Southern Homemade Biscuits

     There is nothing like a warm, buttery homemade biscuit to go with your dinner or to go with your southern breakfast! Everyone assumes that the word "homemade" means there is going to be all these ingredients, all these steps, and its going to take forever. That is not the case at all. You can make homemade meals very easily, you just to get to thinking about it. Here are some homemade biscuits that my family can't get enough of.

All you need is:

- 2 cups All Purpose Baking Mix

- 2/3 cup of  water

- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract

-3 tablespoons of Butter 

-2 tablespoons of Honey

      Preheat oven to 450.  Mix all together until dough forms.  You have two options here.  If you are in a hurry, or making these to go with dinner and don't have the time to roll them, all you need to do is drop the dough, by the spoonfuls, in the desired size of biscuits and bake.  If you decide to roll the biscuits out and cut in them into rounds you will need a well floured surface and will need to roll out to desired thickness, and cut out with floured cutter.  Bake at 450 for 8-10 min.

     While the biscuits are baking mix up 3 tablespoons of butter and add 2 tablespoons of Honey. Melt butter and honey together. When biscuits have about 2 min left of baking, remove from the oven and brush honey butter mixture on top, bake the remaining 2 min. When you remove the biscuits from the over, brush again with mixture. Remove from pan and Enjoy!  Just writing this recipe out made me want some, they are that good.

High School Sweethearts- Together 12 years!

      When I was younger, I was NEVER going to get married, NEVER going to have kids, and absolutely NEVER be a housewife. Well, guess what? I am all of the above, funny how that works out. My parents split up when I was a baby. I spent every other weekend and most of the Summer with my grandparents and my dad. My grandparents have been married for 50+ years and have a very old fashion relationship. My grand father runs the business and works hard. My grandmother handles everything else; she cooks everything, cleans everything, handles all the bills, and even the book keeping for the business. It has always been like this my entire life.

     I've always been a very head strong, independent, vocal girl/women. I was always taught to stand up for what I believe and don't let anyone tell your wrong, if you feel strongly about something and know its right in your heart. I use to argue and argue with my grandfather that I would never cook for a man, clean for a man, or wait on a man. I always told him if I was going to be with anyone he better remember that he has two arms and two legs and he can do it himself. I also always said I was going to adopt kids that my best friend had for me. This was all true for me until I met the love of my life, who ever thought I would have met him when I was 15 just a couple of years after I was having these arguments with my grandfather.
   

     As of today, my husband and I have been together, as a couple, for 12 years. It's hard to believe that we have been together this long. Our relationship feels like it has been much longer then that, but has absolutely been worth every hard time, every good time, and all the ups, downs, and winding road of not knowing what could happen. I wouldn't change our life for anything and I am so thank for for him and the way our life has been built together from the ground up. I love you Mr. Scott and have from the very first day.

     If I had to give any "relationship advice" it would be to always remember that your going to have arguments, fights, disagreements, moments where you need your space, or he/she may need their space, and that's all okay because you love each other, and not only should it all be okay but each of you should remember that no matter who you are with these problems will occur, and all relationship take work, hard work. Put that work into your current relationship, don't run if you are having problems, fix the problem, don't throw it away. 

   

Daddies mean Fun, Mommies mean Business- Who's the favorite parent?

      The other morning I was watching one of the morning shows, I'm not sure if it was GMA or maybe The View, but one of them were talking about The Wendy Williams Show and how she had an emotional show because her son wanted to go live with his father and she was no longer the favorite parent. This got me thinking, favorite parent? 

     I like to think I am the "favorite" parent. After all, I am the one that cooks all your food, washed all your laundry, cleaned up your throw up, ya know all the mom things. Ha, that doesn't make me the favorite parent, those things aren't even probably considered. In our home, my husband and I are both the, so-called favorite parent in different ways and needed in different ways and I am okay with that because we're a team. My children come to me for every question in the book, except when it comes to having a piece of candy, going fishing, going to the go-cart track and arcade, staying up just a little bit later, having a extra late night snack, etc. stuff that mommy will surely say no about. Then my children come to me for everything else and it always starts with mommy. Mommy, do you know where my other shoe is, Mommy, when is it breakfast,lunch, dinner time?, Mommy, can I have a  snack, or piece of candy, the list goes on and on. Story of our mommy lives huh?
   

