a little glimpse

of how we roll in the morning....

 the littles draw pictures with chalk in the living room while the big kids trickle out of their beds...
of course, the chalk is strewn about the house, buy the time  big kid #2 makes his way to the couch....
he steps on and crunches a few pieces that are in his path...
bubba now decides he's hungry and makes his way to the kitchen table...\
which still has my photo project on it from the night before...
baby z follows...
big kid #3 makes her way to the couch...
not enough room for  kids numbers #2 and #3...
they have a kick war....
#3 wins......
bubba is still hungry...
#2 fetches z from the kithen pantry...
he decides to make pancakes...
baby z is not happy about being exiled from the kitchen...
she bites...
bubba, also exiled from the kitchen....
starts playing with the chalk again....
curly top sits on the kitchen table waiting for her burnt pancakes...
big kids numbers #1 and #4 are still sleeping...
or at least pretending to...
but no one really wants to find out...
so we just let them be till they emerge..
#2 makes an airplane with  dad's new screw gun..
mama takes sits on the couch and drinks her coffee...
which someone put wayyy over there...

when #4 and #1 they wake up, we'll actually start our day...

 with prayers...
and burnt pancakes.

because i knew..

you'd be jealous

wordless wednesday

zucchini disasters 101

zucchini watermelon splash....need i say more???

when i was a kid my mom would "hide" zucchini in things like potato pancakes, soups and spaghetti...

she was awesome like that...even though i didn't really think so at the time.

im not so awesome, 

i  blatantly blend up horrible concoctions for my kids to try...

i know they are going to be traumatized for life.

this looks innocent enough, right?

what kid doesn't love a healthy snack?

lets just call these zucchini "chips"

(which no amount of photo shopping can even make look pretty)

the epic zucchini fail of all time.

if there was an award for that, they'd win.

hands down.

i wonder if the chickens will even eat them?

anyway, i've got a few more disastrous ideas up my sleeve...

what do you think?

• zucchini candy
• zucchini pizza
• zucchini ice cream
• zucchini marshmallows

ok, ok..i jest. promise.

 



and with the leftovers...

i made ricotta :)

my first ever...

mozzarella cheese!

thanks to my very awesome sister-in-law,

who sent me home with the ingredients and directions,

i successfully made  my very first batch of homemade cheese!

what you all won't believe, is that it was incredibly simple!

just think,

mozzarella...fresh tomatoes...and fresh basil.

ok, im drooling.

wordless thursday?

sure, why not?

some things are just to precious for words.

sometimes i worry about my sanity...

but weekends like this, quickly assure me that i still don't have any.

so, what's crazy about going on a two day camping trip with seven kids?

nothing really.

its actually a great idea....

if there isn't a seventy percent chance of rain.

need i say more?

probably not, but i'm going to anyway.

i wish you could have seen us,

all packed and ready for our adventure...

honestly,

we had to take two cars.

what we packed:

• one flashlight
• two tents
• 4 very large tarps
• 10 blankets
• 8 pillows
• enough clothes for each person to have three changes of clothing
• 1 sweatshirt for each person
• a large umbrella to keep out of the sun (or RAIN)
• toilet paper
• potty chair
• wipes
• diapers

an ice chest stuffed with:

• one watermelon
• 4 packages of hot dogs 
• 2 1/2 dozen eggs
• 1 lb of bacon
• 2 lbs hamburger
• sandwich meat

not to mention:

• a 4 lb bag of salt potatoes
• two very large cans of beans
• enough granola bars to feed an army
• 2 cases of bottled water
• chips and salsa
• fruit roll-ups
• bread and buns
• one case of flavored water

for cooking:

• one very large pot
• two frying pans
• hamburger flippers and tongs
• knife
• paper plates and cups
• paper towels

and don't forget:

• one canoe and oars
• 5 life jackets
• enough fishing tackle to catch a whale
• hatchet
• stroller
• ergo baby carrier

and most importantly:

• my camera

and now....what we should have added...along with a u-haul:

• a parka for each person
• another sweatshirt for each kid (especially for the one who was playing in the rain pouring off the cover of the tent)
• a few dry logs
• an air mattress
• another 2 1/2 dozen eggs
• 2 more lbs of bacon
• a picnic table
• a few towels
• a broom
• extra flashlights
• a lantern or two
• coffee

now, to make this long story short...

we packed for a two night stay...

set up our tents as it began to drizzle...

 questioned our ability to make it through the night, as it began to down pour..

figured if we made it this far, we could surely brave it through the night..

the insides of the tents and the blankets were dry, even if we weren't...

the campfire was raging, even if the wood wasn't dry..

and one of the kids brilliantly packed the sun umbrella, which was the only way we all got dried off and kept the fire going, while we cooked our beans and hot dogs over the fire...

worn out from setting up camp and finding firewood...the kids ate their "cowboy dinner" like never before,

and were more than ready to bed down for the night...

everyone, including the baby...slept like babies...

except of course for hubs and i.

next time..

yeah, we're that crazy...

next time, 

we buy an air mattress.

end of story..

we went camping in a torrential down pour, and had a blast...

the next morning, 

hubs took a canoe full of kids fishing, caught a few whoppers,

gave a few joy rides to the little ones, 

i stayed behind and made eggs and bacon over the open fire, best eggs ever..

(especially with the pine needle/dirt seasoning, compliments of bubba) 

and then we packed it all up.

its fine to sleep on dry blankets, but when there is no sun the next day, and its more humid than the inside of a green house, its time to call it quits, and go visit friends who have air conditioning..

and that's exactly what we did.

pack up, drive home, shower, re-pack clean clothes...

and drive another two hrs to visit one of our favorite people, ever.

and this is perfect proof that my sanity is still non-existent.  

my only regret is that i didn't take enough pictures,

 it was so wet, and i was afraid to take my camera out..

i wish i had a picture of our "camp"...

clothesline and all...it was so classy

 

decreasing the surplus...

one zucchini at a time.

this particular mission....operation dehydration