Robin's Nest

I am pretty sure the answer is you don't...something has to give. Yesterday was DH birthday and the little ones were on me like white on rice, I did not get to spend any time with him at all besides having a slice of pizza and a piece of cake. So I thought since the little ones got up at 0200 and my hip is really bugging me any way I may as well get up and clean something. I will start with this pile beside DH chair and then move to the stuff behind the chair. While at work he called me wanting to clean the kids room,  I explained to him that I would get on that first thing tomorrow. He said I needed help with cleaning so I said what about doing the dishes or feeding the chickens? Of course he claimed those items were already accomplished, so I suggested there was certainly something that could be done in the main living areas that I would consider more helpful than their room.  I say this because the little darlings will mess the room back up in 30 seconds flat. And when you l

Yesterday our supervisor came to us to let us know that census is low and hours will have to be cut back. You could have heard a pin drop while she was in the room but as soon as she left panic was running wild. This morning a quietness gripped report that could be described as mournful. Then the whispers started and next thing you know the "what ifs" took over. As they worried and mumbled I tried to assure them it was just till census picked up. But you can't always predict what will happen and some folks just cannot "wait" they must know what will happen next. This next month should be interesting. Now back to the chaos that I call home. I was tired last night so I really was glad till have two crock pots full with something the family could have without much work on my part. One had northern beans, onions and ham hocks and the other chili on the less spicy side. The two kids opted for cereal lol. They are a little picky.  I wish I had taken a picture of the

Here it is December 27th and I am still trying to get gifts in the mail! This Happens every year it seems...I have great plans to be ahead is the game but rarely do I actually get there.  In my house I am still trying to get caught up sorting through the chaos of every day life, never mind getting packages out to the post office! With that said I am finding very hard to resist the after Christmas sales. It is a very good thing I am having to work every day 6-2...or I would probably be out shopping every day! And with January being a no spend month I will be avoiding shopping for extras. I will keep you informed on how that is going...  my youngest of the thirty year olds had suggested that for Christmas next year there be no gift exchanging with anyone..to do with your own family as you want but that our get togethers be just that..get togethers to enjoy family not count gifts.  I am feeling inclined to agree. I really hate receiving gifts but I love giving gifts! So in support of

Wow! I wish I could say I was really impressed with the bone broth... but I can't.  It seems like it turned out the right way in which it gelled but the taste is so blah...  Why would anyone pay $9 a cup for this?  In all fairness I am going to try some of the variations in the book before I bail on this idea.  After all I did make a gallon of it.  And there are three quarts in the freezer! I just finished bagging up the French onion bone broth and hopefully it will be better than the original... Now on to a better project.. the Christmas gifts for the residents. My five year old and my three year old helped me make 29 rice socks this morning. I had purchased a fifty pound bag of rice and it took almost all of that just to do that many. Now I have to make slip covers for them so that they can stay clean longer. above PJ places the sock over the canning funnel so she can pour the rice in easier this is her pouring the rice into the funnel this is the almost completed

A few posts back I said I would post a picture of two of my favorite books both by Jonni McCoy well here they are These two books are so full of helpful information and some of the best recipes! I know you can find them on eBay and there are newer editions out there but I am partial to the editions I have. This is where the chocolate syrup recipe that I am going to share with you comes from currently Hershey chocolate syrup is $2.00 a bottle at the commissary. I can't speak for Wal-Mart as I have not looked for it there. But as a rule the commissary is a bit cheaper than Wal-Mart on name brand products. Well here goes.... Chocolate Syrup 2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup cocoa powder Stir these together in a heavy bottomed sauce pan to combine and get rid of any lumps in the cocoa Stir 1 cup cold water, mixing well, add 1/4 teaspoon salt Bring ingredients just to a boil over medium heat then take off stove and allow to cool. Once cool stir in 1 tablespoon vanil

Chaos is my middle name, or at least it seems that way... For several days I have not had time to blog, sew, bake or do anything but clean. There are no plans for company for the holidays, I will be working half days for all of them. This will keep me busy each day running the household and being ready for which ever family we plan to visit that day. I know on Christmas day my son in law has invited every one over to visit so we will take the grandkids gifts to them that day. This is their first Christmas in their own home so it will be special for all of them. And it will be our first Christmas without them in a long time! I think Christmas eve we will go see Genny and Renee after I finish at work. Then we have Glenn and Mary to visit, also I imagine church at some point...after all of this our two little ones have been promised Christmas eve will be the day they get to open their gifts. Not the tradition I had growing up but since I work the next morning it may be a good idea. Time w

