Time for Caramel Corn

This time of year always means two major treats in our house.  (One salty and one sweet) I have those huge glass jars on the counter in the kitchen and we try to keep them full all through the holidays.  One jar is for Chex Mix and the other jar is for our family's favorite treat - caramel corn.  In fact, it seems to be everyone's favorite.  It is widely requested among our friends and neighbors :)  So . . . . in the spirit of giving, I thought I would share the recipe.

Microwave Caramel Corn

8 c popped popcorn (more or less) I pop ours on the stove which works better than the microwave versions

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 stick of butter

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Divide the popped corn into 2 large microwaveable bowls; set aside.

Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt in a large mixing bowl - one with a handle works best.

Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes.  Stir.  Microwave 1 minute.  Stir.  Microwave another minute.

Add baking soda and vanilla; stir well.  (this part is fun to do with kids because the baking soda reaction makes the caramel light and fluffy and it expands quite a bit)

Pour half over each bowl of popped corn and mix it all up.  Microwave each bowl for 1 minute and stir then another minute and stir.  Pour the caramel corn out on parchment, wax paper, or foil to cool.  Break into pieces.

Notes:  All microwaves are different so you may need to adjust the cooking time.  This is a candy so overcooking even a little will cause the caramel to burn.  Adding anything to the caramel corn will cause it burn - I tried adding peanuts and it didn't turn out well.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Do You Ebay?

If you are like me then you watch all those ridiculous TLC Extreme Couponing shows filled with jealousy, resentment, and envy.  Now, I realize that the show is called Extreme for a reason and buying $3,000.00 worth of groceries and the store paying you to take them away (yes, I know I'm exaggerating a little) is a bit over the top.  Still, I wish it were a daily reality not just a reality show.  My brother (who at the time had no children) once asked me if having a family was expensive.  I think my lip was bleeding I bit it so hard, but not laughing directly in his face was a personal triumph for me.  Of course it is expensive! Everything is more expensive when you have a family.  Trying to make paper money stretch without anything bouncing is a balancing act that single-income families accept as part of the deal.  Our family has to do without some of the luxuries of 2-income families and that's okay, because Mommy is not a luxury I want my children to do without.

I use coupons and we only buy the things that are on sale.  I make my husband's lunch to take to work every day.  I have had a few of those awesome shopping trips where I saved 90% on my grocery bill and I wanted to frame it.  However, it still takes a lot to keep a family of 7 well-fed and in clothes as the little ones grow (and the big ones grow too, but we don't talk about that).  Adding birthday gifts, shoes, and other things to the budget is not always a possibility.  To help clean out the items in our home we no longer need and purchase the ones we do need, I started selling on ebay.

Like most people I started using ebay to buy not sell.  I don't remember the first few items I bought on ebay, but I remember the one that really got me hooked.  I absolutely knew I was having a girl when I was pregnant the second time, but my darling husband didn't want me running out to buy a house-full of pink as soon as we found out we were expecting.  I had to wait until the ultrasound (you see how completely unreasonable he can be, don't you?)   Well, in the meantime, Gymboree had the cutest newborn layette collection I had ever seen.  It was bright pink cupcakes and it was just the sweetest.  I had to have it, but if I waited until the ultrasound it might be sold out.  And it was.  By the time we found out our little bundle of joy was really going to be Joy all the cute cupcake things were gone.  I turned to ebay and got it for half price.  I was hooked.

I started selling items much later.  (The only reason I started selling was to support my ebay shopping addiction)  Now, I sell on ebay as often as I can make time (which is sometimes in the middle of the night, but, hey, it works).  Ebay has become a way for me to add to our income without taking too much time or energy away from more important things like my husband, my children, and the housework (yes, the housework is important too).  I tend to buy items for my kids at a significant discount either on ebay or in stores, let the kids wear them for a season or two, and then sell them for as much as or more than I originally paid.  This way I am able to keep up with all 5 kids and their growth spurts without it taking a huge amount out of our tight budget.

God's Plans are Better

When I graduated from college in 2001, I had two major goals. 1: Start teaching. 2: Marry Mr. Wonderful (okay, his name is really Joey Seiber, but he's my Mr. Wonderful). We had it all planned out. I started teaching in August and the wedding was in December. We had everything else planned out too. A cute little townhouse, teaching for a few years, enjoy being married at least 5 years before starting a family . . . Of course these were our plans. However, in January I wasn't feeling very well and by February I was feeling terrible. Of course, this isn't uncommon your first year teaching so I ignored it and was busily making plans for the following school year. A sweet friend of ours (who also happened to be a doctor) suggested we take a pregnancy test. We politely informed him that we couldn't possibly be pregnant and I even took the test to make him feel better. And it was . . . negative, of course (what do doctors know anyway). Still, I wasn't feeling any better so after my sweet husband threatened me with a doctor's appointment, I took the test again. It turns out doctors can be very perceptive at times. Yes, we were pregnant. I wanted to cry. It had been my dream for years to teach and I loved my class, our school, and my students. I was so disappointed that my plans for the upcoming school year (and many more thereafter) were not going to turn out the way I wanted them to.

It didn't take long for me to get used to the idea of being a mommy. Still, I was more than a little apprehensive. I knew, for sure, we would starve to death on a single income. Still, even with the months and months of sickness, the complete reversal of all of our plans, and a lot of apprehension, God gave us peace and directed our paths in every way. I still remember the week after we found out that we were expecting Josh; we hadn't told our church family yet. I was scheduled to play offertory. I chose Because He Lives because of these special words.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby

And feel the love and joy he brings

But greater still

The calm assurance

This child can face uncertain days

Because He lives

Because He lives

I can face tomorrow

Because He lives

All fear is gone

Because I know

Who holds the future

And life is worth the living

Just because He lives

Every time I hear that song, I still think of my precious Joshua. Life still seems uncertain some days and God still changes our plans occassionally. Still, I've learned through it alll that His plans are better than our own and 'life is worth the living just because He lives.'

