Today is our 7th anniversary, but due to all the trauma that’s occurred over the last three months or so Sam’s work schedule slipped leaving his big project due tomorrow still unfinished. So today my poor love is working hard to finish everything up before his meeting on Monday. And for the first time ever, we are not celebrating our Anniversary alone and in peace. This is HIGHLY unusual for him, as he has a fairly strict “No work on Sunday” policy. Seems we both get to work today too.
The house is trashed! I spent the last few days compiling all our records and deductions for taxes (and my friend did them for us last night!!) so, the dining table is STILL covered with paper work, the kitchen is trashed (since I didn’t get to clean it yesterday trying to finish up the taxes) and well, since I was focused on taxes the girls managed to completely and utterly TRASH the rest of the house…
But knowing that my loving husband usually enjoys a bread meal at lunch, but knowing a nice hot protein laden meal would help him focus, I decided to make Biscuits with Sausage Gravy. I love biscuits and gravy! But I rarely make them because… well, I don’t know why I make them so rarely, other than maybe I so rarely keep the right sausage in the house.  (though after today, maybe I know why! lol)

Trying to be a good mother and spend some quality time with my girls, I invited them into the kitchen to help me make lunch instead of putting them in front of the t.v. which was my first instinct.

I should learn to go with my first instinct.
Now, I’m tired… bordering on sheer exhaustion. Since December Sam’s been working basically 12 hour days when he’s been home working, plus we had a baby, made a trip to Ohio and had two very emotional events that were life altering. The unexpected death of my mother, and the death of Sam’s grandfather. So, we’re a very exhausted family right now.
But my girls need time with me…. so into the kitchen we all went.

The first challenge was to clean off enough space to work! lol No easy task right at that moment!! Space cleared and suddenly Seraya is unhappy, no worries, it doesn’t take much time at all to throw together bisicuts… she’ll b fine. Then then began the arguing over who was going to stand where and on what! I settled that and pulled out the flour. “mommy, can I do it? Can I do it? Can I do it” begins the shouting… IN STEREO… Since my biscuit recipe calls for two cups of flour, no problem… Seraya continued to scream as each of the big girls in turn dumped their flour into the bowl. Next item on the list… 1/4 cup of sugar. I thought “humm.. that’s odd, I don’t remember that much sugar in biscuits (told you it’s been a while) and as I dump it in, I realize my eye has strayed and gone to the list of items for SCONES!! Grr… no worries, I set that bowl aside (since the scone recipe calls for 2 cups flour too, I’ll just make scones later) and, to the screams of Seraya and the “can i do it, can i do it” of both Vienna and Ziva I carefully measure out two cups of flour, whhheeewww… JUST enough flour left… I add flour to the shopping list and decide it’s taking longer with help from the girls and I should probably put Seraya in the wrap to make her happy.
Her screams get louder and Vienna starts crying “I want Seraya to stop” as I’m flying around the house looking for that stinking wrap that was JUST here yesterday! where in the world could it disappear to!??!
I finally found the wrap, carefully folded on the bench at the foot of my bed… covered in junk (teach me to clean up in a hurry!) as I’m wrapping the Gypsy Mama around me getting it situated for Seraya my eye catches that Ziva is still in the kitchen… measuring things…. UUUHHHHGGGGG!!!!! She’d gotten a hold of the jar of lemon peal that fell out of the cupboard when I grabbed the salt… and she’d jumped the ENTIRE contents into the bowl.
I’d like to say I was super mom and calmly removed her from the kitchen. Nope, not me… I screamed at her and put her into time out… FOREVER!! At least that’s how I felt at the moment… NOW what to do? I’ve used four cups of flour already and no biscuits in sight!!!
In the flour bin is about a cup and a third of flour. So I add that to yet ANOTHER bowl and I carefully skim off the peel from the tainted bowl and add enough of the seemingly untainted flour into my measuring cup. Crisis averted for the time being, I have enough flour.
Being that time was getting away from me and frustration was through the roof… After going to Sam’s office for a self imposed mommy time out (baby strapped to me in the Gypsy Mama, Ziva in time out, and Vienna watching an infomercial, yes, she’ll watch ANYTHING) I came back in the house, put on a Veggie Tale for the girls and continued to make biscuits… 1/3 cup shortening… and 2/3 cup of… KRAP we are out of milk!! How am I going to make these things…. now I’ve used six and a half cups of flour and STILL no closer to biscuits!
Thinking on my feet, I realize that I have evaporated milk in the pantry. I pull that out and look up the conversion for Evaporated milk back into “fresh milk” consistency. and finish up the biscuits and finally, get them in the oven….
I made me some gravy and sent the girls out to give Sam a five minute warning
Two minutes before my biscuits are to come out of the oven I take a peek… They didn’t rise… I think either i have old Baking Powder, or I plumb forgot to put it in there!! I tasted one of them and deemed them “not horrible” and hence served this hard fought meal to my family.
Seraya is in her crib and we sit down to eat… Instantly the complaining begins… “I didn’t want the gravy on my biscuit”"I don’t like this” “My tummy hurts!”
Sam sent one child to bed, and let the other slowly finish up Seraya resumes her screaming (she got immunizations the other day and has had tummy issues ever since!
Thankfully Sam and I thought the meal to be yummy. The biscuits weren’t that flat, and the gravy was yummy!!
So, finally all three girls are sleeping, and I have blessed quiet!
But… I still just wanna make some perfect biscuits!!
Oh well… another day perhaps… for now, off to clean the kitchen and attempt to not loose my mind!
Happy Anniversary to us! lol… I think we’ll take a day off next week sometime if we can find someone to watch the kiddos I think we deserve it
I wouldn’t change a thing about my life, I’m quite blessed! Even amidst the sadness, and the stress, and the craziness that is just being a mom I know I am blessed.  I miss my mom terribly, but I am so thankful to the Lord that she is in heaven with Him this day. I may be sad, but it is well.

I have the most amazing family.  Sam, who I still can not believe how lucky I am to have.  Vienna, what a charming intelligent young lady she’s already becoming, so full of tenderness.  Ziva, my little Sprite! So full of life and energy and just exuding love from every pore! And little Seraya Jane, named for my mom, and my reminder that life moves so quickly, hold onto the love you have while you have it! What a joy to hold her.

Yep. Even when I’m stressed. Life is good.  Biscuits or no biscuits!
Now to catch a 20 minute nap before the girls wake up again!!