A Girl, A Mountie and A Can of Mace.

     Several years ago, we took a trip with my husband’s family to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to celebrate his grandfather’s birthday. On the way we decided to visit Niagara Falls from the Canadian side and see God's creation in all of its beauty.
     Visiting the Canadian side obviously meant that we would have to cross the border. No big deal, right? It's not like we were smuggling illegal drugs or weapons--so we thought. Having arrived at the border and agreeing to the Canadian,10-minute survey on why we wanted to visit and how long we were staying, we were asked if we had any drugs or weapons, and if so, we needed to surrender them. The polite border man named off a lengthy list of illegal items and one of them happened to be mace.
     My husband, Jeff, said he had a pocket knife. The Mountie didn't understand the reason for caring one. Jeff explained that many American men carry one for utility uses. I confessed that I did not have any weapons on me. We were then let through. Ahh, finally, we enter into the land of real maple syrup, round bacon, ginger ale, and Jim Carrey.

      We decided to park at the border post to wait for Jeff's mother while she surrendered her mace. I dug into my handbag and pulled out what I thought was the handle of a brush; it turned out to be a can of mace I thought I had left at home. I had just unknowing lied to Canadian officials, telling them I didn't have anything on the list. Now, having been read the penalties for bringing contraband over the border, I let out a very loud "OH SHIT" and covered my face with my hands in a panic. Jeff looked over and saw the very large can of mace in my lap and said, "Are you kidding me?” I looked a Jeff and said,"What do I do, Jeff? Should I just toss it in the trash? I don't wanna go to a Canada jail!" Having explained to my husband about the mishap and how I honestly thought I left it at home, he went into the post to explain to the officials and see what they could do for me. After waiting and freaking out an excruciating three minutes, I see my husband being escorted out of the post by  Mountie. My husband, with his right hand on his forehead, gives me the I-tried-to-get-you-out-of-jail look.

   
  As I watch every step the Mountie took as he walked closer to our van, I had two options in mind on how I could get out of this situation. I could flee like a coward; make it ten steps and risk getting clobbered by a very tall and bulky Mountie, or I could play dead. Neither option was suitable to how fast the man in red was walking toward me. As he rounded the van and tapped on my window, I swallowed what seemed to be a very large frog. I rolled down my window, and the man in red spoke the words I never wanted to hear," Ma’m, you're going to need to step out of the vehicle and come with me." My heart stopped, my jaw dropped, and my husband says, "Looks like you're going to jail, babe." I screamed, "WHAT! Are you for real?” Just then the ever so nice Mountie bent down, peered through the window, looked at Jeff and said, "You're really having fun with this one, Aye." Jeff replied, "Yes--yes I am." I then knew it was a setup and the nice man was just there to walk me in and talk me through the process of surrendering my mace.

     The man in red introduced me to another official who drew up paper work, took my picture, and then had me sign my name, stating that I understand the laws and penalties for bringing illegal weapons into the country; and that I hereby surrender my mace and will never see it again. After completing the standard write up, the man behind the desk released me with a warning slip, a wink, and ever-so relieving smile. He then told me to enjoy my time in the beautiful Canada.
     As I walked back to the van, my husband and his father shared a good laugh at my expense. I warned my husband that no one has ever survived going over Niagara Falls, so he better be careful where he stands, someone might accidentally bump him over the railing. 

Weekly Dinner Menu March 1-7

     If there is one thing I dislike the most, it's not knowing what to make for dinner. As most people know, I am a total planner. I plan everything in order to make my life just a bit simpler. When you're feeding a family of six , there is one thing I have learned. You have to be on your A-game with dinner. If by chance you forget to plan dinner that night, you'd better have a frozen pizza or corn dogs on hand. My biggest peeve is making daily trips to the grocery store. Going shopping with four kids is not my idea of fun, so if  I can make just a couple trips a week the better off we all are. On Saturday afternoons, I like to go through my grocery ads and plan my menu according to what is on sale that week.
     When making my weekly menu, I always make sure to have my recipe binder with all our favorite go-to recipes out and opened. I also use Pintrest for new dish ideas in hopes of adding to our family recipe binder. We are always open to trying new recipes as long as I the adapt the recipe to the picky eaters in the house.
     When planning my menu, I like use a meal planning calendar to keep track of what I need to pull out of the freezer the for the next day and what perishables I may need to buy. Here is a link to the printable I use courtesy of newlifewellness.biz.

