Taxi please!

I really should be known as the taxi lady. My kids go here. They go there. They go absolutely everwhere! No. Not because I'm one of those Mom's who never says no. I'm talking school stuff here. On any given week, I make between 20 and 25 trips to town just to cart the girls to and from school, and to and from after school practices and meetings. I do it for a couple of reasons. One: Because I know that all that extra-curricular stuff will look great on their transcripts when the time for college gets here (and that's getting closer by the minute). Two: because the kids really enjoy all this extra stuff. And, three: because I wasn't able to do all of this when I was a kid.

We really couldn't afford all of these trips when I was growing up. We had one vehicle and Dad was using it to go to work. I rode the school bus, and there was no one there to pick me up. I guess we all want more for our children than we had, huh?

Anyway, it's Monday again...The beginning of another week of shuttling the young'uns to their many meetings. I'm tired just thinking about it and Friday is looking pretty good right now. But, ya know, when I get really frustrated with it I think about how much my kids love school and how they all made the A-honor roll this semester. This Uber Involvement has really kept them focused and for that I am so grateful. It is worth all the running in the world to see my kids be successful in school, so I suppose I shouldn't complain.

Time to down another cup of coffee, take a deep breath and gas up the SUV.....another school week is here and I need my energy as I find my comfort in the chaos of their school days!

My Keurig & Me

Christmas time brought along with it a brand new addiction for me; my Keurig. You see, my dear Mother-in-law had one and every time I went to visit, I so enjoyed relaxing with a gourmet cup of joe. I'm a coffee addict by nature, usually downing two or more pots of the gloriously caffeinated liquid each day. When we make it to the big city outside our little town, I love to pop into Starbucks and get myself a grande cup of the flavored stuff. So, the idea of brewing up a cup of this nectar in only a few seconds is somewhat of a miracle to me. Needless to say, I was more than just a little elated to find my very own Keurig beneath the wrapping paper at my Mother-in-law's house on Christmas morning. Yep, she's the best...the most ROCKIN' Mama-in-law in the whole world! And, now I have my own Keurig shining brightly from my own kitchen counter beckoning me morning, afternoon, and evening to enjoy just one more cup of bliss....Problem is: I'm going broke! I can't stop drinking this stuff. I am SO addicted to it. I keep an inventory of my little K-cups from one morning to the next, and if I were to be completely honest, I'm kind of excited when I start running low. It only means one thing to me: I get to try a new flavor! There are so many different culinary experiences awaiting me and all it requires is one more trip to the local Wally-World for my dreams to become a reality. The expense is really getting out of hand, yet I see no end in sight. Do I regret receiving this machine now that I have encountered the financial burden of purchasing my endless K-cup collection. Ummm....Heck No! I would live in a cardboard box just as long as I have an outlet to plug my Keurig into. It keeps me going, makes me feel just a wee bit special, gives me a sense of euphoria with each trickle of coffee from this brewing beast! Here's to the Keurig: The greatest invention of the twenty-first century. And, here's to those special moment when I drown out the chaos over a piping hot cup of heaven....complete with whipped cream when it's been a especially hard day.......Speaking of which: I think it may be time to take another road trip to Wally-World....I may need an intervention y'all!

Country Decor

Okay, so I love country decorating. I love the prim stuff, the old stuff, the rusted stuff, stuff with paint chipped and distressed. To me old means character, and character inspires me! Our home was built in 1890, and nothing would please me more than to have the entire home decked with reminders of the past. But, alas, I must take things slowly and improve a little at a time. I've been scouring antique stores and craft stores for little additions to add to our home. Like I said, I'm doing things a little at a time, so it won't be happening overnight. I have however, picked up a few things that I love, and had one piece handed down to me from my Husband's Grandmother.

First of all my favorite: the rocker that rocked the Hubster's Grandma

Now, here's my little addition. I love old bowls and I found this rusted old bowl at the local antique shop, but I had no clue what I was going to do with it. Then I had the genius idea of filling it with this cool garland that I picked up at my favorite antique/craft store. The garland is made of balls wrapped in homespun fabric. It's pretty cool and I'm sure it would be easy to make. You wouldn't need anything more than Styrofoam balls, homespun fabric, some glue and and needle and twine...  You could use it for so many different things, to decorate mantles, containers, or in my case, to fill a rusty bowl:)

I have this sitting on top of my pie safe...too cute!

I love this whole decorating thing. It's so exciting; a great chance to put a little more of yourself into your home. I'll post more as I add to my treasures!

Who has time??

Okay, so I've been scouring websites for new recipes to try out on this big ole whoppin' family of mine. And I have found quite a few good ones lately, but let me tell you I have found a few that look like the ingredients would have to be flown in from God only knows where just so that you can even make them. What's up with recipes that leave you feeling a wee bit inadequate in your culinary skills? I mean really, some of these ingredients are things that I have never even heard of. Give me a break! I wanna see recipes with ingredients like milk, eggs, sugar, flour...You get the picture. And on top of that, what self-respecting, kid carting, house cleaning mother has time to cook stuff like that?  Cause if she's spending that much time on the meal then the laundry and housework will NEVER get done. So, here's a shout out to all you cooks who use REAL recipes and serve them to REAL families; to those of you who gather around the table in T-shirts and jeans instead of coats and ties. Here's to you!

