Our Sweet Baby Angel

We had quite a scare this weekend. Our little angel, Hurricane, was put to bed on Saturday night and then came downstairs asking for milk. DH & I were selfishly looking forward to a date night with a movie a friend had loaned us. We asked our little Hurricane to go back to bed. As she walked up the stairs, she tripped and fell. We heard a loud cry. Bless her heart. DH reached her first and picked her up. Blood was pouring out of her precious mouth. We realized she had bit her tongue. I tried to look at it, but I wanted to pass out. She had bit it all the way across with multiple lacerations. It would not stop bleeding. Thankfully my dear friend rushed over so that I could ride with DH to the Emergency Clinic.

I was panicked by the time we arrived at the clinic. She was continuing to bleed, and we were all very afraid. It looked horrifying! The nurse brought us a pale pink tongue-colored ice pop for her to put on the tongue. You do not want a color that will mask the injury until the doctor has seen it. I sang songs like "Jesus Loves Me", prayed, and cried. DH kept telling me I needed to be strong for our sweet baby. The doctor finally came in the room. He examined her tongue and assured us she is going to be okay. He explained that she had a moderate wound and that it actually had good placement. We praised God that it was not severe (Trust me, you do not want to see anything more severe than this!). He said that he would not try to put stitches in in since it was not clipped on the side and that it would heal on its own. We thanked the Lord over and over that she is okay! The bleeding finally stopped after 2 ice pops. She came home on a diet of very soft foods only and no salt. Her tongue has healed in amazing ways. Thank you, Lord!

Frugal Finds for Dinner

Eating at home often saves time, money, and calories! We love family dinner at Mama Henley's house and try not to miss one. Thankfully our move to Florida has allowed us to focus more on this grand old family of 7. Feeding a big family is no easy task as it's hard to find meals that please everyone while not eating Chick Fil A nuggets 6 nights a week! Therefore, I have started trying to make meals that make one child really super happy while most everyone else will eat it. I rotate so that everyone enjoys their favorites at some point during the month.
Coming home after a week away means lots of extra laundry and gifts to put away in a new home. We've been cleaning house, putting away the last of the Christmas items, and washing lots of clothes. I have also been trying to cook at home every meal. Last Monday night we had the frozen PF Chang's entrees. Tuesday morning I cooked 4 pounds of ground beef. I cooked 2 of those pounds with chopped onion and the other without. Cooking all of your ground beef at one time saves a lot of time! Sometimes I freeze some of the cooked ground beef, but this week I was able to use all of it.
The ground beef cooked with onion was used to make spaghetti sauce. I brown my beef and then add things like oregano, basil, garlic powder, chopped green peppers, chopped carrots, diced tomatoes, a little Maldon sea salt, and tomato sauce. I usually add a really big container of store bought spaghetti sauce as well. The brand depends on what is in our garage pantry! I buy pasta and pasta sauce on sale. We have not found a huge difference in taste. I probably had $3-4 in extra ingredients and $6.00 in the 2 pounds of ground beef. At most our meal cost $10.00. All 7 of us had spaghetti and then I made a spaghetti pie for some friends. I even had a little sauce leftover! So $5.00 for one meal for 7 people is great plus the $5.00 to feed our friends a spaghetti pie!
The other 2 pounds of cooked ground beef was used to make tacos on Wednesday night. Our children LOVE tacos. I have quit buying the store bought taco seasoning because it is cheaper and better for you to make your own. There are no preservatives when you make it yourself. I brown the meat and add LOTS of chili powder, some cumin, some garlic powder, and a little red pepper if we want it to be spicy. After the meat is cooked and covered in these spices, I add at least 1/2 cup water just like you do with the seasoning packets. I just shake the chili powder until it looks right and the tacos always taste great! We love to dress up our tacos with cheese, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, black or refried beans, et cetera. I made a taco salad over spinach and arugula and added some of the jasmine rice from Monday night! I usually just buy tortillas, but I had a really cheap soft taco kit from a buy one/get one free deal, so we used those tortillas for this meal. Since all of the toppings are things we keep on hand, this meal only cost around $7 or $8!
Thursday is a full day for our family with lots of activities. I am not home to start dinner until after 6pm. Therefore, dinner has to be prepared in advance or cooked when we walk in the door. This week I decided we would actually eat our leftovers rather than just say we were going to eat them! Some of us had pasta with red sauce or spaghetti sauce and others had tacos! Of course we had fruit and salads with our meals as fillers. All in all, it was a frugal week of eating at home!

