Remember this? . . .

بدلة العريس

Remember last week when I posted this?

Well, I should have known to go straight to the technological expert in the house for my answer. When I showed it to him (Matthew) this morning, he immediately copied it, and headed off to Google for an answer. When he pasted in this – بدلة العريس – he was rewarded with a screen full of pictures of tuxedoes. That was our first clue. Then he went to Google translate and pasted it in. Here was the result -

Translation: Arabic (automatically detected) » English
بدلة العريس The groom’s suit

So, I guess that answers my question.

Google obviously sent someone to my blog as a result of this post. Go ahead and check it out, because I’m a mother and I just can’t help myself!

Another mystery solved.

Blessings,
Nancy

Pigs in a Blanket

Always a popular meal around here (unless I put mustard in them, which I stopped doing since one person – who will remain nameless – can’t stand mustard.), we had this for dinner last week with french fries on the side. I think I got the recipe years ago in a magazine, but I noticed they have been putting it on the side of the crescent rolls can lately. Here is the way I make them, although I always double this recipe ~

Ingredients
8 hot dogs
4 slices American cheese
1 can (8 count) crescent rolls (refrigerated)

-Cut a slit down the middle of each hot dog.
-Fold a slice of cheese in half and then in half again (you now have four pieces)
-Fit two pieces of cheese into the slit of each hot dog.
-Wrap each hot dog in a crescent roll and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
-Bake at 375 degrees for about 12-15 minutes, until rolls are golden and cooked through.

Kids especially like this one!

Blessings,
Nancy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ September 28

Good Morning! Here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .a beautiful day on hand today ~ sunny and a high of 82. We’ll be spending some time out of doors today, for sure.
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I am thinking. . .I guess nothing in particular! I’ve sat and stared at this category for too long and can’t “think” of anything to write!
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From the learning room. . .just the basics this week ~ reading, writing, math, and spelling. We will be spending the extra time on cleaning out and organizing all around the house, and enjoying the beautiful weather outside.
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I am thankful for. . .God’s work in the lives of my children ~ this past week I have had the privilege of hearing four of their testimonies about their relationship with the Lord and it has blessed my heart so much!
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From the kitchen. . .Nachos and Spanish Rice for dinner tonight.
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I am wearing. . .Navy t-shirt and denim shorts.
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I am creating. . .nothing this week, but my quilt is starting to call me again ~ I’ve neglected it all summer long and I’m thinking of picking it up again.
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I am going. . .to be looking out for new books in the mail this week that I ordered from Amazon ~ always fun to look forward to!
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I am reading. . .books for school with the children.
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I am hoping. . .someone can get the printer working . . . again.
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I am hearing. . .the waterfall in the pool running, bugs chirping outside, Tommy tapping his pencil (he’s waiting for me to help him with Math).
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Around the house. . .many sunburned people after a church outing all afternoon at a friend’s farm yesterday, many unfinished projects that I hope to tackle this week.
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One of my favorite things. . .decorating my house with pumpkins ~ from the wee, tiny ones to the medium sized “pie” pumpkins, to the large ones on my front porch.
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .library, monthly Keepers club (Laura is teaching about taxidermy), cleaning and organizing.
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .

A pretty new Fall basket.

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To read more Daybook entries, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook,
and have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy

Mushroom Village

Earlier this week, when the rain stopped for a few days and we were able to get outside again, we were pleasantly surprised to find a little mushroom village had sprouted up in the mulch bed under the Crepe Myrtle trees. There must have been 40-50 mushrooms making up this quaint little village ~

We spent some time looking at them closely and feeling how soft and squishy they were. I especially like the fanned underside of the mushroom. We got out paper and sketched them for our nature notebooks ~

It was fun to imagine little people (Michael is reading “The Littles” series) living in the mushrooms, or at least maybe some wayfaring insects who might need a little shelter from the raindrops ~

I always feel like mushrooms are a special treat, because they pop up without notice and are always a fun surprise!

Blessings,
Nancy

Okay . . .

. . . so, this is what someone Googled that led them here -

بدلة العريس

Any ideas what this means? Or even what language it is in? And why in the world did Google send them to my site when I’ve never written anything remotely similar to this?

Ah, the mysterious world of the computer . . .

Blessings,
Nancy

Baked Spaghetti

This is a delicious Spaghetti casserole that feeds lots of people. I have taken it to new mothers a number of times, and always have gotten great reviews. It is easy to make and wonderful with a green salad and bread.

Ingredients
12-16 oz. spaghetti, cooked and drained
2-4 Tblsp. butter or margarine
1 Cup Parmesan cheese, divided
24 oz. Ricotta cheese
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar Pasta sauce
8 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese

Combine hot, cooked spaghetti with butter in 9 x 13 dish. Stir to melt butter.
Add 1/2 Cup Parmesan and stir to coat.
Spread Ricotta cheese over spaghetti. Sprinkle with 1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese.
Brown ground beef, drain, add Pasta sauce and cook until bubbly.
Spoon sauce over cheeses.
Top with Mozzarella cheese and remaining Parmesan.
Cover with non-stick foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes
Uncover and bake another 15 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Have you figured out yet that I love cheese?

