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new christmas stockings
I bought new Christmas stockings this year ~ I ended up buying 9; one each for Roger, me, Ashley, Patrick, Sawyer, Attison, Roger’s mom, Roger’s step-dad and my dad. I bought them from Pottery Barn Kids ~ they were on clearance, and they were so cute I just couldn’t resist. Since Roger’s mom and step-dad won’t be joining us for Christmas this year, I haven’t hung theirs up. I’m one stocking hanger short for my mantle, so my dad’s may have to go under the tree instead of on the mantle.
Ashley has a friend whose mom just bought a very expensive embroidery machine. She said she would embroider names on the stocking for me ~ I’ll send them to her after Christmas to do that since they’re so cute on my mantle even without names on them.
Here’s a photo:
from the recipe files ~ mexican chicken corn chowder
I’ve had several people ask me for this recipe, so rather than emailing it to just a few, I’m posting it for everyone to enjoy! My friend Cheri gave me this recipe; I don’t know where she got it, but I’ve made a few modifications of my own ~ you’re welcome to make your own modifications so it fits your family’s tastes.
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Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 C. chopped onion
- 1 – 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 TBS butter
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes + 1 C. hot water, or about 2/3 can (14oz) chicken broth
- 1 tsp. (or more, according to your tastes) ground cumin
- 2 C. half & half
- 2 C. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 (11 oz.) can Niblets corn (can also use creamed corn)
- 1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chilies
- fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes, and hot pepper sauce for garnish
Saute onion in butter until it turns translucent. Add garlic, cook on med. low for about a minute. Add cut-up chicken; cook on medium heat until no longer pink inside. Add chicken broth (or bouillon + water) and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add half & half, cheese, corn and chilies. Cook on low, stirring until cheese is melted and chowder is heated through (do not boil).
Offer chopped fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes and hot pepper sauce as garnish.
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There you have it! It’s a simple recipe, but WOW does it taste good!! It ‘s definitely not for one of those days when you’re feeling as though you should be eating low calorie, low fat foods though. It’s more of a comfort food ~ just forget about the fat and calories for one meal and ENJOY! 
now that’s great customer service!
Before my granddaughter Attison was born, my daughter Ashley decided she wanted to use cloth diapers. She didn’t know anything about them at the time, but she knew she didn’t want to put the chemicals found in disposable diapers next to her baby’s skin, nor did she want to add to the problems disposable diapers cause in our landfills. I was very supportive of this decision, since I had used cloth diapers with both of my sons.
Ashley and I began doing research on cloth diapers, just to see what was available. Wow ~ we were blown away by the abundance of information, and the popularity of cloth diapering! I came across Autumn Beck’s blog; Autumn writes about cloth diapers and I learned quite a lot from her. Cloth diapering has evolved since my sons were babies. And the changes are fantastic!
When my boys were little, I didn’t put much thought into how I was washing their cloth diapers. After reading Autumn’s blog, and doing lots of other independent research (here’s an example), I was convinced I needed to make sure I was washing Attison’s diapers properly. We have a septic system, so what we put into our waste water is very important ~ and even though in the long run cloth diapering is much less expensive than using disposable diapers, the initial outlay for the diapers can be tough on the ol’ pocketbook. I figured if we were going to spend that much money (about $400 total, which is super, super cheap compared to disposable diapers!) up front, I wanted to make sure we were doing everything we could to extend the life of the diapers as well as keep them in tip-top operating shape.
I learned that the laundry soap and detergents we buy at the local grocery store can be disastrous for cloth diapers. So I bought a laundry soda that was free of all of the additives that can harm cloth diapers. Last week we were getting close to the bottom of that bag of laundry soda, and I needed to get more. I remembered a post that Autumn wrote about a cloth diaper detergent called Crunchy Clean. To be honest, I wasn’t completely convinced the cloth diapers were getting as clean as they really should be using the special laundry soda and two wash cycles every time the diapers were washed.
I got online and found the Crunchy Clean site. I ordered the 136 load bag of cloth diaper detergent, completely scent free (I’m very sensitive to scents, and Atti has very sensitive skin). A package from the work-at-home-mom who’s behind Crunchy Clean arrived in my mailbox a couple of days ago. When I opened the package, I discovered two bags of laundry detergent. One bag of Green Detergent, scented with Oatmeal Milk & Honey, and a bag of Diaper Detergent scented with “Baby Bee.” The fragrances were pleasant, but I knew that the Oatmeal Milk & Honey was too strong of a scent for me, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t add any irritants to Atti’s diapers by using a scented detergent on her diapers.