Ahoy there, Matey!

One of my favorite things about Tampa is that the winter blues never have a chance to begin here. As you begin taking down your Christmas decorations, you must start facing forward and planning for Gasparilla. Gasparilla now takes place over two weekends with a Children's Parade the weekend of January 22, followed by the crazy Gasparilla on January 29th. Virgin eyes should stay away on the 29th! The whole city unites for these fun events and doors are decorated with pirate wreaths and homes have pirate decor. You may remember that I made a pirate cake last year.

As I took down our very dead Christmas wreaths, I happily replaced them with our oh-so-tacky but oh-so-festive Gasparilla wreaths. I started to put away our hot pink tinsel tree until I realized it would look fabulous with beads thrown all over it. I saved last year's beads so that I would have plenty for decorating purposes. The children loved throwing beads at the pink tinsel tree and at our front hall mirror. It is fun to be festive!

While in one of my favorite local stores, Baby Sweet Pea, I overheard some women talking about what they'll wear to all of the YMKG events. I learned that gold is the color to be seen in this year. What fun the ladies will have in choosing their dress for the Captain's Ball and other events!




Of course, I love focusing on what the children will wear. My favorite children's line of all time is called Two Friends. Sadly they have had to retire due to the busy demands of life with children. Thankfully, Mama Henley's girls can STILL wear their pirate dresses from a few years ago! If not, I have been perusing the web for great ideas for your little one to be fashionable at the parade! I'll see you there!

Miss Nancy Minds Their Manners

You all may remember that I wrote a post in May 2009 about the most fabulous Manners Camp in Hertford, North Carolina. Real life Nancy Rascoe is ever a Southern Bell. At 74 years old, she taught our triplets about manners, life, and fun in the rivah (river). They learned how to set and clear the table for dinnah (dinner), how to shake someone's hand and make introductions, and how to answer the telephone. Miss Nancy and her staff of Mr. Peter, Miss Blue, and Miss Anna were there to charm, love, and teach our precious little dahlins. At the end of the week, parents answered a handwritten invitation for tea by returning at noon on a Friday for tea and a presentation. Let me just tell you, seeing your child at Manners Camp simply melts your heart.
My heart was not the only one that melted. The fabulous duo of Martha Daniels and Caroline Paxton managed to make a documentary film about Miss Nancy and her Manners Camp houseparties. It is a modern day look at the South. Miss Nancy runs her camps in the summer, but her real work happens as a volunteer at the local elementary school during the school year. She is a true Southern lady, and I am privileged to know her. The talented Martha Daniels and Caroline Paxton have done an AMAZING job of capturing Miss Nancy and the precious children that have entered her life. You will love this movie!
Our son loved Miss Nancy and her camp so much that he requested to attend it TWICE. He did! In fact, at age 9 1/2, he said he would LOVE to go back! We recently watched the documentary on DVD Our family laughed and cried! We had a room full of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and baby cousins who watched this captivating film. If you love the South, are a fan of manners, or appreciate a true work of art documentary, then you need to order a DVD TODAY!
As always, the Southern Documentary Fund is a great place to donate to keep our southern culture alive! If you would like to order a DVD for your own enjoyment, Martha Daniel has offered a great deal for TODAY ONLY. The DVDS are usually $25 each. She is offering them for $18 per DVD and that includes tax and shipping. You will need to SEND check (not Pay Pal
online) to Martha Daniel at Daniel Design Associates with their name and address to:
Daniel Design
132 Candlewood Road
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
Questions: 252 813 9103
Hurry, because Martha only has a few copies left before she is sold out until her next big order!

Tuesday's Tip

Wow! December is over and I can hardly believe it. I will certainly miss the daily influx of Christmas cards with smiling faces of our friends and family. December is my favorite month to go to the mailbox. January not-so-much! December = happy smiling faces and January = bills bills bills!
However, December tends to be so FULL. We all find ourselves racing from one thing to the next no matter how hard we try to simplify. It just happens. While I opened and enjoyed every single Christmas card, I have not had time to really sit down and peruse each one in depth. So, this January I will keep our cards out. They are in a cute gold star basket. Each night we will chose a few cards and share the story of that person or family and then we will pray for them. What better use for these cards than for them to be prayed over for their year. None of us knows what tomorrow holds and we can never pray enough for those we love. How do you use your Christmas cards once Christmas is over?

