over.  It is just like saying "Oh, they are sleeping so good (or taking such a long nap)".  Inevitably the kid wakes up 30 seconds later.  Or you say "they are playing so well together".  It is the kiss of death and fighting will quickly ensue.  Seasoned parents have learned......just don't say it!

#2 It is really dark in the room and it would be tough to really see anything.  The pictures above are about right and it really isn't hard to duplicate.

I have a feeling we will be using this "pin" all summer long.  I even let them eat lunch in there.  Best mom ever (or a mom who just needs a break, you be the judge).

You really should try this.  It is much easier and requires a lot less "stuff" than a regular fort.  It even stays inflated and you don't need anything to weigh it down or hold it up.

Mine even want to sleep in it tonight.  Heck, I want to sleep in it tonight!

Pinterest Challenge: Day 17

It is HOT, HOT, HOT today.  So, last night I planned ahead (imagine that!).

I have had my eye on this pin for quite some time.


You take a bunch of little toys and freeze them and then the kids have fun "excavating" them.  So last night I was thinking that I should have bought some little toys at the dollar store to put inside the ice.  And then I wanted to beat myself.  I am constantly throwing away little dollar store toys.  I HATE THEM!  And I almost went out and bought more.  Yikes.

After my personal smack-down I totally redeemed myself!  What do my kids love more than anything else?  LEGOS!!!!  So I spent an hour (or more) with the kids and we separated out a bunch of legos (of course they didn't know what I was doing with them-they just thought we were cleaning out the bin-which we also did).  We found all sorts of "lost" legos and found about a million Lego guys.  They are so fun with all of their accessories!  After the kids went to bed I grabbed some legos and put them in bins.  I also had the brilliant idea that they would have to make a Lego creation after excavating all of the pieces from their icy tomb.

The kids got these bins a few years ago.  Of course I could only find 2 of the 3.

Added Random Legos but tried to find big pieces to help make "ships".

I let them freeze overnight in the freezer downstairs.  When I went to pull them out this afternoon (at 2:00 pm), they weren't quite frozen all of the way through.  Not sure why.  But, the kids still had a great time breaking them apart.  It was a nice way to cool off.  They LOVED it!

All 3 of them squatted almost the entire time.  How do they do that?

Cool action shot if you look closely!

After the excavation was complete, we had to lay the Legos out in the sun to dry before the creations were made.

These are the finished projects!  Nice work.  They had so much fun looking through all of the Legos and making them fit.  They are always so creative when the build things.

This was a great (and FREE) way to spend the afternoon on a HOT day.

You can find this pin on my "Summa Time" board.  Stay cool everyone!