    However, Every family is different and has a different dynamic. In your family how do you think your kids look at you and do you think they have a favorite parent? I'm sure at different moments, just like we did as kids, liked whichever parent was letting us do whatever we wanted and would let us get our way. That's just the circle of life. I always knew when I was growing up that my Daddy meant we can always do something fun, and mom meant business, we also would do great fun things but only after and if we had worked hard and did what we were suppose to. (I'm glad my husband agrees with this "parenting philosophy" of my mothers, and we raise our children this way, we think it's important for them to know to work hard then play hard)So here is the Question I have for you all:

     How does it work in your family? Who do your children consider the "favorite" parent? Is it like our house, where we are each the favorite for different reasons, in different ways? If you are separated, do you and your other compete to be the "favorite" parent? 

     I think we all want to be the favorite parent, the one they come to for everything. I feel that as long as we are always there for our children whether they ask for us to be or not, just knowing we are there for them. It shouldn't be which parent is the favorite but that both parents are there for their children for the good and the bad, the fun and the sad, and whenever they are needed and some time when they are not. Our Children                             may grow up but they will always need us to be their parents. 

Valentine Truffles (Oreo Cookie Balls)

*Warning, making these could cause you to have your cheat day early and the possibility of a tummy ache due to eating too many!

Valentines Day is right around the corner, didn't we just celebrate Christmas yesterday? With Valentines coming up the sales of chocolate candies will be probably at its highest. Instead of buying chocolate candies this year make some of your own. This Recipe is for Valentine Truffles which are Oreo Cookie Balls. I make my Oreo Cookie Balls a little different then others, but you make them how you would like. The warning at the very beginning of this blog is a REAL warning. I always know if these get made, I am going to eat them, this time I was able to control it and didn't have any until this morning ( Yes, I had two for breakfast with my orange juice, Don't Judge)     (<< Just typing that gave me the sudden urge to workout, lol) You can add sprinkles to these as well to make them more decorative if you would like. My family likes them with just a side dipped in chocolate, but if I make them smaller I do cover them fully.

This is also a very simple recipe with 3 ingredients and 3 steps. This recipe is so simple that the older kids can do it themselves and the little ones may need only a little assistance.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

- 1 package of Oreos

- 1 package of 8oz Cream Cheese

- Baking Chocolate

1} Crush the entire package of Oreos. You can just crush them all up yourself and this will leave little bits of cookies actually in there. This is how I prefer to do them. You can also put them in a food processor or blender and get the Oreos well grounded to a fine powder.

2} Add Cream Cheese, softened. Mix well. If you have decided to crush up the Oreos with little bits of cookies in there, continue to mix until well blended. ( It's easier if you mix with your hands) Once it is well mixed, roll into desired size balls.

3} Melt Baking Chocolate. (Remember if you are melting in the microwave, the chocolate can burn easily, melt for 30 sec, stir, repeat till fully melted.) Once chocolate is melted dip the balls in to either fully cover or to just dip the top in. -Once you have dipped all the cookie balls, place in fridge to allow chocolate to harden and they are ready to enjoy!

**If you would like to add Sprinkles or any other topping, like crushed pretzels, add once the balls have been dipped, before allowing the chocolate to harden,

Science Fair - The 4th grade project that almost earned me worst mom ofthe year award.

     In my world, it only revolves if everything is planned out accordingly and everyone is doing what they are suppose to, the house gets cleaned like its scheduled, and everything runs perfectly. Then I get sick, and it falls apart. That is just how life as a mother and wife is, especially here in the south. I have a very traditional house hold and I choose to have it that way. I do not like when my husband helps with anything other then folding laundry or doing dishes.. and he can sometimes cook ( He can do that anytime honestly) but I think that, he is the one that goes out and works and makes most of the money, so I take care of the house chores, cooking, most of the kid care, and making sure this house hold runs like a well oiled machine. Well since I had been sick for over a week now, the house was starting to look like bums lived here and things were not getting done on time or how they needed to be. I started feeling better after going to the Dr. and getting some medicine. Good thing I did because when I started cleaning up and going through the mountain of papers accumulating on my counter I saw my sons Science Fair Project papers that reminded me it needed to be completed by today. All I could think was, " I am going to get the worst mother of the year award." I was also thinking that that is so not like me to have forgotten something like that.