Sunday, Dec :13 Whoa today started early the littlest one got up at 0130 and started awake till 0407..3 minutes before my alarm was scheduled to go off! So now here I am at work trying to stay awake and positive! It can only get better right? When I got home last night I had no idea what dinner was going to be...But a quick look in the freezer above the fridge reminded me there were two Italian sausage patties that I had purchased a while back and the littlest was trying to open spaghetti noodles from Friday's trip to the commissary... So spaghetti it was!! Pj likes to open cans with the electric can opener so going into the pantry is a chore she likes, it means she gets to run the can opener lol! Oh to be thrilled again by simple pleasures... I felt somewhat productive on arriving home last night, I managed to get the girls dinner, feed the chickens, cleaned the litter box, fed the cats, bathed the girls, vacuumed their room, picked up all the toys, washed two loads of laundry,

As my alarm went off this morning I realized that the kiddos had slept through the night. So I hit the snooze button and at 0425 DD 5yo came stumbling into the room. I pulled her into the bed covered her up and got up to get ready for my first day back to work after three days off. Err three days of babysitting and trying to keep even with the current mess the little ones were making. I am making a conscious effort to limit you tube on our phones, the little ones love watching but it really influences their little minds and not always for the better. With terrorism the way it is and their use of social media who knows how early they can influence a small child. I rejoice in the knowledge our Lord and Savior knows the future and it is not my job to worry about what is next. It is my job to shape the children in my care and protect their hearts and most importantly teach them about Christ and the saving grace that is available to  them. And I might add do it with patience....that is my

Boy what a day! The little ones really slept in!! The first yell for mommy did not happen until 0430! I felt like I must be on vacation... with a nanny to boot. With that refreshing extra sleep I got up and made pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon.  The kids were not impressed with the cheese in the eggs... funny thing is when I make breakfast burritos I use the same cheese and they love it. No matter they only eat what they want most days anyway.   So with the chickens fed and my list made we headed to town the first stop was the Bx to pay my military Star card and see if they had anything that might work for the little ones to give their cousins for Christmas... the girls went crazy adding things to their wish list.  Luckily they are at an age where I can say yes I will put that on your list and let Santa decide what he can get for you and it works. This will be a really quick post as I work very early tomorrow and I am exhausted from babysitting and trying to come up wit

Good morning Thursday! Again an early wake up call made by the little ones at an impressive 0330...they slept in! So of course I tried to do the same....no such luck I tossed and turned and thought of all the things I need to do that alone should have made me tired! But when you live in clutter, relaxation is usually out of reach. So last night I took a picture, this is the messy abode belonging to the little ones, to use as motivation to reorganize and remove excess stuff. I began by just moving all the stuffed animals out of the room...The ones I could find that is Then I sorted then into 2 piles, one too get rid of and one to rethink. To my surprise even when the little ones got up they did not seem upset to see their animals in two piles. Perhaps they are tired of the mess too. Well I asked a question of one of the blogs I read and 8 hours later still have not seen an answer at all, I guess it was a dumb question.  It doesn't matter I trIed the recipe as written.

It is easy to have Tuesday become Friday, when it is your last day for the work week. Then begins the work week at home. My goal is to declutter a small space in my home. It will be a very small space because that is all I can get done in two days...maybe only half that. Another goal is to donate the excess stuffed animals around here. If I can get one area done I know I will feel a bit better. Rise and shine time was 3am so surely something on my list will get done today.  I would like to get up and talk to God each morning but most mornings the littlest is up before the crack of dawn and then the chaos of the day begins... Frequently I talk to God on my way to work, as this is my best quiet time.  one day  the chance to hide God's word in our hearts will be gone. So I really want to work on that more with and without the little kids hanging on me.  I am looking for inner peace through the quiet time I can glean at two am...except there is not any quiet in this house at that

