EWWWWW…. The Tale of a new Vacuum….

I have been wanting a new vacuum for awhile. We got a cheap one when we moved here, but the kids sucked up paper and other assorted wrong items… needless to say it didn’t last long! Constant problems!

I started to look into different kinds, I borrowed a friends Dyson. Great cleaning but I it was a little pricey for me and there was a couple things that bugged me. My sister recommended I get the Bissell pet, she has had one for a long time with 2 huge shedding dogs.

Also, I have trouble pulling the trigger on anything that costs more than $24.99, so I waited. I waited. Then I waited some more. Until one day, while we were doing chores, the vacuum broke a belt (a belt I had just replaced) so I threw a tantrum and went to the Sears online store and bought one…

3 hours later I vacuumed and it was disgusting. I did a 6 foot X 6 foot area 3 times. Then I gave up and began to look forward to buying a house again and not having carpet.

Vacuum session 1

Vacuum session 2

Vacuum Session 3

And still this much dirt!

This is where I quit, gave up and thought about wood floors…

My daughter rocks!

Terann found a shirt from Papaya that she wanted

But she didn’t have enough money for it… she scrounged around for loose change, but was still short.

Yes I could have given her a $1, but we are trying to get away from buying things just because we want them.

She convinced her dad to give her his only plain white tee. She got our her scissors, charcoals, sharpie, fabric, needle and thread and made it herself. I don’t think she is quite done, but I am sharing the picture anyways.

Isn’t she awesome?

This makes me happy…

I am not sure which makes me happier?

This:

Or this:

Or this:

We love a good banana muffin (with chocolate of course), but there is some problems with making Banana Muffins… Firstly I thought I didn’t know how, and Secondly only broccoli goes bad here. Never a banana!

I solved the first issue when my little sister asked me to make banana muffins while I was at her house. She pulled out the recipe. The same recipe my sister Kat uses… Yes a recipe out of a cook book I gave them. Yes a recipe from one of my friends… Maybe I haven’t tried muffins in a few years is the bigger problem!  I made Amie and Rich a huge batch of muffins, and they got consumed very quickly. Apparently I can make banana muffins!With the right recipe of course.

But that does not solve problem #2 the fact that I have 4 children who love fruit. I have Josh. I once seen Josh eating a pear, beside him was 2 oranges, a banana and a yogurt, to top it off. I have never had more than 1 banana go “too ripe”. I took it as a challenge, double the amount I bought… Nope didn’t work. Until finally I bought double the amount of ugly banana’s. Not one got eaten! I bought 6 or 8 lbs last week, which means lots of muffins!!! Yay me! 40 muffins later with enough in the freezer to make more later, I am banana muffin content!

Here is the recipe, it belongs to Bunny Kitt from Cranbrook. Bunny is a great cook, a frugal cook, and the smartest woman I have ever met in my life!!!

Banana Muffins

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup mashed banana

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup chocolate chips (Ya right, better double that!)

Blend first 4 ingredients, mix well, add all the dry ingredients and mix lightly. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Words of Wisdom by Meliah

“You should dye your hair soon mom, I see LOTS of Gray”

“NEVER ever put your leg under your butt when you have gas!”

“Ewww it stinks here, it smells like Aunty Kat” when we went to a health food store.

What would I do without her insights!