Frugal Finds for Dinner

It's January. Your heart is full, but your wallet is not. Perhaps you ate like a queen during the month of December. You ate well, attended many a party, and gave and received fabulous gifts. January 1, 2011 rolled around, and you realized it's time to reel it all back in. Perhaps you've put yourself on a spending freeze or you're vowing to be healthier in 2011. We could all stand to do both of those!
At Mama Henley's house, our move to Florida has really put our lives in perspective. Knowing God and enjoying Him is our first priority. Our next priority is the 7 people who live under this roof. We've enjoyed lots of good family time, and one of our favorite times together has always been dinner together. In the past two years, we've eaten at home more than ever. Now don't get me wrong, I love nothing more than to sit and be served and to not have to clear the dishes and put away leftovers. However, reality is that it is smarter to eat at home than to eat out. It saves money and is often healthier.
Last night we drove in from a 12 hour drive. I did not make it to the store today in time to buy dinner. However, I have always been a planner and a girl who is not afraid to store some food. In situations like today, it pays off. I knew that I had plenty of delicious jasmine rice on hand and that our freezer contained some BOGO (buy one, get one free) PF Changs entrees. Voila! We had dinner. We simply warmed the beef and chicken dishes in the skillet, cooked the rice, and poured milk for the children. Using my coupons, I am guessing we did not have more than about $6 or $7 invested in our dinner that served all 7 of us with some leftover rice!
This month I will try to tell you ways that we are cutting back and eating at home!

Pennywise but POUND FOOLISH!

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with great times with both sides of the family. For that, we are thankful. For the 12 hour ride to NC and back, we're just thankful we made it. Sometimes I wish we could just push Georgia and South Carolina out of the way and be home. Whew. We're thankful to be home, sleeping in our queen sized bed instead of 2 twins! Ha!
During our brief trip to NC, we planned several visits and lunches and dinners with family. We had a great lunch with my mother's brother, and we looked forward to a huge visit with 22 of us on my father's side the following day. In fact, we had planned the lunch and made reservations for the 22 of us before Christmas to make sure it would all happen. My aunt and her children and their spouses and children all traveled 2 hours to be with us. While they were making their trek to Raleigh, we received an email that our lunch destination had to close due to an emergency situation: the main water main had broken and was being repaired. They had no water service and had told all of the servers and cooks to stay home. We quickly formulated a plan to eat somewhere else.
We've always loved Midtown Bar and 115. They said they could accommodate all 22 of us in their back room. Perfect. I called back to see if they have a Children's Menu. The person who answered the phone said that they do not but that the children could order a burger. I went online to discover that the burgers are gourmet $10 burgers that my children won't eat. They like little think burgers, not big adult burgers. So, I asked DH to run by Chick Fil A where I bought chicken nuggets with the intention of buying sides like chips or french fries or fruit at the restaurant. I was not trying to cheat the restaurant; they had 15 paying adults plus the sides for the children. It was our family Christmas lunch; revenue was guaranteed!
The server immediately told me I would have to hide the bag and use plates. I told her that would be fine. I figured they'd have plates for the side dishes anyway. We had two long tables of 11. Apparently an assistant manager came to my father and told him that the restaurant was going to charge $5 PER PLATE for the children to eat the nuggets in their restaurant. My father quietly explained that he was not going to pay $30-35 for children to have a plate and that we would have to leave if the manager chose to force the issue. Believe it or not, the manager would not waive the plate fee. The manager allowed TWENTY TWO PEOPLE to walk out of an empty restaurant at 12:30pm on the Wednesday after Christmas. There were maybe 2 or 3 other small tables. They had set up our tables with water and linens and they LET US LEAVE. IN fact, they basically ASKED us to leave!!!! All over $30!!!!! So, Midtown Bar and 115 lost a huge lunch tab on a day the restaurant was DEAD over $30. And that, my friends, is pennywise and pound foolish! As you can imagine, this dear struggling restaurant will never see Mama Henley's face again. There are too many good places to eat that are more than willing to accommodate their diners. Good luck, Midtown!