Somewhere over the rainbow...

there are cute little kiddies all dressed up!   Sammi, Jo and Seth decided to be Dorothy, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man for Haloween.  We already had the Dorothy dress but we needed the shoes and the other costumes.  So I got busy!  I think they look very cute.  You can go to the Picasa Zoo Boo album to see more pics and details on the c0stumes.

Have a Happy Halloween.

Pato - for Erica

 Our family loves to have pato for dinner!  I learned how to make this from my older sister when I was about 12.  It is a simple spicy tomato/peppery  stew like dish. I think it is the best made with Pork, but it is good with beef as well - chicken is not so good in it.

Ok first you need El Pato sauce from the Mexican isle of your local grocery store - the yellow is the best. But if you can not find the yellow the green works - it is a little less spicy and you can taste the tomato a little more.

Ingredients: (this is for use with one can of pato, make increases for each can you use)

One 7.5 oz can of El Pato sauce

4-6 potatoes - peeled and cubed (about 1/2 inch cubes)

1/2 - 1 lb pork cut into small cubes (or beef - stew beef works well here)

(optional) Frozen vegetables - I do not like it with them but some people do

water

salt

oil

Mayonnaise

Tortillas 

Cooking:

boil your potatoes in salted water until the are mooshy.

while potatoes boil Cook pork in a little oil in a large skillet or wide sauce pan. Cook until pork is brown and crisp and yummy.

Drain potatoes and add to pork - I like to mush mine up a bit more- but you can also leave them more in cubes.

add one can of pato and one can of water.  ( you can add the veggies here too )Now simmer this stirring often until the sauce is thick.  We like it really thick with very little sauciness left.

To serve place in bowl and add a good dollop or 2 of Mayo - I know sounds weird but it is OH so good. Plus the Pato is really spicy so the Mayo cuts that.  For my kids I add lots of Mayo.

Serve with lots of tortillas and milk to drink. 

We like to tear off pieces of the tortillas and fill them with pato and pop them in our mouth. Dwight prefers to dip his tortillas.

So there you go a fast , hearty, simple meal that our family LOVES.

hmm good to know!

You Could Not Be a Vampire

Sorry, but you're not just cut out for flesh eating, turning into a bat, and living forever. But that's okay. The sight of blood turns your stomach... without even thinking of drinking it. And while you definitely would never be a vampire, you're exactly the type of frail prey Dracula wannabe's crave. Maybe it's time to arm yourself with a cross and some nasty garlic breath! What you would like best about being a vampire: The raw power (though you wouldn't admit it to anyone) What you would like least about being a vampire: The whole killing thing

Could You Be a Vampire?

I was tagged by Angela

Here are the rules:
* If you are tagged, you must firstly post the rules:
* Write 7 strange characteristics about yourself. They interest us all!
* Tag 5 other people at the end of your Post.
* Visit everyone that you have tagged and leave a comment on their blog to let them know that they have been tagged.

So here are my seven strange characteristics:
1. I do not like watermelon - it is icky
2. Driving Miss Daisy is one of my fav movies
3. I read Jane Eyre every year - this is ike my 20th year reading it.
4. I homeschool all 4 of my kids- is that strange?
5. I ADORE the rain only a little less than the snow!
6. I am done with summer- PLEASE bring on the fall
7. I am soo MAD that this is the last season of ER

Here are my five:
Erica

Carrie

Di

Megan

Rachel

What was I like in highschool? 

not like this hehe - but it was a fun quiz. I was really a brainy girl, who was on speech team and in biology club. Read all the time and was in a bible study group on my lunch break. I did have friends of all different types. I was overweight but not really made fun of. I had a few good friends who I hung out with (Hi Jodie!)  and boyfriends on and off.

You Were the All American Kid

Popular but not plastic. Athletic but not a jock. Smart but not a brain. You were well rounded and well liked in high school.

Who Were You In High School?

A Happy Layout!

everything about this layout makes me smile! first the photo of Dwight and Jo is so heartwarming and sweet. I loved how the white space really worked on this layout. And the bright little pops of colors makes it all feel whimsical an girly.

Just a few fun quizes!

It seems I know my Grease lore- do you?

Grease quiz

my results:

You are an expert!

You have correctly answered 13 of 15 questions.

On average, 728 of users who took the quiz gave 11.45 right answers.

 

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The Inland North
The South
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I scrapped a page!

I have not scrapped for a few weeks.  been busy sewing with my friend Erica -so much fun!

I adore this photo of Jo I took in June. the layout uses a new kit - Hitched by Robin Carlton and Kay Miller at SSD.  to get the rest of the credit click on the layout.

 We have been having a very lazy summer but enjoying it. We have gone to the Zoo a few times, gone swimming and to the park. Played with friends. On friday is the Pool party at our townhouses - that will be fun. Next week is Seth's 8th Birthday - Wow how did he get so big? We are going to have a little party at the park for him.  We are starting to get our activities planned for Fall - school in Sept, Youth group will start for Tim then too, Brownies and Junior Girl Scouts for the  2 girls (and Me, the Brownie leader) , not sure what Seth will be doing yet. Tim may be playing soccer and the younger 3 will be doing a science homeschool group with friends.   Busy time of year.  I think I really need to enjoy this last month of summer. 

You Are Classical Music

You are a somewhat serious person who enjoys studying subjects deeply. Art of all kinds interests you, and a good piece of art can really effect you emotionally. You are inspired by human achievement, and you appreciate work that takes years to accomplish. For you, the finer things in life are not about snobbery - they're about quality.

