WHEW!

Where did the time go? It seems like the other day was the Ethnic Food's Festival where I made my Mason Jar Peach Cobbler and now it's a week after Independence Day! We've had lots of things going on which has forced my blogging to slow down quite a bit...regrettably.

My step sons arrived from Indiana three weeks ago. I've now got four super active boys running amuck! If it's not the 2 year old biting the 6 year old it's the 10 year old arguing with my 8 year old over the best video game! I love having them here but it gets very tiring refereeing four boys on a daily basis!

We've been traveling to Fargo quite a bit lately for hubby's doctor's appointments. Thankfully the end is in sight. We leave first thing in the morning for some pre-op Xrays and another MRI. Then it's microscopic back surgery on Wednesday morning. Barring any permanent nerve damage (which is a possibility) he should be released and home from the hospital Wednesday afternoon!

The county fair was last week but it wasn't planned very well so we opted to camp at the lake with some of our friends from Lancaster. There was tons of food, fellowship, swimming, fishing, and sadly even rain! The boys LOVED it! The great thing is we were close enough to come home when hubby's back started hurting. He rested a bit and we were back at the lake for the duration.

Our friend, Sid, drove in from Dickinson ND for the weekend. We haven't seen him in several months. It was great to visit with him and have him stay with us. We certainly missed him and hated seeing him go but I'm sure he'll be back for a visit soon enough!

Well, that about recaps most of our activities the past few weeks. If all things go well with Rick's surgery, I'll be back to normal posting later this week. In the meantime, tell me what have you been doing???

Mason Jar Peach Cobbler

I made this over the weekend for our local Heritage Days Festival. I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen-she's my hero!!! It was a huge hit at the festival so I thought I'd share it with you. This is perfect for picnics, family gatherings, or just to extend the shelf life of your cobbler. I'm sure it will be a huge success with your bunch like it was with mine!

Ingredients
2 cans sliced peaches drained
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
8 tbs butter
1/1/2 cups milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Drop 3/4 tsp of butter in 12 half pint mason jars. Place jars in a large casserole or broiler pan to help keep them stable. Place pan of jars in oven to melt butter. Cut drained peaches in large chunks and set aside. Mix dry ingredients with milk till smooth. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each jar. Evenly divide any left over batter among the jars till all the batter is used. Spoon 1/4 cup of peaches on top of batter. Bake jars 25 minutes or until to>ps are slightly brown. Dust with cinnamon sugar mixture is desired. Carefully screw lids and seals on immediately after removing from oven for self sealing jars.
Makes approximately 12 half pint jar servings.
Sealed items can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Jars can be kept for several days up to a week. Do not eat if item's color has changed or there are any visible signs of mold.

Tips and hints

Virtually anything can be baked and sealed in a jar. The trick is to fill the jar 1/3 of the way full for any rising breads or cakes to allow enough head room after baking. Quickly and carefully screw lids with seals onto the jars. As the sealed jar cools the lids will self seal. Remove the lids and seals to heat either in the microwave or oven.

Find other great recipes at:

Long Summer Days

Lately I've found myself online less and outdoors more. The temperature has been in the 80's, low humidity and nice sunny skies have filled my days the last few weeks. The kids schedules are a little more hectic than in the winter so I'm chauffeuring more often. My garden is taking off...finally...and our fishing hole is quite fruitful. We are truly enjoying life. Short walks around the block, visiting with neighbors, attending fairs & festivals, and admiring the sun set at 9:30pm! I am so thankful summer has FINALLY arrived. I want to enjoy as much of it as possible before the days of 20 below zero with six feet of snow arrive again. I have a hard time making myself stay behind the computer when Mister Sunshine is calling me to bask in the warm light!

I do feel guilty for not posting more often and reading more of your blogs. I so miss being "in the know" on everyone's latest recipes, crafts, deals, steals, and daily drama's. I catch myself thinking, "I'll catch up on the Might M's tomorrow" or "I'll find out what Lisa and Grace are up to on my Google Reader tonight" but tonight turns into tomorrow which turns into later in the week. I'm such a guilty procrastinator! IT'S HORRIBLE!!! When I do catch a free moment from running place to place, crafting, sewing on my MIL's quilt, cleaning the house, or bringing laundry upstairs, I find myself so darn tired I drift off to sleep!

