We went to a character breakfast and ate cupcakes for breakfast.

He made new friends.

Payton got to choose which rides we would go on. On top of the list was the Buzz Lightyear ride, of course!

The kids were even asked to say the Pledge of Allegiance at Disney World’s flag ceremony. I was a little, ok really nervous they might not remember it, they are homeschooled after all and it’s not how we start our school days every morning. But they nailed it! and I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief..  Way to go guys! Dad and I were so proud!

If you will notice we have one child missing here..she was a little shy to get up in front of the crowd.

Payton wanted to have steak for dinner.

He is one cool kid.

When we had gotten back to our room, Payton had a big surprise from Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy!

Happy Birthday Payton! We love you!

Amelia with her very first Coke ever.  Priceless.

Tips,Hints and Our Experience.

So we decided again to skip the whole stroller thing. It still seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. Amelia (3) and Payton (almost 6, not 5 like I said in my previous post..ahem) did perfectly fine walking ALL day on their own. Today we even added the additional burden of their small backpacks. They needed a place to keep a small emergency snack and drink and maybe even a souvenir or two. I didn’t bother carrying a bag, I just dispersed a few things among the kids bags. I felt sorry for parents pushing around those huge strollers loaded down with tons of stuff, while they walk with their child tethered with a leash….

How much stuff can one kid need, anyway?

So my tip number 1 for Disney (or any other theme park, really) : skip the crap and skip the stroller. Carry or have your child carry a very small pack with a snack and a drink (if you don’t want to buy a drink you can refill the water at a fountain!). Like I said in my last post, Amelia just turned 3 (at the end of February) and she has walked it on her own. Brian and I have only had to pick her up a couple of times and she has only been carried a total of about 15 minutes. One of the times she was carried was because she was almost frightened to death by the “It’s Tough to Be a Bug” show. It’s NOT a good one for small children BTW… And the other time was because some girl about the same age as Amelia decided to hit, yes HIT her when Amelia said hello while we stood in line. The mother did nothing, even though she saw it.(Are you KIDDING me!?) And the little bully kept trying to push Amelia around, so I picked Amelia up to keep the other kid away from her.

I don’t think we as parents give our kids nearly enough credit for what they can do. I would have never thought in a million years that they would be able to do all that walking carrying their own stuff. But they DID!

But after all that walking..I am beat. Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios.

Planning a vacation for a family our size that is fun, relaxing and (somewhat) economical can be a challenge. We decided this year to take a more extravagant vacation than our usual and hit Disney. Our children are what I think are the perfect ages, from 3-12 years old. Also, my 3 year old has an unhealthy obsession with Cinderella that I just can’t help but indulge. But I thought as far as Disney being fairly stress free now is the time. I don’t have to worry about nursing, bottles, diaper changes..etc.. nevermind the fact that I am 7 months pregnant…..

Disney Day 1:

It is 11:43 p.m. of our first day of vacation. We just arrived back at our room about 15 minutes ago and the two youngest are completely crashed out.

I decided a few things while planning this trip.

1) I decided we would not bring the stroller. Amelia is 3 and I thought she could walk the majority of the time on her own and my husband and I could take turns giving her legs a rest by carrying her as needed. A stroller is a pain to navigate through crowds. You have to keep up with where you park it. If you bring your own, you have to fold and unfold it as you are getting on and off the bus (or other) transportation to and from the parks. If you decide to rent one, there is the extra cost. Not to mention the amount of room a stroller takes up in the car. We need that room for souvenirs!

2) Because of the size of our family, we have to stay at one of the resorts with larger accommodations which also includes a full kitchen. I thought by cooking and us eating breakfast and dinner in our room that we could save quite a bit of money and eat much healthier. I like to bring my crock pot on vacations where we will be out all day. I can put something in before we head out and like magic dinner is done when we return. Even if we are dead tired we can still have a great meal. It can also be a lot less hassle if the kids are tired and grouching. Hubby and I can still enjoy our dinner …if we are not wrangling rowdy, crying, overtired kids in a restaurant. Lets face it, we are at Disney. There is no way for the kids not to be overtired. overstimulated. and no matter how well I plan, I am pretty sure there is no way I can avoid some of the not-so-fun behavior that might come along with that. anyway….