Growing Up!

Today I have been reminded of how much the children have grown.  Today is my birthday.  No, I am not 29 again.  I am 32 and I am okay with that.  I have been so wonderfully blessed and I just wanted to share.  Josh and Joy have been talking about my birthday for the last month.  They've been planning little surprises and whispering behind my back.  They've been talking to Daddy and planning a shopping trip for weeks.  Yesterday, Joey took Josh and Joy to Anchorage to go birthday shopping.  They were so beside themselves when they got home.  They couldn't stand the wait until this morning.  I love their anticipation and excitement. 

This morning, I was greeted by a big "Surprise!" from all of my precious little ones and a lively version of "Happy Birthday!" too.  They were all so excited to show me what they had gotten me for my special day.  Joy had collected papers that Hudson, Bethany, and Brittany had colored for me.  Josh had a sweet card he had chosen himself and wrote "Happy Birthday, Mommy, I Love You - Hudson and Josh."  (Yes, I started crying)  He had a gift bag full of my favorite chocolate and a bright pink coffe cup.  Joy has been talking about getting me 'old-time' books for weeks (I love classic and historical fiction).  She chose a complete set of Jane Austen books for me.  I can't wait to start reading them.

These simple gifts showed me something amazing about my children.  They are caring and thoughtful.  It is something I have always desired to be myself (not sure I've quite made it yet) and pray that all of the children will become as well.  These gifts showed me that the younger children care because they made pictures and cards for me and worked really hard to keep it all a secret.  The gifts Josh and Joy chose showed their thoughtfulness because they didn't choose something just because it was pretty or because they liked it, they chose their gifts with me in mind.  Josh knows I love chocolate, but instead of getting his favorite kind, he chose my favorite.  He got a coffee cup in bright pink because he knows that is the one I would have chosen for myself.  Joy gets tired of my constantly having my nose in a book, but she knows how much I enjoy it.  She chose the exact books I would have chosen if I had gone myself. 

It makes me sad to think that my 'babies' will be 5 in just a few months.  I miss having a baby in the house.  Still, I am blessed to see my children grow and change into thoughtful, caring people.  This growth in their lives is precious to me.  I wonder, does God see me in that same way or does He wonder why I am not growing in this area or that area.  I understand the great joy of seeing my children grow and become more kind and patient and thoughtful.  I wonder if God sees that in my life or if, at times, His heart is breaking for my lack of kindness or patience or thoughtfulness.  So, Lord, on this special day, may I not be the same person next year as I am right now.  Make me, Lord, more like yourself this year so that next year I can look back and see that I have grown in You.  As I seek to raise my children for Your glory, may I not forget to continue to grow myself to become more like You each day.

I Love My Monsters!

Okay, I know, I know, before you say anything.  My kids are not monsters, but it is fun to pretend.  The kiddos love to be monsters one month out of the school year.  This month is monstrously fun in our classroom.  Carson Dellosa has the cutest little monsters ever.  I got the multiplication monsters and the reading monsters bulletin board sets last year.  This year, I converted the monster name tags into calendar cards and got the peek-around monsters to add to our fun theme.

I love cute, colorful, decorative accents for the classroom.  However, I believe in using these accents for teaching opportunities.  Joy is just beginning simple multiplication concepts (i.e. multiplying times 0 and 1) while Joshua is beginning more difficult multiplication families.  The mulitplication monsters are a great teaching tool.  The reading monsters picture different monsters reading in bed, at school, for fun, etc . . . Although they don't teach anything specifically, we are going to turn each monster into a word family for our special sounds.  One monster will feature -ck in duck words, one monster will feature ch- in church words, etc . . . The peek-arounds were one of my favorite additions this year.  I laminated large sheets of black construction paper for the monsters to peek around.  Each adorable monster in my class will choose their favorite book, I'll make a color copy of the cover of the book and we'll display our favorite books around the room.  The other peek-around monsters will hold our best work this month and display it on the wall.

We'll use our regular show-and-tell time this month to allow the students to share their favorite book that is displayed on the wall and tell what they like about it.  It is a fun and easy way for my little monsters to practice oral book reports and oral reading.  Each student will talk about their book and read it to the class  (well, Bethany and Brittany might need some help with the reading part). 

Then, to top it all off, we'll design our own monsters with colors, paint, glitter to display with our monsters on the wall. 

Books on CD

This post may date me considerably, but I think I'm mature enough to deal with that (I should be at my age).

When I was a kid, my mom found a little record player at a garage sale and a few books with records.  Yes, I'm that old.  I still remember listening to those books.  The Tale of Briar Rabbit was a favorite of mine.  You would start the record and it would read the book to you and I always loved the page turns.  "When you hear the chimes ring like this, you'll know it is time to turn the page."  I loved it.  Before I learned to read and even after I was a very advanced reader I just loved to sit and listen to the books.

Now, of course, things are much different.  I have lots of fun books on cd for the kids.  Most of them are from Scholastic.  I do occasionally use the cd's; however, there are so many of them that I tend to have trouble organizing them all.  I imported all of the kids' cd's to my itunes and loaded them on my ipad.  The kids enjoy listening to the books and following along.  The younger children (pre-readers) enjoy it just as much as my older children.  I even have a few chapter books for the older children which helps them to make that sometimes difficult transition from short books to chapter books.  I like Scholastic books on cd because the add fun sound affects, background music, etc . . . Some audio versions are available directly form itunes.

I've had these soft armchairs since we moved into the house.  The kids grab a book, an ipod, and snuggle into their 'reading chairs' to enjoy a good book.