Have you seen and wondered how to make those adorable 3D lollipop Valentine’s Day cards?

We just made 60 in a single afternoon, from start to finish, and they were so simple and fun!

With these easy steps, you still have time to make your own before Valentine’s Day.

1. Start out by taking a photo of your child with a fist extended. Make sure the fist is to one side so the sucker won’t be covering the face when inserted.
2. Order one hour wallet size prints.
3. Cut out around the child and glue onto Valentine card.
4. Make a little slit and stab a sucker in through the fist. Some of the girls only wanted to make one hole, so the suckers needed to be taped down on the back side of the card. Others were fine with making two holes, so the sucker end is seen on the front side (as shown on the first photo at top).

I am a big fan of letting children do the designing, cutting, gluing, etc. themselves, so I don’t mind if the product is not picture perfect, although I think it’s hard not to be with these since they’re so stinkin’ clever!

This week The 4 Moms of 35+ Kids are sharing our favorite large family desserts.

Be sure to check out what desserts the rest of my team is sharing:

• Raising Olives
• The Common Room
• Life in a Shoe

Here are a few of our favorites:

Funfetti Valentine Cupcakes

Chocolate Banana Pops

Brownies on a Stick

Easy Homemade Caramel Corn

What are your favorite dessert recipes?

Leave a link directly to your dessert recipe post and be sure the post includes a link back here, so your friends can join in the fun!

My children claim that I will laugh at anything. They often have little contests to see who can make me laugh the hardest. I am a happy person! Is that so wrong?

Here are a couple of things that have made me laugh this week:

• I like to review this old post and video whenever I’m deleting comments from my Youtube channel. Yo. Youtube commenters seem to have an extraordinary amount of free time on their hands.

• I love a well worded ad. And this Craigslist ad for “feral, ferocious and bloodthirsty barn cats” is the funniest I have ever seen.

• All the kids gathered around to watch this video of teens who… um… might need to spend a little more time reading.

What have you found funny lately?

Have you ever seen a really great sale on whole chickens at the grocery store and wished you knew how to cut up a whole chicken?

I have, and that’s why I was so excited to attend another session of “Hearts and Hands” wherein the older women in our church teach the younger women different skills, like candy making, how to make strawberry jam, making homemade Bisquick mix, and more.

First, reach into the cavity and remove the gizzard, liver, and neck. The chicken will need to be completely defrosted in order for you to do this, so if it is has been frozen, it will need to defrost in the refrigerator for 2 days or so.

With a sharp knife, cut the wings off where they join the body. You will be able to feel where the joint is and the knife will slip in between the bones if you are in the right place.

Next remove each leg and thigh portion together as one piece. Again you will feel, with your knife, the joint where the thigh connects to the body.

Now separate the legs from the thighs.

Find the point where the breastbone, or “wishbone” ends.

Make a deep vertical cut until you feel resistance against the knife. Now make a horizontal cut to remove the breast portion.

Now you will separate the front of the chicken, where you just cut the breast, from the back. This will require cutting through some small rib bones at the sides.

You will be left with the lower front portion, which you will cut into two pieces, down the center, and the back. Cut the back into two pieces down the center, and split each of those in half.

You are through cutting!

Here are two options for breading the chicken for frying:

The “flour-milk-flour in bowls” method

or the “shake it in a bag” method.

Either way, you will want to use this tried and true fried chicken coating recipe my family loves.

Place the chicken pieces in a pan with oil that has been heating on high heat.

After about 8 minutes, turn each of the pieces over. Let then fry for 8 more minutes, then turn the heat to medium. Fry for 20 minutes more, flipping once again after 10 minutes.

Remove the pieces to a plate lined with paper towels.

Now, pour all of the oil out of the pan except for about 1/2 cup and make some of my homemade country gravy to enjoy with your fried chicken!

I’ll soon be back to posting about homeschool, crafts, recipes, and large family living. You can expect to see a chalkboard paint tutorial later this week.

But I am asking you to think about something hard one more time.

