A Touch Of Tyrell

Last August Jake and his good buddy moved everything we owned from WA to AZ... including the last 8 jars of raspberry jam I made from Pam's raspberries.  Once you've had homemade freezer jam, you'll never want to eat any other type of jam. At least that's the way it is for Jake and I.  The other day we realized that we only had a tiny, tiny bit of raspberry jam left and I started to fret. There's no way I could buy enough raspberries here (at a decent price) to make more raspberry jam so we decided to make strawberry instead. A few years ago, Pam (my mother-in-law) taught me how to make freezer jam. The directions in the box are very clear but it's always nice to have someone show you how to do it the first time.  You'll need your fruit (some recipes in the box call for a little fresh lemon juice, too), sugar, and pectin. I've always used the reduced sugar pectin in the pink box. It's usually found in the same aisle as the sugar,...

This is Everett's very first "how to" post.  How to ride a horse... or anything for that matter! Step 1: Find your horse. Any size will do.  Step 2: Sit on it and ride! Oh my gosh, this little kid cracks me up. He did this almost a month ago and then the other night Jake asked him if he wanted to ride a motorcycle... so Everett ran and got his toy motorcycle (not much bigger than a hot wheels car) and sat on it. He is the best!

A few months ago a friend of mine was talking about a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious. I didn't study it too closely, but from what I understand it is filled with recipes that you can hide a pureed vegetable (or two) in and you won't even notice. She mentioned that you can use the purees as baby food too. I never even thought about making my own baby food.... so I went home and googled it. (I google just about everything). I found this great website . Its super simple. You cook/steam/boil whatever you are making, puree it, and freeze it. For example: Yams. I peeled and cut them into big chunks and boiled them until they were soft. Then I put them in the magic bullet with some of the leftover water (I'm sure you can use a blender, food processor, or a fine strainer) and blended them until they were baby food consistency. I used a really fine handheld strainer and mashed them through with the back of a spoon at first. It took 1,238,462 years to do half a yam. So I inv...

How to Jump rope Step 1. Grab your jump rope and go into your garage or to your back porch (so no one can witness what you are about to do). Step 2. Start with the rope behind you, swing it around front, and jump over the rope. Step 3. Woops. Stop…. and go pee. Step 4. Ok. Try again. Repeat step 2. This time smack the top of your shoes with your rope. Try again. And again. And again. Step 5. Go change your shoes. They must be too big and that’s why you can’t jump the rope. Step 6. Repeat step 2 again. This time smack yourself in the back of the head. Almost yell a profanity. Step 7. Get real frustrated and think to yourself, “DUUUUDE why can’t I do this? I did it all of the time in elementary school. Cinderella dressed in yella…..” Step 8. Try step 2 again. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…. OOOUUUCCCHHHHH! That’s going to leave a mark on the back of your leg. Step 9. Go pee again. Remember, you have a post pregnancy body now. Step 10. Try again. Maybe it’s easier with only one leg. Nope. Definitely n...

For those who have had trouble commenting.... If you ever want to leave a comment and the system is being mean to you/you don't have a google account....this is how you do it: 1. click the word comment at the bottom of the post 2. Write what you want 3. Where it says: "Comment as" ...click the arrow 4. 2nd to the bottom, click name/URL 5. Just type in your name (such as Dad/Mom/Homeskillet) in the name row (nothing in the URL) and hit continue 6. Click "post comment" 7. Then, of course, de-code the distorted message and post your comment! That's it. And I cherish every comment.... so comment away!

I almost don't even know what to write today. Yesterday was a real hard one. I haven't slept for more than 2 hours at a time for the past week and a half and it caught up to me. I really don't mind getting up with our little squirt at night.... if he would go back to sleep. On page 18 in Tyrell's book of How To you will find 'how to deal with lack of sleep' and the answer is almost always cry. Crying doesn't fix anything or make you feel better.... it actually makes you more sleepy and look terrible, but for some reason it just happens. I have been trying to write Everett's owners manual. Sounds terrible, but actually I am just trying to write down when he sleeps and eats and how long and other important details. So far he has slept for 3 1/2 hours in the last 12. I'm so tired. One thing is for sure.... how do you do this with other kids at home.

How to preserve a Krispy Kreme doughnut. It has taken a few years to teach Jake that air is the enemy (food's enemy). I think he has a hold on things now!