This is a little sampling of some that I ran across this week while surfing Pinterest (my new FAV site!). I'll just post the links here and let you check them out. They're all easy to make, with recognizable ingredients that you probably already have in the fridge or pantry. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope they bring a little more comfort to the chaos of your kitchen!

Slutty Brownies (Yeah, I know...what a name, right?) It's cookies, brownies, and oreos....No way you could go wrong!

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplins: One of my Hubster's favorites!

Chick Fil-A Inspired Nuggets: Now, y'all need to know that Chick Fil-A nuggets make my toes tingle...I love, love, love those things!

Last but certainly not least: Cheesy Chicken Crescent Rolls....You will all realize soon enough that if one of its ingredients is crescent rolls then this country girl is gonna LOVE it!!!

The Stanky Dog

My hubby, five children and myself have always lived out in the sticks. We're country folk by nature born and raised. He comes from the foothills of North Carolina and I spent my youth in the Triad. Both of us grew up running around barefoot across gravel or grass, playing in creeks and ponds, and living a life of freedom in the beautiful country.

Last year we migrated to the city life....okay, so this "city" has only a couple of stoplights and a tiny population, but to us it's still a city. We have rules, like no burning our brush in the backyard, and there are neighbors close on either side. It has been a huge adjustment, but we love our new home and have been quite happy here.

One issue we did run into was that of what to do with our babies, two gorgeous chocolate labs, Sadie and Jumper. Sadie and Jumper have always been free, running and playing outside. In the summer they cooled off in the pond below the house, and in winter they rested at our doorstep unless it got really cold and then they happily tromped indoors and hung out with us where it was warm. But, with leash laws that accompany our "city" living, we wondered what to do. My mother-in-law has been keeping an eye on them back home for months now, as we struggled with whether we could stand to see them pinned outdoors in a lot, or if we should bring our two oxen inside with us. We finally decided to bring them in and let them finish out their lives resting on fuzzy pillows in front of a crackling fireplace.

Friday, we loaded them up and headed for their new home. They had been outdoors rambling for weeks and the smell was HORRIFIC! We cracked windows and dropped by Wally World for some smelly dog shampoo certain that it would eliminate the stench. Unfortunately, this did not work. We have tried everything to no avail and the smell was making it nearly unbearable to keep Sadie in the house. The smell was all hers. Jumper was fine but poor Sadie was nauseatingly stinky (or Stanky as we in the south prefer to say)!

Sadie has had issues with her ears for years. We have been taking her to the local vet back home and spent more money than you can imagine trying to clear her ears up. Ear Mites is what we were told plagued her, yet no medications ever cleared her ears. After all this time, she has been left with thickened ear flaps, and cauliflower like ears with little entrance into her ear canal. I scheduled an appointment with a vet close to our new home. We loaded Sadie up in the van, and headed off to the vet on Monday. The smell was so horrible that we rode in freezing cold weather with the windows down and heat pumpin'.

I am so frustrated! The vet said there were in fact NO MITES! All these years, we have trusted the advice of a vet who was misdiagnosing our precious doggie. The new vet (who is now my new BEST friend!) cultured her little ears and found that she was full of bacteria and yeast. We have started her on a regimin of antibiotics and sprays to hopefully get control of her poor ears. We're giving it two weeks. I'm heartbroken, because if this doesn't give her relief, we'll have to put her down. She's so sick and in so much pain. To top it off, I had the vet check a mass I found in her belly this week. She has breast cancer and it seems to have already spread.

I'm happy to report that the "stank" has left our home. The medications that the vet prescribed seem to have done something to fight her infection. She is a normal doggie now at least as far as the stink factor goes. Our goal is to make Miss Sadie feel better, to give her some relief, to let her live out what time she has left peacefully, by the fire, at our feet, and with lots of love.

**Oh and the tip of the day for those of you with a STANKY doggie roaming around your house comes straight from the vet. When I asked her how in the world I could stand the smell in our home for one more minute, she suggested opening up a bag of charcoal and putting it in the room where they're hanging out. The charcoal absorbs the odor. Give it a try. If your poor pooch is stankin' like mine was it'll be worth having a big ole bag of charcoal in the corner!

Do you find comfort in chaos?

Hi! Welcome to Comforting Chaos! I'm Fran, a wife and mom to five girls. I'm a homemaker, full-time student and all things that fall under each of these titles, i.e. nurse, chef, administrative assistant, taxi-cab driver, psychologist, etc. etc. You get the picture.

With a family so large, as well as two chocolate labs and a kitty named Paris, our lives are usually quite chaotic. Our girls are involved in EVERYTHING that they can possible get into with school and sports, so most of the time we are running back and forth, here and there and when we are lucky enough to spend an entire day at home, it's full blown CHAOS and I love every single minute of it!! I find comfort in the chaos, so much so that I do believe that when all these kids are grown, I'll be lost without it. Hopefully, they'll come back with a house full of grandkids who'll comfort me with their chaos.

This blog is meant to be a collection of stories of our chaotic lives, a source of encouragement, a place to find recipes and helpful tips to manage the chaos of a big ole happy family, and a little chuckle now and then. Recipes that I will post will be those that are created with ingredients that most of us have (not some gourmet ingredients that you have to drive across country to find), and that anyone can easily make. I'm a country cook, so they'll likely be fattening, but oh so good! 

So, come on in....

Take a look around, and find a little comfort in the chaos! 

~Fran