3) Due to the larger room we also have a laundry room, meaning we could pack lighter! Meaning we had more room in our mini-van for the kids!

How that is working out for us:

1) I am still not sure how wise my decision to not bring a stroller was. Amelia (3) walked on her own all day. But she was absolutely wiped out. And a complete maniac to keep up with. She was ALL OVER the place. It was quite stressful to keep our eyes on her, making sure she was next to us at all times. The only other option is a *gasp* leash, and you will never, ever, in any circumstance see one of those horrible things on one of my kids. The things make me shudder….Back to the stroller. Even my soon-to-be-5-in-3-days son was complaining of tired legs at the end of the day. I am thinking tomorrow we will rent a double stroller and see how that works for us. A full day of walking might be just too much for the both of them.

2) I was so concerned about packing light that even though I felt like I was forgetting something -I kept pushing it to the back of my mind, once we got here, I realized I neglected to pack the crock pot. crap. The pots/pans in the room aren’t even big enough to cook enough food for our family. double crap. I will deal with this tomorrow. I can’t even think of a good solution right now.

As a side note- we found out that we should take advantage of the fact that Disney will deliver your purchases to your room for you. Payton lost his stuffed Nemo souvenir almost immediately. Plus we don’t have to lug them around the parks and keep up with them. Lesson learned.

3) Washing clothes on vacation!? What was I thinking??

So, if you have any great Disney tips for me, I am all ears! I would love to hear them.

Stay tuned for Day 2: Animal Kingdom….

Here are some things that have been on my mind…

Baby names:

We have baby names for both a boy and girl picked out. Actually we have a few names picked out and won’t make a final decision until after the baby arrives. After all, I was set on the name Jack for my son the entire pregnancy. When he was born, he looked nothing like a Jack and I freaked out. I just couldn’t name him Jack. The poor kid didn’t have a name for 4 days. I have always sworn the next boy we had would be Jack. But too many people we know have named their boys Jack so I think that one is out. Brian and I also decided this time not to share the names we have picked out. It is going to be a secret just between us. We aren’t even telling the kids. It is fun to have the secret just between us and everyone keeps telling us their best guess. Since all 4 girls have -ana somewhere in their name, everyone is assuming if this baby is a girl there will be an -ana in there somewhere….maybe it is time to break that tradition, after all, if we keep having girls how many more -ana names (that we actually like) could we come up with?? …..but we’re not telling!

Gender:

I have no sense of if we are having a boy or a girl. For a while I thought it was a boy but now I just don’t know. I can’t wait to find out! But there is something disappointing about finding out via ultrasound.  I was always happy to find out what we were having when we found out on the ultrasound. There is something thrilling about going through labor and being so happy to see your baby for the first time, realize that you don’t even know what “it” is, and be surprised when you actually look for yourself! We had the scan where you could determine the baby’s gender last month but I chose not to. I never want to know but my husband always does. I looked away when the tech was checking the gender. Brian looked as hard as he could to see if he could tell. He just couldn’t look away! He couldn’t tell, by the way. She just did a quick check! The only time we didn’t find out was when I was pregnant with my son (#4) and my husband was sick (very sick) with the flu. He wasn’t able to make it to the appointment with me. I decided not to find out. He was upset. He didn’t talk to me for three days. When my son was born we just couldn’t believe (after 3 girls) that we finally had a boy! It was unbelievable! It was such a wonderful surprise and in hindsight we are very glad that we didn’t find out. I had to keep checking for the first few days that it was still there and he really was a boy. And still, every time I changed his diaper it was shocking. With a boy, there was the the whole to circumcise or not to circumcise decision! It had never even crossed my mind that we would have to make that choice..

Circumcision:

In case you are wondering what choice we made, we chose not to. After asking out pediatrician numerous questions, watching a video of the procedure online, which I wouldn’t recommend- it is horrifying! And even a phone call with an uncircumcised friend of a friend (I know, right?!) who said “NO WAY!, DON’T DO IT” we decided it wasn’t our choice to make. There was no medical reason to do it. We have no religious reason to do it. It is his body, he should have the choice. For the record, he hasn’t had a single issue from not having it done. He has never had a bladder infection or infection of any other kind for that matter. (Some people told us he would have all kinds of infections and bladder issues…) If you are wondering how you “take care of it” as we did, you will get a lot of conflicting advice. We went with that of our pediatrician and completely left it alone. We just cleaned it like we would any other body part. So if we are blessed with another boy obviously our choice will remain the same.