I sent Crunchy Clean an email explaining the mix up, and asked if I could send the two bags I received back to them in exchange for the Diaper Detergent completely scent free.
I just received Crunchy Clean’s response to my email. Let me tell you, the response I received from the mom who makes the detergents was so pleasant, kind, and had the “the customer is always right” mentality of running a business. She told me to go ahead and keep the two bags of detergent I have already received and she would ship me the correct detergent right away (and I know she did, because about two minutes later I received a confirmation from Pay Pal that my order had been shipped!). She also suggested I give away the two bags of detergent she shipped to me by mistake, perhaps to someone in need. I think that’s a great idea, and exactly what I intend to do.
Here’s a hearty, “Hurrah!” shout out to Crunchy Clean ~ you’re running your business the old fashioned way, and it’s a breath of fresh air to find a company that actually values its customers!
If you’re looking for some really great laundry detergent that has a gizillion scent choices and is actually green, I suggest you read Autumn’s post about Crunchy Clean. I know you’ll want to click over to the Crunchy Clean website and order some of their laundry detergent for yourself!
my 95 lb. dog is afraid of thunderstorms
the one where i try to make a long update short
We have been very busy around here just trying to keep up with all of the necessary items of having an infant in the house. It’s a really good thing that Ashley had a friend give her boxes and boxes of little girl clothing. Atti tends to go through about 6 or 8 changes of clothes a day. I know that’s normal ~ nonetheless, it’s a lot of work! Since we’re using cloth diapers as well, there are at least two loads of laundry to do every day. Atti may have to change her clothes several times a day, but what’s worse is the number of burp cloths we use. My goodness! I’ve given up on making pretty burp cloths. Sure they’re cute, but when it comes right down to it, a plain old tri-fold Gerber birdseye cloth diaper is just as good as one that has had fabric sewn down the middle and ribbon added to the sides. They’re not nearly as cute, but they serve their intended purpose just as well.
It’s amazing to me how stubborn a 6 week old baby can be. We’re working on her attitude already! We’re all born with a sinful nature, and to be honest that sinful nature is quite evident in babies.
Ashley and Jacob have been attending church with us. Ashley has gone for several weeks now ~ Jacob has joined us the last 2 weeks. Our church is doing a series on “The 7 ‘I AMs’ of Christ”. Yesterday’s message was “I am the way, the truth and the life”. After church Jacob told me he felt as though that message was spoken directly to him. Jacob has struggled with Christianity ~ and there have been plenty of people along the way who have called themselves “Christians” ~ who weren’t very Christ-like ~ who have helped him form a bad opinion of Christians and Christianity as a whole. So when he agreed to start going to church with us, I was thrilled. He’s full of questions, which is good, and full of doubts, which I see as opportunities to teach him.
I have seen the Holy Spirit working in Ashley ~ His work is very evident to me. He’s working on her heart, and she’s beginning to feel His calling to her. She and I are going to San Antonio in a month to attend a Living Proof Live conference (Beth Moore), and she’s very excited about it. So am I. We even volunteered to be greeters during the event ~ that was something we both wanted to do, and we felt it would give us an opportunity to serve. My friends Holly and Joanne will be at the conference, and I am so excited about seeing them again! We’ll be staying with my friend Stacey, who I haven’t seen in a very long time, and I can hardly wait! It’s looking like this will be a very fun trip. Ashley and I will celebrate her 20th birthday on our trip as well, so it’s going to be a really big deal.
We’ve been working on choosing a curriculum for this coming school year. Sawyer will be in 10th grade, and this could be his last school year at home. He’s considering attending the residential high school Patrick just graduated from. I can’t even begin to think about what it would be like to have absolutely no children in the house come next fall. 
For this year, I think we’re going to go back to Sonlight. We’ve tried all kinds of other curriculum, but we always seem to come back to Sonlight. We’ll be studying American Government/Civics, which is Sonlight’s Core 400. We’ll also be doing Apologia Advanced Biology, Teaching Textbook’s Algebra II, and at co-op Sawyer will attend Spanish and leadership classes. There’s lots of writing involved in Core 400, and lots of reading as well. Sawyer wants to be challenged this year ~ that won’t be a problem! He’ll also continue to sing with our church’s youth choir, take French horn lessons and attend youth group. I’m starting to look forward to the routine of the school year!
at the peabody
Last night Roger and I had a romantic evening at The Peabody Hotel in downtown Little Rock. We were celebrating our 19th anniversary a week early. Roger had today off as a “family day” so we took advantage of the opportunity to go have a night out together.