Last night when I returned from the trenches of working....I found that my new toy had arrived! Alexa from Amazon proclaimed to be my new assistant...first and foremost she scared the daylights out of my five year old. Here she is showing me her handiwork with decorating the tree. The other two in the picture are the reason for her frustration most days lol! But last night Alexa was more than she could handle.  I am not sure I'd by her again just because DD is so afraid of her.  Now the littler one in the picture is really excited about my new assistant but with her speech impediment she can't say "Alexa" so nothing happens like when the other one says it. So when I say Alexa....she quickly turns no mama I tal to her then in a tiny voice says " adeda woo you pay itty bitty spider por me? To which Alexa says nothing.....rude i tell you, just rude.   I woke up to a flat tire...although I did not know it was flat so I loaded the car, warmed the car....pro

Good morning! Here's to hoping for another beautiful day, only warmer.  Someday I will a book. It will be titled "murder at the medallion"  I was finishing my last day off when I received a text message warning me that one of our resident's little dog had been killed by another dog while on a walk around our building, also that the other dog was on the loose. The owner had been found and arrested on unrelated charges. The dog that was killed belong to a beautiful woman who just lost her husband in September and she had been feeling quite under the weather, so her daughter had taken the dog out for her when he was so viciously attacked.  We were all very thankful that she had not been there when the event took place. But with all the sadness going on in the world the last thing we needed was a tragedy for our residents. Bj belong to an independent couple but he regularly visited anyone and everyone he could.  Bj was a miniature Schneider, a picture perfect version. He

Well it is Saturday and I am done with shopping for all but two of the local grandkids the oldest of the two is 17 and the last one is 14 gonna be 15 three days after Christmas. Next comes wrapping the bought gifts and finishing the homemade gifts... And finding someone to stand guard over the tree so nothing is opened lol! I actually found one of the things that DGS asked for online so I ordered it and I shall put some die-cast cars that he pointed out at king soopers in with it. This year we, meaning my daughter and I, had decided that Gramma and Gramps were getting one thing for each kid and only the small children would exchange gifts this year.  After all the grown kids have everything under the sun they could possibly need and most of what they want. Then our goal is to make January a NO-spend month. I had wanted to make each of the grandkids an afghan for Christmas this year but I think I will start on that this January and begin with yarn I have on hand. That should keep gr

How much sleep do you really need? If you live in my house not much most nights one or the other or both wake up around one am and stay up till after 0430. I left for work today with both of them awake and ready to play.  I wonder sometimes how I get anything done. Actually I don't get much done even on my days off.  I find myself so tired I get very little a accomplished. Life goes on and so does the laundry...take a day off and see what happens in the laundry hamper! So Santa dropped a few gifts of in August in case he got snowed in for Christmas but a little person found them.  Then Santa left some other stuff.....again the little person found them. Santa really needs a better plan! But Santa has to work so coming up with quick hiding spots isn't always that easy.  Even more challenging when small people don't sleep. We try melatonin with them but it only lasts about four hours and then they recharge...not me I just plug along and hope I remember what day it is. Ou

Noma's birthday came and went. We sent her an edible bouquet... I love those treats! If we lived closer I would have to learn how to make these yummy treats and all the kids would get one at their birthday! We sent a small one because there are just the two of them to eat it. But truthfully I plan to send a large one for Christmas eve they usually have guests and it's their 51st wedding anniversary. I did not make it to their 50th party they had this past summer. The party was planned for the summer so people could travel without the worries of winter driving.  I thought that was very sweet if them.  We forget our parents and their friends are aging even as we are but in our mind we remember them as being younger.  That makes missing a party or a holiday even more sad. I hate winter driving with small kids in car...heck I hate driving when it's just me in car in the winter. I had to drive in the snow all last week and then on my days off it is quite nice. I am thankful fo

The hardest part of my job is dealing with other medical professionals...I suppose I use that term somewhat loosely.  I work in assisted living currently, and to me that means you are asked to assist the resident.  I encounter several assistants who feel that if a resident calls for assistance to say put on a sweater that abusing the call light system as they could easily walk to where "assistants"are and make the requests in person. Somehow the reasoning of that escapes me. This is thanksgiving week so I really want to do some fun things with my little ones and also teach them what it means to be thankful...however right now it is barely six thirty and I am exhausted and they are wild!!!! It is hard when you get up at 0330 and then work and come home to kids who have not eaten and just want candy or junk...oh well he does the best he can.  My eleven year old granddaughter just climbed into the toddler bed with the littlest and started telling her a story and I think the

