I am a full-time mom and wife with two beautiful girls, one of whom is my terrific step-daughter and an amazing husband. I have a background in Early Childhood Development and I keep out of trouble with my two home businesses (teaching baby sign language as well as being a Pampered Chef consultant). In addition to my work and family I have taken the extra (haha!) time I have from not working outside the home, to "get back to basics." I have starting baking our bread, making yogurt, canning, and cooking and baking from scratch as much as I can. I am even making our own cleaning products as well as raising a small flock of chickens for fresh eggs. This started as an effort to be frugal and now I am enjoying the wholesomeness of it all. I love to cook chicken noodle soup. The process of it is oddly comforting and reminds me of my grandmother, who I don't get to see as often as I would like, since she taught me her mother's recipe. Don't tell her...but I have changed it a little, but I still start with the whole chicken and make my own egg noodles by hand! Friday night breakfast dinner! We started this because my husbands mom would always do Pizza Friday and my step-daughter doesn't like pizza. She requested breakfast and so it stays! Each week we get to take turns picking what to have...I always ask her and she ALWAYS says she wants French Toast! Getting a little one who doesn't like beans to ASK for my recipe for Black Bean Soup! Not even going to go there...I like to cook and I like to experiment so of course there have been some, um, interesting results! :)