Biscuits

Hi my name is Ruby, and I love biscuits . . .

I love biscuits so much that I am fully convinced I should've been born in the South. Add hot black coffee, grits and some country music and I'm a happy gal.
I love to cook and bake, but the perfect biscuit has always eluded me . . . until now. Thanks to my ever-growing obsession with Pinterest, I can now make a killer biscuit. I have made them weekly since I found the recipe at Plain Chicken - which is another new obsession of mine. If you're looking for quick and yummy recipes - look no further.
Anyhow, seeing as the fam & I are currently soaking up some sunshine in the Florida Keys and I don't plan on hanging out on the computer for long, I'll leave you with this foolproof biscuit recipe just in time for Thanksgiving.
I will also include a picture of the biscuits before they were baked. I never got to take a pic after, as they were inhaled by my family. My husband actually said he ate so many that he wanted to curl up and take a nap using one of the fluffy biscuits as a pillow. That's a pretty good rating in my book.
Happy Thanksgiving all!!!





7-Up Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7-up (I use Sierra Mist Natural)
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 450.
Cut sour cream into biscuit mix, add 7-Up. Makes a very soft dough.
Sprinkle additional biscuit mix on board or table and pat dough out. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 9 inch square pan. Place cut biscuits in pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Its scary to be a kid

For the last 10 years, I have been stuck in a vacuum of diapers and bottles and preschool programs, first steps and first teeth and big girl beds, etc. These all-consuming tasks that seem to take up every waking minute I have (and often those I don't have) render me guilty of sometimes overlooking those grade school troubles that often fly under the radar. Often, especially when a child is so self-sufficient at an early age, its easy for them to be pushed to the back of the pack when there's a stream of little siblings vying for your attention. After all, she can take her own shower, brush her teeth and fold her laundry. He can tie his shoes, get dressed and make his own breakfast. They assert their independence in many little (and sometimes big) ways. "MOOOOOOM! You're embarrassing me!!" Tim and I were in for a real treat when we realized that we became "lame" before they were even 10.... Seriously??

I never feel at any point like I "have it all together." On the contrary, I usually feel like our daily life is a teeter-totter. Its never prefectly balanced. If I've taken the kids to the park, hosted their friends for lunch and swimming or met up with friends or family for the afternoon - you can tell. The laundry's 5 loads (or 15) deep, the dishwasher needs to be emptied and you could easily wipe "DUST ME" on my console table. I like to think (or desperately hope) that its akin to a balanced diet as in

Its what you eat in a week versus a day that really counts. Just as there are those moments that stop you on a dime, slapping you in the face and telling you "Wake Up!! Pay attention to what's important here!!" there are also those moments that tell you , "Settle down, you're doing a good job. They get it." Finley had an especially rough night a couple nights ago - apparently she decided her bangs were in immediate need of an emergency trim right at the moment Tim was trying to get the baby in bed and I was ironing her patches on her new Daisy smock. (Let me just say I have NEVER had a child cut their own hair before. Never.) Thank the Lord she went with a smallish patch and not too hideously short. There was hope. I fixed them and she looked in the mirror. . . Only to promptly burst into tears (and when I say tears, I mean a high pitched shrieking reminiscent of Darryl Hannah in Splash.) at which point she began gasping, crying harder and screeching over and over "I look so weird! I look so weird!" Now at this point I did what any good mother would do - I called in reinforcements. After a stern talk telling the other kids verbatim what I expected them to say and reminding them not to smile or laugh, I brought in her brothers and sister. They gushed and told her how beautiful she looked and all seemed to be okay.
I continued to put the Daisy patches on the vest and a few minutes later Carter came in to see Finley again. My almost 7 year old presented his little sister with a container of playdough, his favorite pencil and his $2 from the tooth fairy to make her feel better. His most prized possessions.... and a card . . .


which reads: "You have 100 friends. You are the best out of all of them and you are the best in the whole world."




Apparently the front was softening the blow for the back of the card, which reads: "Your fish died. I'm really sorry."

And there you have it. They get it. It was funny, but so sweet and innocent in a 7 year old boy way. He used what he had to show his sister he cared and tried to make her feel better. Of course, it caused a whole new wave of tears (aka shrieking) and a "burial at sea" for Red Billy (I feel ashamed I never knew his name until his passing...)

Mixed bag . . .

I think my favorite thing about being blessed with a big family is that we have such an eclectic mix of personalities, opinions and tendencies. Its amazing how different 6 kids all born to the same parents can be. Of course, at times it can be maddening, at dinner time for example. But for the most part it is endearing.

As the kiddos grow this becomes more obvious and it has become my daily mission to preserve and respect those things that are unique to each of them. It starts from the moment they wake up (or refuse to wake up.) One likes oatmeal, the next hates it. "Yogurt parfaits" are a hit with everyone, but God forbid you put blueberries on his - he only likes raspberries. She'll eat any granola - he hates the one with nuts. One drinks rice milk, one drinks skim. On to lunches - PBJ for him, tuna for her. And so it goes. . . Everybody get dressed -The Batman shirt is his, not the Star Wars - even though they both wear the same size. She hates jeans and loves leggings. She wears only pink, she'll wear any color BUT pink . . .

I think its so important that we don't "bulldoze." Group everyone together because its easier that way. I have been guilty of this in really chaotic times (there's several periods like that every day!) That being said - we all eat the same dinner and follow the same house rules, but I try to really single out those things that make each of our kids special.

Piper is the house artist for sure. She loves baths and fashion design. Trace could tell you something you never knew about almost every animal you've ever heard of (or never heard of.) Carter is the "Baby Whisperer." Seriously, babies LOVE this kid. His siblings and cousins tend to say his name before any other name. Finley is our girly-girl through and through. Its pink and princesses and lip gloss all the way. She is sassy and sweet and eats anything and everything around the clock and is the tiniest little thing you've ever seen! Scout is mayhem, in a rough and tumble almost two-year-old. She LOVES her little brother more than anything else in the whole world, and being number five she is more self-sufficient than any of the others at this age. She has her coat and shoes as soon as she sees the car keys. Nobody's leaving baby home!!! That brings us to Bear, who has never been formally introduced here. He is now three months old and officially the sweetest baby ever! He smiles as soon as you catch his eye, and is so alert and wiggly now. We are all crazy in love with him and getting lots of time to snuggle together inside with this cold, gray winter. Hope all is well with everyone . . .