Heartburn:

The only complaint I have at this point in my pregnancy is severe heartburn. I have had it the last 4 pregnancies with the last being the worst- until now. I kind of think it is because I am carrying much higher than I have ever carried before. Which is crazy because you would think with the sixth it would be lower…The last time I was pregnant, I practically lived on Tums and would wake up 3-4 times during the night and have to take them each time. This time I have found that it is safe for me to take Zantac. It has helped tremendously but I have to time taking it just right. I am wondering if Prilosec would work any better?

Pelvic Separation:

I have had pelvic separation with every pregnancy. Honestly it can be quite excrutiating. So far I am only having slight twinges of pain every now and then. I am still completely able to roll from side to side in bed with no pain (usually by now, I can’t do that). I have been going to the chiropractor every week in hopes that it will keep it at bay and it seems to be working wonderfully.

So- are you pregnant? How far along are you? What things are on your mind?

Cinnamon Creme Syrup

1/2 cup pure maple butter or pure maple syrup

1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small microwavable measuring cup. Microwave at 15 second intervals and stir in between. Heat until warm and well combined.

4 to 4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (you can also replace 1 cup whole wheat for 1 cup of all-purpose)

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

1 cup milk

1/8 tsp fiori di sicilia

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

3 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

6 tbsp poppy seeds

I use my KitchenAid Artisan 5-qt. Stand Mixer for this recipe. I also always make these the night before and put them in the fridge before the second rise. I pull them out first thing and let them sit on the counter for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats. If I am making the cream cheese icing I will set out a block of cream cheese as well.

In the mixer’s bowl combine 2 cups of flour and the yeast. In a medium saucepan heat and stir the milk, the 1/3 cup sugar and the 1/3 cup butter and salt just until warm and butter almost melts. (120-130 degrees). Add milk mixture to yeast mixture along with the eggs and fiori di sicilia. Put the paddle attachment on the mixer for this step. Beat on low for 30 second until well combined. Scrape sides and beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes. Replace paddle with the bread hook attachment and add as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Using the dough hook, knead the bread at low speed for 3-5 minutes, until elastic. Shape dough into a ball. Place dough into a lightly greased bowl and turn once to grease dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or doubled in size.

Punch dough down and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease two 9×1 1/2 in. round pans. Roll dough into a 12×8 rectangle. Brush with the melted 3 tbsp butter. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup sugar and the poppy seeds over the butter. Roll up jelly roll style starting from a long end. Slice into 12 equal pieces. Place into prepared pans. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled.

Bake in a 375 oven for 20- 25 minutes. Makes 12 large rolls.

For the icing;

1 block of cream cheese, softened.

2 cups powdered sugar

2-4 tbsp orange juice

Mix ingredients in the mixer at medium speed slowly adding orange juice until it reaches the desired consistency. Spread over cooked rolls.

In an effort to save time and money (and effort) I have tried different menu planning techniques . I have tried the once a month freezer cooking, both alone and with partners. It was helpful but didn’t give us the best solution. I have tried pre-prepared food delivery. Easy but very expensive and we didn’t like the food very much and ended up tossing a lot of it. The pre-prepared foods are also very unhealthy. Making my own meals to freeze is definitely the healthiest most cost effective way to go. So this week I am going to try something new. For every dinner I make this week, I am going to double, triple or quadruple the recipe to split and freeze for future meals. I will also do the same thing for breakfast: pancakes/waffles/muffins /breads ad gravy. That way at the end of the week I should have at least 1 week’s worth of dinners and breakfasts cooked or at least prepared and ready to cook and frozen for later use. My goal is to have yummy, healthy meals that save me from cooking when I don’t feel like it and save us a ton of money without having to spend all day or more in the kitchen.  I am looking forward to the final days of this pregnancy and the postpartum period when I am not feeling like cooking to be able to pull something from the freezer.