Blessings,
Nancy

Happy Autumn!!

Today is the first official day of Fall! We will be celebrating with Soup and Grilled Cheese sandwiches for dinner with Apple Crisp for dessert, or maybe even Apple Dumplings - we’ll see how the day goes. I have a few more decorations to hang – mostly my Fall berry garlands and of course, pumpkins to set around.

I hope that your day is cool and crisp and cozy – just like this time of year!

Blessings,
Nancy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ September 21

Here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .a freshly mown lawn, squirrels scampering about starting their fall business, Jack enjoying the nice weather.
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I am thinking. . .about this busy week!
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From the learning room. . .Studies about the Moon, Christopher Columbus, Autumn poetry, beginning a music study of Bach, lots of reading, and working on our Book of the Centuries to name a few morsels of our week ahead.
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I am thankful for. . .the comforts of home.
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From the kitchen. . .dinner will be Baked Spaghetti (I hope to post the recipe this week), Salad, and Sourdough Rolls.
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I am wearing. . .navy shirt and denim shorts.
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I am creating. . .an ABC book with Anna, and a Color book with David. We work on them every Friday – cutting out pictures from magazines and glueing them on the letter or color page of the week.
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I am going. . .to be neck deep in laundry today, like Caroline Ingalls always said ~ “Wash on Monday.”
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I am reading. . .too many to record – all with the children – no time for anything else!
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I am hoping. . .to make an Apple Crisp for dinner tomorrow night for the first official day of Autumn.
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I am hearing. . .Anna singing, David brushing his teeth, Missy (kitty) licking the chair – don’t ask me why!
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Around the house. . .lots of dishes, lots of laundry, a messy house left over from a busy weekend.
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One of my favorite things. . .evenings at home ~ just family time.
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .putting things in order, orthodontist, ice skating, preparing for and attending a wedding, and celebrating the beginning of Fall!
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .

I bought this dish years ago to display in my home. It is reminiscent of the one that Laura Ingalls Wilder had in her home. I have always loved it!
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To read more Daybook entries, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook,
and have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy

And finally the sun!!!

After days and days of cloudy skies and rain, rain, rain the sun is finally shining brightly today. I’m not complaining about the rain – it has been a welcome change from the hot temperatures that preceded it, but after a week of gray, the sun surely is a lovely sight.

We have been learning about the Sun this week, and making weather charts, which were getting a mite repetitious with the clouds, but I think I’ll run outside today and do all of those shadow activities that we were deprived of doing all week.

I think that I am not the only one who will be enjoying the sun today ~ the kitties have been taking turns in the open windows all morning !

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Nancy

3rd Annual Labor Day Cup!!

Last week we celebrated Labor Day with our annual Labor Day Cup competition. We spent several hours running silly races and competitions with the kids, who were divided into teams of two members each. It all culminated in the winning of the Labor Day Cup by one of the teams (who will be announced below). This year’s games consisted of the following:

Egg Toss
Jarts Throw
Hockey Shot
Horseapple Gallop and Roll (this was a riot, as Jeff made each of them whinny and gallop before they rolled the horseapple!)
Sack Race
Water Balloon Launch
Oreo Stack
Car Race (no, not real cars)

I won’t go into detail about each event like I did last year. If you want to read about most of the events, read last year’s post - but we switched some of the games out for new ones this year, so you’ll just have to imagine the one’s that are missing!

I do want to share some of the highlights of our day, however, so here we go ~

Egg Toss -

Unfortunately, the eggs are the real losers here -

Horseapple Gallop and Roll – this was Anna’s favorite game . . . she loved pretending to be a horse!

David did great in the Sack Race – even if he did come in last -

Anna shooting a water balloon with the launcher -

Of course with water balloons, things usually get a bit out of hand – the kids started chasing each other with the leftover balloons. I think Ryan has already been hit at this point -

Jeff, who is really just a big kid himself, got in on the fun and dumped the water filled cooler all over Michael -

Inside for a break and the Oreo Stacking Contest – such concentration -

The always popular Car Race, which ends our competition in an exciting way and usually decides our winners -

And the winner this year was the team of Laura and Anna (I was forbidden to show the picture I took of Laura) – better known as the AFC team, which stands for the “Albert Fan Club” (if you watch the old Little House series, you’ll know who “Albert” is) -

When we were all finished awarding the trophies and candy, Jeff fired up the grill and roasted some hot dogs for dinner -

And a dip in the pool makes a great ending to a fun event -

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,
Nancy