Parents of a Dozen

How to make an American Flag out of a pallet!

2016-07-02T18:36:00.001-04:00

We are getting ready to have a 4th of July party so we made a very cute American flag out of a pallet that we had from our roof project we did recently.

The Best Oriental Chicken Salad Ever!

2016-01-29T20:05:00.001-05:00

One of our all time favorite recipes is Oriental Chicken Salad. What I like about it is that it is easy, healthy, delicious, and the kids love it! What more can you ask for?

Outdoor Christmas Lights

2015-12-17T15:58:00.000-05:00

Christmas is the one time of the year that brings joy to so many people! With all of the preparation, shopping, and planning, the Christmas Season can also bring stress!

We love decorating for Christmas and we have so many decorations. This year to simplify and make it less stressful, we only put a fraction of our décor out, and love the simple look!

The one thing I miss is our out door lights like we did a couple of years ago. We put lights on the whole house! This year we only have lights on the lower part of the house and some of the bushes. It was just too dangerous to have my hubby or boys climb all the way up to the high peaks of the house. I was going through old pictures and thought I would share them with you.

Do you put Christmas lights out?

Do you go crazy with decorations?

You may enjoy seeing some of our other Christmas posts!

DYI Christmas Ornaments

Our Christmas Tree (I can’t believe how different our décor was a few years ago)

A Merry Christmas Letter and Pictures Dec 2011

Parents of a Dozen: Our Christmas Décor! (This is one of the years we went all out on our decorations!)

Dec 2012

Parents of a Dozen: A Simple Way to Wrap Gifts!

Tip #14: 10 Ways to Save Money During the Holiday Season

Parents of a Dozen: Super Easy Delicious Chocolate Pretzel Cookies

You may want to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see more pictures and updates!

Doug and Sharon Heasley(Parents of a Dozen)

DIY Fall Leaf Candle Holders and Vases

2015-10-05T07:23:00.001-04:00

This was a very fun project to do with the children. We love lighting candles, so when I saw this Pinterest idea, for candle holder, 2 years ago, we were going to make them then, but by the time we dried the leave we didn’t get to around to it. So this year we did it without drying the leaves and used some of the leaves we dried two years ago. The kids had fun and we now have some cute fall candles holders and vases.

Mexican Taco Casserole! Yum, Yum!

2014-10-29T04:48:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone! It has been awhile since I have posted. My time has been occupied with many other family events and activities and and those come first. You could see updates on our family if you follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Now on to a recipe you will want to Pin and make, especially if you like Mexican food. We have several favorite meals that we make a couple times a month. Mexican Taco Casserole is one of these family favorites and it is really easy to make. This is a recipe that I have made changes to through the years. I am going to post the original recipe, and then tell you the changes I make. I usually never follow recipes 100%. I use what I have on hand or make changes to taste.

A Day at the Zoo!

2014-06-02T11:15:00.001-04:00

This past Saturday we had a very beautiful and enjoyable day at the zoo! Our older children were working so we just took our youngest 5 children. It has been a couple of years since we have gone and everyone had a great time.

Do you think about your Bone Health?

2014-05-01T01:02:00.000-04:00

There are so many people suffering from bone loss as they get older and people don’t realize they need to make sure they are supporting their bone health while they are young to prevent issues as they get older.

Most people think that bones are hard, lifeless parts of their bodies. Actually bones are living organs full of blood and cells that are an active part of our overall health. Far from static, our bones are constantly rebuilding themselves and growing stronger or weaker depending on how active we are and how well we are supplying the nutrients they need.
It is a fact of life that our bones lose minerals as we age. Bone loss starts around 30 years old. If left unchecked, bone loss can lead to osteoporosis, a disease in which the bones lose minerals such as calcium until they become fragile and break easily.

What are the challenges?

Bringing Home the Bling: 2014 Sochi Olympics

2014-02-28T20:38:00.001-05:00

Our family followed the Olympics for the last few weeks and were so proud to be associated with a great company like Shaklee, who had 24 athletes, 10 of which won medals, choose Shaklee for their health and performance products. Safe, effective, and easily available to everyone, from regular people, to weekend worriers, to Olympic athletes is what makes Shaklee so great.

We have trusted the Shaklee products for the passed 15 years for our family and we have never been healthier. Shaklee is the number one Natural Nutrition Company in the United States.

Healthier Living with Non-toxic Cleaners

2014-02-08T13:11:00.001-05:00

Did you know that when you have conventional cleaners in the house, you also have a Toxic Brew in the house? We know a lot of people who are having many health issues that are directly linked to the cleaners that are in their home. We started using all natural Shaklee Cleaners 15 years ago and our children are healthy and our one daughter doesn’t break out in a rash anymore.