Here is what I have in store for this week:

(with links to some recipes at the bottom)

Breakfast:

Sausage Gravy

Bonnie’s Best Biscuits

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Cream Syrup

Citrus Poppy Seed Rolls

Baked French Toast

Farmers Casserole

Dinner:

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Mexican Rice

Meatloaf

Chicken Soup

Stuffed Peppers

Beef Stroganoff

Green Chili Chicken

Chicken Pot Pie

]]> http://www.suburbangranola.com/2010/03/21/freezer-cooking-march-22-28th-menu/feed/ 0 http://www.suburbangranola.com/2010/03/21/cinnamon-rolls/ http://www.suburbangranola.com/2010/03/21/cinnamon-rolls/#comments Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:36:39 +0000 admin http://www.suburbangranola.com/?p=675 My family prefers this recipe over all others that I have tried. I have adapted it from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (Better Homes & Gardens Plaid).

4 to 4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (you can also replace 1 cup whole wheat for 1 cup of all-purpose)

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

1 cup milk

1/8 tsp fiori di sicilia

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

3 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

I use my KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixers for this recipe. I also always make these the night before and put them in the fridge before the second rise. I pull them out first thing and let them sit on the counter for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats. If I am making the cream cheese icing I will set out a block of cream cheese as well.

In the mixer’s bowl combine 2 cups of flour and the yeast. In a medium saucepan heat and stir the milk, the 1/3 cup sugar and the 1/3 cup butter and salt just until warm and butter almost melts. (120-130 degrees). Add milk mixture to yeast mixture along with the eggs and fiori di sicilia. Put the paddle attachment on the mixer for this step. Beat on low for 30 second until well combined. Scrape sides and beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes. Replace paddle with the bread hook attachment and add as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Using the dough hook, knead the bread at low speed for 3-5 minutes, until elastic. Shape dough into a ball. Place dough into a lightly greased bowl and turn once to grease dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or doubled in size.

Punch dough down and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease two 9×1 1/2 in. round pans. Roll dough into a 12×8 rectangle. Brush with the melted 3 tbsp butter. Combine the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the butter. Roll up jelly roll style starting from a long end. Slice into 12 equal pieces. Place into prepared pans. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled.

Bake in a 375 oven for 20- 25 minutes. Makes 12 large rolls.

My cinnamon creme syrup recipe makes the perfect topping for these or you can use the following recipe for a cream cheese icing.

For the icing;

1 block of cream cheese, softened.

2 cups powdered sugar

2-4 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients in the mixer at medium speed slowly adding milk until it reaches the desired consistency. Spread over cooked rolls.

We are so excited about adding a new baby to our family this summer. It seems like perfect timing as far as staying on track with our lessons without it all being too stressful. It also made me wonder how other homeschool moms do it all during the summer. Do you school year round? Do you choose just a few things to keep the kids fresh? Or do you use your summer to just have fun? What do you do when you are expecting a new baby?

Generally we homeschool year round. Instead of taking a long summer break we usually take frequent breaks during the year, it helps us prevent burn out. But since this summer we are expecting a new baby , I have been thinking that it would be good to take a little more of a break. We aren’t going to completely stop doing lessons. Every summer we do a math facts memorization and refresher course and I feel like the kids math skills would slip without it. We don’t do any other math. We just focus on facts. We do flashcards and math minutes and online games to help reinforce it all. The other thing we would like to do this summer is an intensive geography course. We use The Story of the World as our main history/ geography curriculum but the kids have shown a huge interest in learning the geography of the world. We figured summer would be a good time to pause from our regular curriculum and do this. I haven’t found anything that fits what I am looking for so I am going to develop my own (which I will be sharing on here) using books that I like and blank maps. The kids are begging to continue doing science so we are thinking about letting them do the Switched on Schoolhouse program for that. We will stop lessons a couple weeks before the baby is born and then continue them once everything has settled down. Our regular school schedule will start in early August.

I have been encouraging the kids to work extra hard to complete this year’s curriculum before the summer begins. I also needed enough time before the baby gets here to plan for next year. We have planned our spring break as an 8 day trip to Disneyland as our last “family of 7″ trip. Talk about motivation!