The Peabody Hotel is very nice; The Capriccio Grill is in the hotel, and it’s a wonderful place for a romantic steak dinner. Their filet mignon is the best we’ve found in the city. And they have amazing desserts.
I forgot to take my digital camera with me (are you beginning to figure out that this is not an unusual occurrence with me?) so I had to take pictures with my cell phone. By the time The March of the Ducks happened, my phone was dead, so there are no pictures of that. I did get some decent pics of our room, the champagne and chocolate strawberries which greeted us in our room, and the cute little soap duckie in our bathroom.
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| Peabody 19th Anniversar |
By the way, incase you’re wondering about Roger’s lopsided smile, it’s because the muscles and nerves in the left side of his face still have not recovered from the surgery he had August of 2006. In January of 2005 he had a non-cancerous lump removed from his left salivary gland. It had wrapped itself around the nerve bundle, and by early 2006 it had regrown to the point where Roger had to have another surgery and removal. I’m not sure the left side of his face will ever fully recover. Here are some pics I took after the second surgery ~ but I want to WARN YOU: the pics are not graphic, but they were taken a day after the surgery, so they’re a little gross. View them at your discretion.
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| Roger’s Surgery 8.2006 |
where have you been?
I have been all over the place lately!
Sawyer was a teen leader in our church’s Music & Drama Camp last week, so I was busy taking him to and from the church every morning. And since we live over 20 miles from the church, I just couldn’t justify making 2 round trips for a 4 hour camp, so I just stayed at the church and enjoyed watching the kids learn from and work with the adults (and teen leaders). This year the “drama” was Life School Musical. I haven’t seen High School Musical, but from the name I would guess it’s a Christian take-off of High School Musical. I was at camp every day, watching as the adults and teens gently but firmly guided and instructed the kids ~ ages kindergarten through 6th grade ~ and taught them the lines, choreography and music of Life School Musical. The performance Friday night was fantastic. Everyone involved in our church’s Music & Drama Camp do an amazing job. Pastor Eddie tells the kids that perfection is not the goal ~ excellence is. Both of my sons were involved in MaD when we lived here last time, and Patrick even had a major speaking role in one of them. It’s so cool to see the kids who were in kindergarten all those years ago now working as teen leaders.
I took pictures:
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| Music and Drama Camp ’08 |
After MaD, Sawyer and I would rush home to make lunner (lunch + dinner = lunner), then head BACK to the church for choir practice. Every night ~ except Wednesday, when Sawyer had youth group AT THE CHURCH, and Friday night when the kids performed Life School Musical AT THE CHURCH. So, as you can see, I spent a lot of time AT THE CHURCH last week!
This week Sawyer has a couple of hours of choir practice tonight and tomorrow night (AT THE CHURCH, imagine that), then he will pack up and head to Colorado for 10 days with the youth choir. They’ll perform at a large cathedral in Kansas City and several churches all over Colorado. They’ll also perform at the Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel on Sunday for the Protestant service. I can’t even begin to express how HUGE of a deal performing at the Cadet Chapel is. NO ONE gets to perform there. I’m not sure how Pastor Eddie managed to pull that booking off, but I have a strong suspicion it has something to do with a friend of ours, a retired AF colonel, who lives in the area. (By the way, we miss you, Brian and Sherri!) I seriously considered volunteering as one of the adult chaperons for this choir trip ~ I miss the mountains, and I would love to be somewhere that has lower humidity. But, having my daughter move in and being present for Attison’s birth took precedence over a trip to Colorado this year. Maybe next time…..
I haven’t taken any pictures of Attison this week, but here’s one from last week:
Other than being a little fussy now and then, she’s really an angel baby. She’s working hard on holding up her head, and she is beginning to show some personality with occasional smiles. Of course I will be taking pictures this week ~ and you know I’ll post them!
roger’s birthday
Yesterday was Roger’s 41st birthday! We celebrated with a yummy lasagna made by Jacob’s mom, and a heavenly peanut butter chocolate ganache cake made by my friend Kathryn. Everything was wonderful, and we had a lovely time!