Meal Planning Calendar

 

 

     Meal planning is fairly simple and really takes the guess work out of the daily question "Mom, What's for dinner?" Feel free to copy mine if you would like. With further ado, here's my March 1-7 menu.

 

 Sunday, March 1: Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup -recipe courtesy of gimmiesomeoven.com



        This is one of my favorite soups to make. It's easy and quick. I don't normally use my Crockpot for this recipe, instead I just boil my chicken while I combine everything else in my soup pot. After my chicken is done, I chop it up and throw it in. I am a fan of flavor, so I like to add in extra cumin, chili powder and also throw in some red pepper flakes. Cook on medium heat until it comes to a boil then finish it on low until cooked through.

 

Monday, March 2: French Onion Salisbury Steaks,- recipe courtesy of food.com, Garlic 

Mashed Potatoes, Stuffed Corn Bake- photo courtesy of mostlyhomemademom.com and Grandma's Homemade Hot Rolls.

 

 

 

Tuesday, March 3: Lasagna, Salad, and Garlic Bread.

                                          Dessert: Gooey Butter Cake-recipe courtesy of madefrompinterest.net

 

Easy Lasagna-  8" by 11" pan

1lb. ground beef - I like to use half pound of sausage and half pound of beef.

oven ready Lasagna noodles          16 oz. sm.curd cottage cheese

1 jar pasta sauce                              2 eggs

1/2 C. parmesan cheese                   mozzarella cheese

Italian seasoning

 

     Cook meat and drain. Mix jar of pasta sauce (reserving 1/4 C.) into meat and add in Italian seasoning. In separate bowl, combine eggs, parmesan cheese, and  fairly good amount of cottage cheese. Using 8" by 11" baking pan, layer: couple spoonful's of reserved sauce, noodles, meat sauce, cottage cheese mixture until you top the pan. Last layer should be rest of reserved pasta sauce. Top mozzarella cheese. Take a small amount of water an go around edges of noodles to prevent sticking. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minute or until noodles are cooked through. Serve.

 

Wednesday March 4:  Wild West Sizzlin' Chicken Tacos-recipe courtesy of bettycrocker.com

     This is one of my husbands favorite meals. I don't normally fix it to often, but when I do, he usually takes whatever is left in his lunch.



 

 

 Thursday, March 5: Sweet and Sour Chicken- recipe courtesy of life-in-the-lofthouse.com Fried Rice and Saute' Veggies (yellow squash, carrots, onions, and broccoli florets)

 

      I absolutely love Chinese food. Love it! So anytime I can make it at home at a fraction of the cost I would spend on a family of 6 eating out, makes me a happy momma. This is one of my personal favorites meals. The fried rice is super easy to make. I follow the recipe on the back of the Sun-Bird Fried Rice Seasoning Mix. You can find that in Oriental aisle at your local supermarket. Chopped your veggies and sauté them in EVEO until tinder. Season with garlic salt and pepper.

 

 

Friday, March 6: Little Caesars Pizza

                               Dessert: Brownies and Ice cream

 

     TGIF!!! Momma doesn't have to COOK! Holla! Fridays are our family fun nights, where we hang out,play games, and watch movies during the colder months. During the summer weekends we tend to do pizza at the drive-in if the kids keep to their weekly tasks. On Fridays there is no specific dinner time and best of all, no bed time. Where ever the kids drop for the night is usually where they will wake up in the morning.

 

Saturday, March 7: Feed yourself day. Leftovers.

                                  Dessert: Whirley Pop Cinnamon Popcorn-recipe coming soon!

     Well, there you have it. A weeks worth of meals. I did you the favor of planning and providing you with recipes, now its up to you to do shopping. Enjoy!



The Best Cinnabon Copycat Recpie...EVER!

Holy Cow, Ya'll. If you have every indulged in the riches of a Cinna-bon cinnamon roll, you know that feeling of pure taste bud pleasure. The creaminess of the cream cheese frosting. The flakiness of the dough and right balance of cinnamon and sugar that makes you want to go back for just one more. But you don't because you know those things will add lbs. to your hind end like crazy. You are going to want to try out this copycat Cinna-bon Cinnamon Roll recipe. They're not to hard to make, a bit time consuming but worth every bite you take. The savoring aroma that fills your house will call your family to the kitchen in anticipation  for the moment, Big Momma pulls them out of the oven and slaps on that cream cheese love. Follow along with me as I take you step by step to achieve a breakfast treat your family will be begging you to make again and again.

