Chocolate Cake

2 cups king arthur whole wheat flour
1/2 cup king arthur bread flour
1 T baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
3/4 cup Trader Joe's unsweetened powdered cocoa

4 eggs
1 1/4 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup organic cane sugar

sift together with fork first 6 ingredients
whisk together last 4 ingredients
combine wet and dry ingredients

preheat oven 375
pour batter into greased and floured pampered chef large bar baking stone
bake for 15 - 17 minutes

makes a perfect shallow chocolate cake that can easily be turned out of the pan and frosted.

Kids and hubby ate it up for dessert after lunch today. Pretty yummy!

Lapbooking

I'm trying to find creative ways to teach my 2 kindergarten boys, Sean and Evan, this fall. I have decided to use lapbooking for them to learn their letters. They will create a folder with different things glued to it for each letter of the Alphabet. Each lapbook will have different things they have created glued to the inside of a file folder. We will keep the folders to use as review so they can see their progress throughout the year and review what they have learned. I hope this helps my two energetic "twins" as they learn their kindergarten concepts this school year. What a great adventure we are embarking on as we take on officially homeschooling 3 children!

Delicious sausage tomato soup

1 can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 chopped zucchini
1 chopped onion
1 cup water
3 T cumin
1 T sugar
4 T granulated garlic
1 T salt

Place in pan and puree with hand blender until chunky and well blended.

Add 1/2 cup of cream cheese in 1 tablespoon scoops.
simmer on low for 10 minutes

chop up your favorite sausage, pre cooked (about 1 1/2 cups chopped)

add to the soup and simmer on low for another 10 minutes.

Soup will will be very thick.

If you are serving more than 4, you may want to double the recipe. The kids and I polished this off for lunch with none left for Daddy.

End of the year tests

I think end of the year tests are as difficult for me as they are for the kids. Sam is doing fantastic as he finishes up 1st grade, but he likes to play games with me and pretend he doesn't remember how to do things. Sam has completed and submitted all of his 1st grade reading and we're still struggling through Math. I will be so happy to be done and be able to focus on our summer schedule where we'll be doing mostly math and just reading for fun. I'm also looking forward to getting ready for next year when I have 2 kindergarteners and 1 second grader. (Abby still gets the free play curriculum for 1 more year.) I am really blessed to be able to have my children home with me. I don't thank God enough for that blessing!

planting the garden

The weather is finally cooperating for planting the garden. I feel like we're overrun with tomatoes. I hope they survive this year. If they don't, my garden will be one big waste! I have high hopes to grow enough tomatoes to can all the tomatoes we'll need for the winter, saving ourselves a bundle of money, AND knowing the ingredients of the food we eat because we made it ourselves. It's really interesting how I'm desiring to do things for myself instead of being drawn to the convenience that was introduced to the generation before me. I feel like I was born in the wrong time period. I would really just like to go back to the Little House on the Prairie era where you did for yourself and traded goods for goods. Life was about your family and survival. Home was simple. (Ma Ingalls had ONE small decoration in their house all those years on the mantle.) You only kept what you needed. Everyone in the household contributed in some way. It sounds so lovely and simple. Gardening brings up all the desires. My dream is for our family to live on a microfarm someday and to experience self-sufficiency, even on a small scale. For now, I have my chickens and my tomatoes. That's enough for this mama to handle!

Sausage Alfredo Pasta

Sausage Alfredo Pasta
made by me this a.m. Yum, Yum!

1 package Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Penne Pasta (prepared according to package)
2 cups milk
2 T cornstarch
1 cup mozzerella
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 T basil
1 t coarse ground salt
2 t coarse ground pepper
4 grilled sausages
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
3 roma tomatoes, chopped

Combine cornstarch in a small amount of cold water, stir to dissolve.
Combine cornstarch mixture and milk over low heat. Bring to boil, stirring often.
Add cheeses, basil, salt, and pepper.
Simmer on low heat for 8 minutes, stirring often.
Add sausages, spinach, and tomatoes, and heat for 5 more minutes.
Combine sauce with drained pasta and serve.

Serves 8.

Old friends/new friends

My best buddy, Hazel, moved back to Trinidad yesterday after 2 long hard years! Hazel has been my closest, dearest friend for the past 14 years. We have been through so much together. She was in my wedding and everything. It was really sad to see her go, though I know here decision was the right one and led by the Lord. For several weeks, I have refused to face the reality that my buddy, the one I could talk to about anything and everything, my biggest cheerleader, was no longer going to live 20 minutes away. We were no longer going to be able to share babysitting. I don't think I have completely accepted what that means.

But, we have a really timely God. Today, Dave and I spent some time with another Christian couple, who have children similar to the ages of our children, and who really live a parallel life to us in many ways. I don't feel the sadness of losing Hazel as deeply, knowing that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. Let's see what he has in store for the next chapter!