One of our favorite cleaners is the Scour Off paste. It is great for cleaning ovens, stove tops, sinks, tubs, cookware, and it did wonders on this tea pot.

Parents of a Dozen Story

2014-02-01T00:58:00.001-05:00

We are Doug and Sharon Heasley, “Parents of a Dozen!” Yes that’s correct, parents of 12 children. We have been married for over 30 years and couldn’t be any happier than the day we first met. We are the “High School Sweet Heart” couple.

We got married at 19, bought our first house that was really small and needed tons of work, had our first daughter at age 20, and had to have our friend buy beer for us if we wanted any until we were 21. Imagine that! But time has flown by and now we have three children married, two with families of their own, each having 4 children.

Our Daughter Got Married!!!

2013-12-31T14:36:00.001-05:00

We have a new addition to our family! Our daughter, Elisabeth, got married and we have a new son-in-law, Brandon, and are so blessed to have such an awesome addition to our family. Now if you follow us on Facebook and Instagram you would have seen all the updates as they happened, a few months ago. I am behind on posting to the blog because we have been busy with many projects, along with some blog issues, and will be updating you hopefully soon.

This is a picture of our entire family minus our eight grandchildren. This includes our two wonderful son-in-laws and our beautiful daughter-in-law.

Thanksgiving Day!

2013-12-19T16:16:00.001-05:00

Sorry, This is posting so late. I have been having problems with our website for weeks now and my domain name. It didn’t renew as I thought it did and a company bought it. I am in a long process to try and buy it back. Long Story! For now I have to use Parentsofadozen.blogspot.com. I hope I am able to buy it back, because right now all of my links go to .com, which is really messing up every post and all of my tabs. Sorry for the inconvenience! I thought I would post this anyway. Better late than never!

We have a lot to be thankful for; our family, friends, food, house, and a job. We have been very blessed through the years especially with all of our children. We feel that each and every one of them have been the the biggest blessing. We could not imagine what life would be like without them. They have been very good to us as well.

We had a small gathering for Thanksgiving. Our oldest daughter and her family were on vacation for the week and our oldest son and his family were at the in-laws house for Thanksgiving. So the day just wasn’t the same. below are some pictures from the day.

New You for the New Year! Special!

2013-11-07T09:17:00.001-05:00

Get a head start on a healthier 2014 with this exciting new offer and be rewarded with $100 of FREE Shaklee product!

Our daughter Elisabeth, was always on the chubby side when she was young and she struggled with her weight for years as she realized she was heavier than most of the family and her friends. She had tried several diets and never had good results that lasted until almost three years ago when she used the Shaklee 180 products. She lost 40 pound and then has been able to keep it off.

This quite possibly could be the last weight-loss program you'll ever need!

This is our daughter!

Add Charm to the Back of a House

2013-09-30T23:20:00.001-04:00

Three years ago we had a storm that came through our neighborhood and our trampoline blew into our house and damaged the aluminum siding, broke a window and ripped some screens. You could see how we rescreened the damaged screens here. Instead of replacing all the siding we choose to add an overhang, lights and shutters. We had the work done last fall and I am finally posting about it. I really like the new look and the benefit of having the overhang to block some rain. By having the break in the siding with the overhang we were able to replace sections of the siding and not have to replace all of it.

Throwing a Party Country Style! Part 3: Food

2013-09-27T05:05:00.000-04:00

Do you like to have themed parties? We have been to a few, had an awesome time, and decided to throw a Country Party for our daughter’s 16th birthday. Food is always a big part of ~~our~~ most parties and we wanted to stay with the theme of the party and serve what we thought of as good country style food.

To start with we had peanuts and popcorn as snacks to munch on. They were in cute containers everywhere for convenience and it added to the decor.

Corn Dipping: How to Boil, Butter, and Eat Corn on the Cob!

2013-09-02T09:39:00.001-04:00

We love to have corn on the cob this time of the year. It is so fresh and tasty. This year the corn crops were good, so we have been able to buy the corn for 10 for a dollar. What a deal! It is a great side to serve at family cookouts and get togethers. The Corn Dipping is fun for everyone. (video below)

Earning Extra Income the Fun Way!

2013-08-31T10:01:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to our Shaklee global conference in Nashville, Tennessee and boy was it great. Our group was well represented as we had over 20 people in attendance.