Abortion.

I have nothing to gain and even quite a bit to lose by talking about this. I’ve lost readers, here and on my Facebook page. You may be wondering why I won’t shut up about abortion.

It isn’t because I want to pile on guilt and condemnation to those who have chosen it. I have friends and relatives who have had abortions.

It isn’t for the warm, fuzzy comments and emails I get.

I have been called insensitive, intolerant, judgmental, ignorant, idiotic, horrible, creepy, and more. I’ve been told to “give it a rest”, it’s “overkill” (which I thought was an interesting choice of words), that I’m spreading propaganda, and that posting about abortion is “inappropriate”. (Actually, the word was “UNappropriate” but we won’t discuss grammar in this post.)

This factual and historical video sums up the reason I can’t shut up. No matter what side you are on, or if you are not sure where you stand, I implore you, please, PLEASE, take a few minutes to watch the entire thing. (Email readers will need to click through to view the video.)

Then share it with your friends.

Innocent lives are depending on those who are willing to stand against evil on this issue.

*Contains disturbing images.

Remember when I introduced you to our rooster, Justice?

Well, he is a lot bigger and fiercer looking than this now.

Much like this. Only more aggressive.

So, yesterday I was minding my own business, gathering eggs from the hen house and checking to see if we have any baby goats yet, (it should be any day now) when I was suddenly and violently attacked by Justice!

It was exactly like a scene from Jurassic Park. But with more feathers. And high pitched screaming.

Fortunately, my 15 year old son, our “good hero”, saw the attack and came to my rescue with a long stick. For the sake of my more sensitive readers, I won’t give the details of what happened here, but don’t worry. Justice is still alive and kicking. For now.

In case of future attacks, I’ll be employing the tips some of you that are Facebook fans gave me on what to do with aggressive roosters. (Again, sensitive readers will want to shield your eyes.)

I will say, though that the Son vs. Justice throw down reminded me of a phrase my mother used to use. Something about beating the tar out of me. Thankfully, I never pressed her to find out if she would.

Too bad Justice didn’t follow my example.

*Warning: This post contains disturbing images. Do NOT scroll down if you do not want to see what happens in Planned Parenthood clinics.

I guess you have heard that Susan G. Komen has withdrawn support from Planned Parenthood.

I shouldn’t be shocked, but really I can’t believe the uproar about it.

Susan G. Komen is a breast cancer fund raising group and Planned Parenthood is a baby killing organization.

“But Planned Parenthood provides mammograms!” people cry. (Click that link to see if they REALLY do.)

Frankly, I don’t care if they pass out baby kittens at children’s cancer hospitals and perform wound care on amputated soldiers.

I can’t get past the dead babies.

Can you imagine if there were a high profile, popular sports coach who made a habit of regularly molesting vulnerable, innocent children? And everyone around him knew about it? But they all said, “He’s such a nice guy! He does good things too!” And you had visions of seeing him in such an act and tackling him and beating his face to a pulp? Or maybe that was just me.

Isn’t it ridiculous to excuse the heinous to focus on a few good deeds? (By the way, here is a “no-kill” list of free or low cost mammograms in all 50 states.)

Planned Parenthood kills babies.

(photo source)

Do these images horrify you? Yes, they horrify me too. These are photos of fetuses only 7 weeks after conception. They almost look like real babies, don’t they? That’s because they are.

Defenseless. Unable to cry out or speak for themselves.

Today I am crying out for them.

I know there are stories people tell of dangerous pregnancies and rape cases, and even if I thought those babies deserved to be killed, the majority of abortions Planned Parenthood performs are convenience killings. That means the above photos are the result of a mother deciding it isn’t convenient for her baby to be allowed to live.

I realize I will likely get hate mail for this post. I don’t care. I want the truth to be known.

Planned Parenthood kills babies.

Special note: It is not my goal to bring anyone to despair over guilt. If you have participated in abortion in any way, there is forgiveness and freedom in Christ! See my friend, Heather’s story of redemption.