Homemade Cinna-bon Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Ingredients: Dough

 
1 cup warm milk                   2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup melted butter            1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt                               4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 packet active dry yeast

Preheat oven to 350. Gather your ingredients for the dough and lets begin. Using a large mixing bowl, whisk together the warm milk and the packet of active dry yeast until yeast is dissolved. A few chucks here and there is ok. Mix in your sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs. Then add in about half of your measured flour. Mix until combined. Add in rest of your flour. You will now start to form your dough. If stirring your dough becomes to hard, don't be afraid to dump it out on a clean counter top and start kneading it. Knead your dough until flour is fully mix and your dough forms. Lightly grease a large bowl and place your dough to rise. Cover with a grease sheet of plastic wrap. Place in a warm place. I usually set my dough on top of my oven where its the perfect heat to help active that yeast.

When dough has rose, flour your clean counter top with a enough flour to keep dough from sticking. Dump your dough onto counter and start kneading until most to all of the air bubbles are gone. 3-5 minutes should be long enough. Began rolling your dough out with a floured rolling pin. Try to keep your dough in a rectangular shape. It's makes it a bit easier to roll up. If you can't, it won't hurt outcome of the rolls. As you can see, mine is not so rectangular. Make sure your dough is at the right thickness. Not to thin and not to thick. After you have rolled and shaped your dough, it's time to get down to business.

 

Ingredients: Filling

1 cup packed brown sugar        2 1/2 T. ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softend -I like to add just a bit more butter. Because that's how I roll. Pun intended.

Lg strand of non-mint dental floss-Trust me on this one.

Take and combine your brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Set aside. Now, take that butter put it in your hands and smear it all over the dough. Get it good. Make sure no spot is left uncovered. Now wash your hands....or lick them. I won't judge.

Now that you have that finished and your faced washed off, carefully roll your dough. If the ends are flappy and not as formed, its ok. Take a good size piece of non-mint dental floss and  begin to slice your dough into rolls. You should problaly get 10-12 rolls, depending on the thickness you desire.

 *Picture credited to bgh.com*



 Place your rolls in an lightly buttered 9 by13 baking dish. Sometimes you may need use a small baking dish for any additional rolls. That's where I usually put the odd ends of the dough. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rolls rise, 10-15 minutes. When rolls have rose, place in oven and bake about 15 minutes. If your anything like me, I don't timed anything I cook. Just keep a good eye on them. Take them out when they start to turn brown.

While rolls are baking, go ahead and make you cream cheese frosting. If your kids are anything like mine, brace yourself. The sound of a hand mix brings my kids barreling into the kitchen to claim a whisk to lick clean.

Ingredients: Cream Cheese Frosting

3 oz creams cheese              1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cup powder sugar        1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

Mix butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add in vanilla, salt and powder sugar. Mix until all combined.

After pulling your rolls from the oven, let hem set for just a few minutes. Now its time for what everyone's been waiting for. Frost your buns and

ENJOY!

Intro to My Crazy Beautiful Life.

Hello! Hello! My name is Sarah...with a H that is, and this is my life. You're about to experience the crazy life of a stay-at-home mother. I'll be sharing a variety of things with you, from my sometimes "unconventional" tips and tricks to my parenting and passion for Christ. I'll also share my crafty ideas: the latest deals and steals I come across, delicious family recipes, commentaries about movies and media, helpful cleaning and organization tips, and a double spoonful of opinions on a variety of topics. I will even throw in the absolute true stories, confessions, and adventures this ride called motherhood takes me on. 

I welcome you to subscribe and enjoy my Erma Bombeck inspired blog. I also welcome you too share your life with me, because I love hearing what other mothers have to say. I'm totally looking forward to hearing your ideas and opinions so don't hold back. 

I'm a stay at home mom of four kids, ages 13,9,7 and 1. I definitely have my hands full, but it is nothing Goldfish and juice boxes can't handle. I've been married to my sweet husband for 14 years, and we live one crazy life co-parenting our very energetic children and rambunctious dog, Nala. 

     

Why start a blog? Well, I have always enjoyed writing and sharing life stories with people who share the same interests as me. My hope for this blog is that you can relate to me through creative, informative, and humorous writing. So with that being said--welcome aboard!