Good Morning blog world! Today is a very nice day here for November. I have my first load of towels on the line, the chickens have been fed as well as the kids and DH has asked fixed the heater fan in my car. So now I can go to work in heat...  I am really trying to get the house in order for the upcoming holidays and it is no easy task. Not having a dryer for a week really allowed the clothes to pile up and it is time to sort through the summer things and the winter to pack and unpack the same. Not that it will get done this day off, but soon...I hope.  I took off to town to get a list of things done...but I didn't write a list and I took both little kids. That alone should tell the rest of the story. All I accomplished was getting one gallon of milk, dropping some stuff to the goodwill truck and spending $72.  I am embarrassed that I could spend that much and only get two things on my mental list ....who do I blame? Before we left I hung the last load of laundry for today a

Today is the last day of school before the thanksgiving holiday break..ten days off is enough reason to send any kid to school!  It seems like a very long break for the most part but what can you do :)Originally I had planned to take a trip tool see my family but that changed  I don't have any big plans any more since the day nurse quit getting any more than two days of together just isn't going to happen. So I talked with my manager and came up with a sorta good plan....I will work every day for the next 10 but only a half of a shift.  I hope that will give me time till get ready for the holidays and catch up on cleaning.   Our dryer isn't working right now so freeze drying the clothes is my plan! Actually it didn't seem that cold outside so they should dry by supper time. Unfortunately in that loss there was a Paper soaker pad for a pull-up, overnight style yep they absorb a lot!!! Then they explode in the washer...and are not a lot of fun to clean up... B

Rain, rain go away...sort of.. I want it to rain on the days I work not my day off!  Am I being too picky? Probably but it is too hard to use my solar dryer in the rain and our electric bill is finally manageable. It is the middle of November already and I have made no alternative income to try to pay down my debt.   I have definitely gotten in over my head.  Cosigning for cars that are not even for me started the downward spiral.  Of course once you sign for a car then every credit card on earth welcomes you with tempting credit offers and of course I took almost all of them. Luckily over the years I have managed to pay off most of them... but not all and there are still two of the cars that I signed for still waiting for payment. Today I went to court to discuss what options might be available to pay off one vehicle.  While their offer is more than fair I am unable to meet that amount. The plan is to find a way to earn extra that can be given solely to the debts. I have been able

Most people do not dread the weekend. Then again most people don't start their work week on Saturday evening.  I work 2-10 Saturday and Sunday, then I double back Monday morning for a 6am-2pm shift. Tuesday is supposed to be a 6am-2pm shift but generally last till 5pm because of doctors rounds. So if anything needs to be ready for Monday morning for the kids then really it must be complete by Saturday morning.  I get Wednesday through Friday off because I give every other Wednesday to the other day shift nurse. Then I babysit my 2 year old granddaughter every other Wednesday through Saturday morning so her mom can work.... I am tired just thinking about it. In order to get ready for the week I made a paper list of stuff I needed from the store. That was definitely a good idea! I actually remembered to get most of what I had on the list. Before I left for the store and to do our running around I had made a list of some of the meals that were going to be made that week. Chicken fri

As I try to clean a spare bedroom that was used for two of our grandchildren while their family lived here I thought how much easier disassembling this bunk bed if I had a friend to help me.  That got me thinking, that I can probably count on one hand the number of people that I call "friend". And of those I am pretty sure I would never invite any of them to my home.  So are they my friends? Do I actually have any friends? Then comes the question do I really need friends? It reminds me of the commercial that says 'I need an MBA, I don't need an MBA".  Back to the cleaning I am doing and why I am doing it. The spare bedroom is really a walk-in closet for the original master bedroom...er second original master bedroom and will soon be new sewing space..at least that is today's plan.  Six months ago it was tear the wall down and make the two rooms into two bedrooms for clients so that I work at home instead of outside the home. But then kid number six had to mov

This morning came early today... I have no real idea when either of the girls came crawling into our bed but it was still dark outside.  Yesterday my list was short but today it was even shorter.  I made up my mind early that I would clear one counter today and I managed to get that almost all the way done before school was over for the five year old.  For some people that may only take a few minutes to an hour but for me it was done between juggling three cats three kids and six months worth of clutter.. The other day I posted about the three year old that threw beans into my butter, cracked eggs on my floor and other fun things.... well most days she just walks past the counter reaching for whatever she can get and pulls it to the floor.  My plan today was to clear the longest counter in the kitchen and to move the microwave out of her reach.  Not only did I get this task done I also got the kitchen table cleared and one load of laundry done woo hoo me!!!  She also enjoys turning o