I often wonder how all you ladies do it. You blog every day (or nearly every day) while shuffling the kids off to their activities, homes cleaned, dinner cooked, gardens (much bigger than mine) planted, crafts made, pictures taken AND uploaded (which I never can get done in a timely fashion), parties planned, all while keep up with your workout schedule. There's got to be some big secret to getting everything done...right???? Well, until I unearth the secrets of Wonder Mom, I'll just keep juggling it all the best I can. Writing when I have time in between being the family's personal shopper, chauffeur, landscaper, cheerleader, house manager, financial adviser, psychiatrist, and personal secretaries (or is assistant more PC?).

I'm all ears if any of you have a few tips to help me stay on track this summer!

Diggin for Dinosaurs

Earlier this week a mysterious box with four toys arrived on my door step. They turned out to be prizes from a bloggers contest with Ebeanstalk. A Motor Works model of a fully functional carburetor, a Geo Safari Dino Dig archaeological type toy, Thomas the Train wooden set with train tracks, and a small wooden shoe for learning to lace and tie shoes were all sent for my two boys ages two and eight. The boys enjoy playing with all the toys but here's a little more information about the Dino Dig toy J Man received.

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The box contains:

• a brick of hard clay containing mysterious dinosaur fossils
• small brush and excavating tool to carefully remove the fossils
• wax for assembling the dinosaur
• informational booklet teaching your kiddo all about archaeology

Geo Safari Dino Dig transforms your child into a little archaeologist. Dino Dig is recommended for ages seven and up and is quite fun-even for grown ups but I must warn you this can get very messy. J Man got the box opened and was digging into the clay kit before I realized what he had done. There was clay dust EVERYWHERE! On my carpet. My ottoman. My arm chair. And my side table. Lesson learned the hard way! It cleaned up very easily and much faster than I originally thought with my handy dandy vacuum. We put the clay brick and his tools in a cardboard box to make excavating fun AND a little less messy. Now he can excavate dinosaur fossils inside or out with all his tools conveniently packed together.

I love how the Dino Dig incorporates fun with learning with such boy appeal. I admit, it's been difficult to find toys my son WANTS to play with that engage his intellect and hold his attention. Perhaps his ASD has something to do with his preference of toys but usually the "fun" toys aren't very educational and the "educational" toys aren't much fun for him. We have faced problems with his ability to use the toy as described or it's a flashy piece of junk that was over promised in advertising. The Dino Dig gets an A+ in my book-even with the messy side effect! It's a simple toy without any bells and whistles. It's easy for my son to play with and has kept his attention all week. He and I can't wait to get all the fossils dug up and the dinosaur assembled. See what J Man has to say about the Dino Dig in the video below!

Hurt Hubby Update

He's still about the same. Pain all the time some worse than others. Not able to walk long distances or sit for extended periods of time. Doc has restricted him to lifting no more than 5lbs. She gave special exemption to picking up Wild Man. She's never had a parent turn away their child no matter how hurt they are! He's suppose to avoid stairs and any strenuous activity to his back. He can fish so long as the fish isn't a big fighter but like hubby says-Then what's the point? ;)

As far as routine daily activities, if his body will allow him to do it with minimum pain then he's cleared for it. Biking, vacuuming, swimming, etc are all okay. Unfortunately his body isn't cooperating. He's tried biking but couldn't make it out of the yard. Vacuuming doesn't bother him if it's done in short spurts. He'll load/unload the dishwasher. He even folds laundry but I have to haul it up and down the stairs.

Some days are good while other's aren't so good. Some days he can walk around our block while other's require assistance getting up from a chair. It's all quite the roller coaster ride but he's taking it like a champ! He hasn't been terribly moody about it and tries to find joy in the little things he's still able to do. He reads A LOT, helps with house chores, plays video games, and has recently taken over the laptop perusing Craigslist-which is why my blog updates have slowed! With any luck, he can find a hobby that will keep him busy and give me back the laptop! lol

We're keeping our fingers crossed and praying something will work to heal his back. I'm holding on the the knowledge we're going through this for a reason. At some point we may understand why we're on this path but, for now we're just living in the moment. Finding the good things in life to focus on. Trying not to worry too much about the future nor dwelling on the past. By God's grace and will, he'll be healed and we'll come through this. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!