One member of our group, our daughter, Elisabeth, from Beauty Blondie, was even chosen as a winner of the healthy competition. Not only did she loose 40 pounds on Shaklee’s 180 Weight Management Program she is living a healthier life.

Room Switches: Our two year old gets her own room

2013-08-16T16:40:00.001-04:00

This week we started to set up our daughter, Mary’s bedroom. She has been in our room since she was born, and now that our daughter, Elisabeth, is getting married in just THREE WEEKS (I can't believe it is already here!), we are going to be moving just about all the children into new rooms. Yes, all the other children are jealous that she gets her own room. There are 10 children in the house, we have six bedrooms, and never used the basement bedroom before, other than as a gest room and toy room. We don’t like having our children in the basement because we have done that at our old house and we rarely saw the children that were down there. We have our own room, finally! Our daughter is moving out when she gets married, our 26 old son was moved down to the basement bedroom, the three younger boys, 12, 9, and 6, are moving to the large bonus room, the 19 and 17 year old boys share a room and the 16 and 14 year old girls are going to share a room. So where do you put the 2 year old? By herself! Who else wants to share a room with a two year old that takes naps and goes to bed early most of the time.

This room was our almost 26 year old son’s room. I should have taken a picture of it before I moved him to the bedroom in the basement. You could see his new room farther down.

In this room I am going to paint the walls, bed, & mirror, and pick bedding, curtains & new wall décor. (All of the black was from my son’s room.) I just thought I would share some pictures along the way.

Throwing a Party, Country Style! Part 2

2013-07-19T12:10:00.001-04:00

Earlier this month we threw a Birthday Party/Country Hoedown for our 16 year old, who just loves country music and décor. You can see our décor for the party HERE. Everyone had so much fun and we had something for everyone to do. We also had country music playing all day and night.

There were plenty of games; Croquet and Bocce ball.

Throwing a Party, Country Style!

2013-07-13T10:35:00.001-04:00

We had a surprise birthday party for our 16 year old daughter, done country style! We decorated for a country Shin Dig and used furniture and décor that we had around the house and have collected the last couple of months. We also rented straw bales and even had everyone dress in country attire. As I was adding pictures to show you and I realized it was going to be way too long so I decided to split this into three posts. Today I am going to show you our décor.

FREE Shaklee Membership!

2013-07-03T17:23:00.001-04:00

We have been using Shaklee products now for 15 years and we have never been healthier. We want to share a special where you could join for FREE. It is a FREE Shaklee Membership with the purchase of one of the most popular products, the Vitalizer. We take the this daily and we know that we are putting the best into our bodies and we feel great. The membership fee is always waived with the purchase of the Vitalizer and there are so many benefits to becoming a member….

Spray Painting to Refresh and Add Color

2013-06-29T08:51:00.001-04:00

Things have been very hectic around here lately. I thought the summer would give me more time to post with the school being done, but as you could tell that is not happening. (If you have been around here for a while you know that I home school several of my children.) I have been trying to work on projects, but there is always something going on around here which makes it very hard to finish the projects we have started. Here is one of the simple projects I did, spray painting our watering can and sprinklers to refresh and add color.

How to Paint Your Broom to Match Your Décor!

2013-05-31T16:15:00.001-04:00

Two years ago we did some renovations/remodeling to our main floor and we went very neutral with our paint choices and décor. I like to change up our décor and add color with the different seasons and holidays. In the past when I had certain bold colors for our walls and curtains (burgundies/pinks and forest green, don’t laugh.) I really didn’t like to put out pumpkins in the fall, or spring decorations because they really did not match our house. At Christmas I never wanted a touch of red it had to be burgundy. I really like having everything very neutral so I could make color changes with the change of seasons and holidays. For the spring and summer I have been adding the color green to our décor. So with a few pillows, accessories, and a little spray paint I am able to refresh the kitchen and family room. Well, I spray painted my broom! I am going to tell you how and why I did this.

Pottery Barn Inspired Wine Bottle Centerpiece!

2013-05-21T17:24:00.001-04:00

I have been changing things up in our house and have been meaning to post about them. I have all kinds of pictures and have started several post but I get in the middle of one post and never finish it. While I write this one I realize I never wrote my follow up post on our new couches and our Craig's List table and chair finds. I will get to those soon, but for now I wanted to show you our new Pottery Barn inspired centerpiece.

I really love the Pottery Barn store, but …

Our Daughter-in-Law is Being Featured in 5 Magazines

2013-05-03T23:05:00.001-04:00

Our daughter-in-law, Ann Marie Healsey, is being featured right now in 5 magazines for her Mom Cave Makeover! She has a very creative blog that you are sure to enjoy.