Happy birthday, Rog!
the end of another school year
As we near the end of another school year, I’m already thinking about next school year and what curricula we will use. I have to admit, I am a curricula junkie ~ so is Mama Archer, so at least I know I’m not alone!
This year we tried a new curriculum ~ new to us anyway. We used Beautiful Feet Books’ Ancient History Senior High package. To be honest, Sawyer hated it. It was just too boring. Sawyer loves to read, so the number of books involved in this package wasn’t the problem ~ the books themselves were the problem.
In the past we have had great success with Sonlight Curriculum. We started using Sonlight when Patrick (who is now a senior in high school and will officially graduate May 24th) was in 3rd grade. We really loved all of the books ~ readers, read-alouds ~ how can you go wrong with lots of great, rich, enriching books?
I’ve been looking at the high school levels Sonlight offers. I’m considering using their civics course for next year. Sawyer will be in 10th grade, and it could very well be his last year at home. He wants to follow in his brother’s footsteps and attend the math and science residential high school Patrick has attended the past 2 school years.
We will most likely stick with Teaching Textbooks as Sawyer’s math program. He seems to do well with TT. Our homeschool co-op will be offering high school Spanish and a leadership class, as well as a science class. This year Sawyer tackled 2 science classes ~ biology and chemistry ~ so I’m not really sure what we’ll do for science next year. Assuming Sawyer will attend the math and science high school, we’re not planning to move on to physics because the school requires the students take physics there.
Sawyer has done well this year, especially considering he really disliked the history program we were using. After the first semester we scrapped it and just sort of made up our own history program. I have absolutely no intention of ever writing my own curriculum ~ that’s just not my cup of tea. I much prefer letting someone else figure out all of the details for the curriculum and then taking what they’ve put together and tailoring it to suit our needs, likes, dislikes and schedule.
I’m looking forward to having a little break for the summer, especially considering the upcoming arrival of our first grandchild, and the fact that Patrick will be home from school. He has a summer job lined up, but at least he’ll actually be living at home for the summer. I’m not looking forward to moving him to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for college, but that’s still a few months away so I try not to think too much about it. Fayetteville is about 4 hours from where we live. That’s more than twice as far as where he goes to school now.
Sawyer will continue to do math over the summer, with a two week break in July while he goes to Colorado with our church youth choir on “tour.” They’ll be singing at a Colorado Rockies game and the Air Force Academy cadet chapel, as well as doing some mission work and singing at churches all over the state. He’s really looking forward to it.
This summer will be filled with all kinds of exciting events, but I know next school year will be on us sooner than we think. It will be wonderful to have the whole family home for the summer (including welcoming our family’s newest member). Roger, Sawyer and I have some big decisions to make concerning our curricula for next school year. It’s time to start digging through all of the new curricula catalogs and figuring out what our options are!
birthday slideshow
For some reason my camera was acting up today, so a lot of the pictures I took at Patrick’s surprise birthday party are blurry. I managed to snap a few decent ones though ~ we had a really good time. He truly was surprised! He wrote a post about it here.
Ariel and Patrick’s friend Justin were in on the secret. Ariel set it up so we could use a room at the school, and Justin agreed to keep Patrick busy until we were ready to surprise him. We invited Patrick friends ~ unfortunately most of them went home this weekend because of Mother’s Day, but we had so much fun it didn’t matter how many people were there. We had the family and several friends, and it was enough.
The theme was “cheesy” ~ we did it up like a little kid’s birthday party on purpose. We had Transformer party hats, Spiderman blowouts (they didn’t have kazoos in them, though ), sparklers on the cake, 2 big jugs of punch, matching plates, napkins and tablecloth, bubbles, and goofy gifts. Roger and I got Patrick several things he needed ~ they were all grooming-types of gifts! LOL I’m not saying his personal hygiene is lacking ~ because it isn’t ~ we just decided to get him his own shaving/overnight kit, fingernail clippers, beard trimmer and such because a young man going off to college really should have all of those things, but Patrick didn’t. At long last Roger will finally be able to get both of his shaving kits back from Patrick!
Anyway, here’s a slideshow of a few of the pictures that weren’t too blurry. You can see by the look on Patrick’s face he was surprised, and he loved it!