What Kind of Music Are You?

Summer Jobs!

we where challenged to tell about our childhood summer jobs at the sweet shoppe blog.

I only had 2 summer jobs - the first was when I was 14 and I was a part time Nanny for 3 sweet kids that we had known forever - we had such a great time together and enjoyed going to the park, playing in the sprinkler , making cookies. It was a great experience.

My second summer job was actually the summer after graduation and I worked 2 jobs! I worked the night shift fulltime at the canary and then part time during the afternoons at Arby's! after about a month I quite Arby's and continued at the canary. I had alot of fun and worked along side my Best Friend Jodie.

Meet Kirsten!

  "Kirsten Larson must leave all she’s ever known to come with her family to the New World. They settle on the Minnesota frontier, where people don’t speak her language or understand her traditions. Yet in time, Kirsten discovers the richness of her new land—and the true meaning of home."

 I won this adorable American Girl doll for Jo on ebay this week. When she came she only had a little shift to wear. In the image below you can see how she came in the lower left corner.  the top 2 images are how she looks new and the pattern I used to make her new clothes. the lower right pic is a close up the original accessories you can buy from the AG store. I wanted to try to match her original outfit as close as possible with what I had on hand.

 

And here she is After with her new clothes.  I think I did pretty good!  her bonnet is a bit small but Jo likes it and that is what matters!  Notice the little handkerchief in her pocket. I made it out of bleached muslin and hand embroidered the details to match the original.  scroll down for pattern details. Josephine loves her and she even learned to tie a bow in 2 tries using her apron!

Details:
Dress - Butterick 4699 view F
Apron - Modified Butterick 4699 view F
handkerchief - Butterick 4699 and added hand embroidery
bonnet - resized from this tutorial -http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1978-07-01/Make-Your-Own-Sunbonnet-in-Less-Than-Two-Hours.aspx

What Your These Fireworks Say About You

You are jubilant and easily excited. While you aren't very intense or passionate, your happiness is abundant. You can always find cause to celebrate, laugh, or even just smile to yourself. You find that life is full of things to be happy about!

The Fireworks Test

I'm a Sweet and Sassy girl!

  Robin Carlton has asked me to join her CT and I have accepted!  I was so flattered that she asked.  And I am loving her designs! Below is my first official CT layout using her new 2 scoop with Lauren Grier - 5th avenue sunrise.  To celebrate my new position I made a template from my layout to share!  GRAB IT HERE  if you like! 

What does my frig say about me?  

What Your Fridge Says About You

You like to be surrounded by things you love. You aren't exactly greedy, but you can be materialistic at times. You are a very thrifty person. You don't like to waste money... or food. You are a very adventurous person. You love to try new things, and you get bored very easily. You are responsible, together, and mature. You act like an adult, even when you don't feel like it. You are likely to be married - and very busy.

What Do the Contents of Your Refrigerator Say About You?

Summertime!

It is officially summer!  While this is usually not my favorite time of year because of the heat , this year I am more excited, I have lost weight, the kids are older and we can do more fun things and we have great friends and church family to do things with!  So here is a list of fun things we can do this summer!

1. Lounge around all day in our jammies watching tv

2. Stay up late

3. Swim, Swim , Swim

4. Play with our buddies!

5. Go to the Zoo with our Zoo pass (with the Hales)

6. Do crafts

7. skate outside

8. play in "the pits"

9. eat way too many popsicles!

10. Grow flowers and maybe tomatoes!

11. lie in the grass and readd

12. go to the library alot!

13. Earn a free book by doing the summer reading program

14. Go camping with our church!

15. Praise God for the amazing gift of summer!

and soo much more..........

Coconut Showdown Challenge #1

My gallery is not set up yet at www.coconutscrapbooking.com so I am putting my first challenge up here on my blog.  We had to do this neat new grid technique with stamps and markers.  I used Heidi Swapp circle stamps and Stampin up craft ink on Bazzill cardstock.  This is my oldest son in March (other items: American crafts paper and thickers, AMM rick rac, Heidi Swapp deco tape, MM photo corners, sharpie white marker)

Fabric, yummy, Fabric!

I went to Joann's today and got some fabric for several projects. I also got some fabric and trims I ordered through a coop buy as well.  I have lots of fun things to make!   But the first thing is a SMOCK for me!  Over at the Sew, Mama, Sew blog they had a fabulous smock sew-a-long with videos even!  You should go make one too! I got some great ticking stripe in yellow, cream and hints of red to make mine with - I am binding it with red bias tape.  So excited!  I will post a pic when I am done.  

links if you wanna play along:

Written Smock Directions

1st Video with pattern

2nd videos

3rd videos

So I am a little nerdier than I thought I would be and that sorta makes me happy. Does that make me even more nerdy?

Welcome Martin!

  Isn't that the cutest name?  We welcomed a new nephew into the family last week.  Dwight's brother and his wife added a baby brother for our niece Elisabeth.  He is so sweet looking.  Here is a layout I made with one of the photos they sent.

Dream Vacation!

Dream Vacation!

I would love to go to Alaska!  look at that picture- so beautiful!  to take a cruise through the glaciers and hike in the wilderness.  That would just be amazing to me.  I would even love to go in the winter and see all the snow covered areas and participate in local celebrations. Dwight hates the cold so I am not sure that will happen but I would love to do it sometime!