*If you are pregnant, considering abortion, and don’t know where to turn for help, please email me. I will help you.

This week The 4 Moms are sharing the scriptures, stories, and resources that give us encouragement as a homeschool family.

If you have never attended a homeschool conference where you get to listen to encouraging speakers, you are really missing out on a big booster shot in the arm. The Homeschool Mom’s Winter Summit I just attended and spoke at was absolutely the best homeschool encouragement I have had in a very long time, if not EVER!

When we first considered homeschooling, some of the scriptures that were convicting to us were:

Deuteronomy 6:4-6  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Ephesians6:4 Fathers,do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Now that we are in the trenches of this great project that we are determined to see through, a scripture that encourages us is:

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

As for encouraging homeschool resources, the internet is abounding with websites that are designed to encourage and support homeschool moms! Of course, the best and brightest are my 4 Moms compadres:

• Life in a Shoe
• Raising Olives
• The Common Room

And then there are a these awesome sites:

• The Happy Housewife
• Five J’s
• Raising Arrows
• Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers
• Get Along Home

What scriptures, stories, or resources do you find encouraging in your homeschool journey?

Our driveway is 1/2 mile long, so we load the garbage in the back of the pickup and drive it to the road on trash day.

It just so happened that as we were heading out to go to our homeschool group’s Random Runaround Day, or what the Type A moms call “Gym Day”, we met the trash truck at the end of the drive.

I waited and the kids all watched while the worker riding on the back of the truck quickly grabbed the bags of garbage and tossed them into the truck, nodding to me in thanks for being patient. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

“Ew! He has to stick his head all the way in our trash can!” one of the girls exclaimed. “Does he have to hang on to the back of the truck all the day?” asked another.

“That’s right,” I said. “He gets up early every morning and hangs on to the back of the truck so he can make sure everyone’s trash gets taken to the dump. Imagine how proud he is at the end of every day at what a good job he has done and that he has made money so his family can buy groceries!”

I told them that working hard is something to be proud of, that God created us to work, and if we do it to the best of our ability and honor Him while we are at it, we are pleasing Him.

I recall hearing an acquaintance tell of how he told his high school students that they had better pay attention to what he was teaching them or they might end up “like those men out there” and he pointed out the window to a work crew repaving the parking lot.

I remember wondering if any of the students in his class had a father “out there” and thought he must have felt embarrassed if he did. I wondered if those men “out there” were making more money than that high school teacher and how they felt about their work every day when they drove past that newly redone parking lot.

There is no shame in hard, sweaty work. There is honor in a job well done, even the dirty jobs.

My super cool friend Nony, who you may know as “A Slob Comes Clean”, has written an ebook on getting your home under control, 28 Days to Hope for Your Home.

I love the subtitle, “not for the mildly disorganized”.

If you have read Nony’s blog before, you know she encourages her readers with simple tasks that seem to come naturally to some, but are difficult for others: clearing the table after dinner, loading the dishwasher instead of leaving the dishes for tomorrow, throwing away junk mail, picking up dirty clothes, and, and, and… When these things are not habits, they can become so overwhelming that you just don’t have the energy to tackle ANY of and it just gets worse.

… At least that’s what I’ve heard. Ahem.

Here are some quotes from Nony to tell you more about the book:

Are you discouraged that your New Year’s Resolutions to get your home under control aren’t working out the way you hoped?

28 Days to Hope for Your Home is for people like me. People who dream of an orderly home, but truly don’t understand what happens in the three days between Party Ready and Disaster Status.

28 Days to Hope for Your Home is not a guide to getting your home completely organized in a month.  Based on the experience  I have gained during my personal deslobification process, this e-book is a guide to developing basic habits that other people seem to know (but people like us don’t).

Nony’s 45+ page ebook is on sale for $4 through February ONLY. You know you have spent more than that on those organizing baskets at Walmart in the hopes that they would somehow make your home neater.

Go ahead! This is the perfect time to buy it! You’ll have a more orderly home by the end of February!

*I am an affiliate for this ebook.