     Luckily there were parts to his project we had already completed we just needed to do the experiment itself and get it all put together. We went to buy the fish needed for his project of Do Fish Breathe Underwater, to study if different fish breathe differently under the same circumstances, such as tapping on the glass or flicking your finger in water. I purchased 3 fish, one being a gold fish (Here is a new parent rule to add to the handbook - If the original topic of the science fair project is Do Goldfish breathe differently then other fish, buy an extra gold fish). We woke up this morning to a dead goldfish! Luckily we were able to still do the project just change the name, and I must say my son did an amazing job on his project!

(*This afternoon my son came home and said he had lost one of his E's, I told him he could get another one to take in.- As I look at the picture that we took last night he had already lost it and I didn't catch it! I was almost cross eyed by the time he was ready for a picture from all the science fair experiment and stuff everywhere. Oh well! It looks great and he did an amazing job!)

     All he has left is gluing it all to the board and they are doing that in their class tomorrow. I am very excited for him because he worked very hard, even though it was a struggle at times It's ready to go!

"Have you had to do the Science Fair? How did your child handle it for their first time and do you have any tips for us for next year?"

Make a Change Monday - Healthy Life Style Changes

     We're two weeks into the new year and are you keeping your resolutions? It is a little hard to get into the routine of working out and meal planning to make sure you are eating right. This year start on the right path with these 3 easy ways to achieve your health goals. Read More....

This was a contributor post done for Mom It Forward 

How do you handle opposite work shifts of your spouse?

     At the New Year my husband received a promotion to Superintendent! We are so proud of him, he has worked so hard to get to this point in his career and actually fulfilling his dream. My husband has been in the construction field for 10+ years and working hard everyday. I couldn't say enough how proud I am of him. We are high school sweethearts so we have grown up together and it is a proud moment to watch him achieve all that he has worked so hard for. The only problem that has come with this promotion is that it is night work. The job that they are doing has to be fully operational during the day.

     Now I know I should be thankful he's working and I am very thankful that he is because it is what allows me to be a stay at home mom and housewife. However, it does suck and it's hard, night shift work is hard on anyone but I have come to realize it is hard for the whole family as well. When my husband is coming home in the mornings, we are getting up and I am getting the kids ready for school. When my day starts, his is coming to an end. Even though it is just a temporary change in our life it is a big one, we are a very close family with family movie nights on Wednesdays and family game night Thursdays.

     We're on week 2 of this 12- 15 week job and even though it's not getting any easier, I think we are getting on a routine; Dinner, Spending quality time with the kids, Making sure we still have date night and family activities on the weekend. Thinking about how crazy and switched around our life has been lately prompted this blog... I want to know:

How do you handle you and/or your spouse working opposite shifts and still making sure you get the family time in always? What are your tips and tricks?

You put what, in your Spaghetti Sauce?

Spaghetti is a favorite around here and it is something I try to not let anyone see me cook because I live in a house full of picky eaters. My husband and children are "sight eaters" if it looks funny or they see you cook it, and you don't cook it like they think you should, then they are not eating it. A ingredient that I add, honestly sounds weird going into spaghetti and you will probably stop and ask yourself you put what, in your Spaghetti but I do, I add Sugar.

Adding Sugar to you spaghetti helps neutralize the acid that comes from the tomatoes. Now you may ask does it make your spaghetti sauce sweet? It can, but if you only sprinkle a little,1 tablespoon, over the top, then it should not change the taste, just do what it's suppose to and that's to neutralize, so you don't have all that heartburn!


Do you add sugar to your Spaghetti Sauce? I have also heard that adding a carrot to the sauce will help neutralize the acid in the tomatoes as well.

Big Dreams in 2014

     Happy New Years Everyone! 2013 was a great year, it had its ups and downs as every year does, but we made it through and here is a New Year already. This year I have major goals I will achieve and it's going to be a big year! Every year I set goals and think about the lifestyle changes that I want to make. Do you set Resolutions or Goals for your self for the New Year? For 2014 I have Big Dreams for my family, my business, our home, and personally. I want to make 2014 a positive, happy, and productive year. I want to focus on whats important and not waste my time on things that are not, in all aspects of my life. What are you Resolutions or Goals?

HAVE BIG DREAMS IN TWO THOUSAND - FOURTEEN