Llama Mama...Daily Drama

Sugar Free Baked Oatmeal

2012-01-13T10:55:00.000-06:00

Our family was finally able to sign the lease on our new place the Friday after Christmas. After signing we made a quick trip to Kansas City to see family over the weekend, drove home Monday evening, and the movers arrived at 9:30 Tuesday (Jan 3) to get us to the new house [it's actually a duplex]. We're finally feeling more settled in and have gotten a vast majority of our boxes unpacked.

All that to say that meal times have been a bit harried around here for the last few weeks. We're still occasionally eating off paper plates (when my day is too full to be able to get dishes done) and I'm just really starting to cook more than frozen pizzas. This morning was my first morning back to actually cooking...and it felt pretty good! Not only was I able to get some healthy food into my kiddos, but I also modified a recipe I've used for years and made it sugar free! I'd say that gives me license to take the rest of the day off...right?

Baked Oatmeal

1/2 c oil (I generally use coconut oil)

3/4 c maple syrup

2 eggs

slightly less than 1 c milk

3 c oats

2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1 t cinnamon

1 t vanilla (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and pour into 8x8 baking dish. Bake 30-40 minutes at 375.

**This is also really good with cinnamon/sugar apples mixed in or served on top, but we don't have any apples right now...this ended up tasting like maple oatmeal...yummy!

One way to honor your spouse for Christmas (or why there were mice in my fridge)

2011-12-20T10:20:00.001-06:00

Sometimes my husband feels like he takes a back seat to my kids...and a lot of time he's right. It's easy to do when you have little ones that require so much of your attention and assistance throughout the day. Lately my kids have been very mommy-needy. That coupled with all that we've gone through this year, has been leaving my husband feeling a little neglected lately. With Christmas right around the corner (which is usually focused more on our kids) I wanted to do something special for him.

I read a blog, though now I can't remember which one, about doing a 12 days of Christmas for your spouse. I thought that sounded like a great idea! So I set off at the beginning of December to figure out how I could make this work on a VERY meager budget. So far it has been a HUGE hit with my husband and it's been lots of fun for me!

I'll post after the holidays with the full 12 days, but wanted to share with you about what I did yesterday. Yesterday was day 7 (Christmas Eve will be day 12 as we open gifts on Christmas Eve). And here is what he got...

The card says, "7 mice (and no your wife didn't turn into a cat)".

He had no clue these cute little chocolate cherry mice were peering out from our refrigerator :)

It hasn't been the most elaborate thing I've ever done and most of the "gifts" have been token things (a toast with our wedding flutes and sparkling cider or a walk through the Rhema Christmas lights), but the thought behind it (according to the hubs) has been the cool part! We have gotten to take this chance to look back on some of the things we've done with one another since we started dating almost 7 years ago and it's been nice to have that time to reconnect during this busy season :)

Pressing On

2011-12-19T00:30:00.000-06:00

I feel like every time I get on here to write I think about how crazy our life is right now. Throughout the day I think, "things will slow down after xyz is over" or "after I finish xyz we can relax"...only to realize that after xyz comes abc and we start a crazy season all over again. I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that life is just that busy. There are things we could stop doing that would slow us down a little, but we feel that the things we're doing right now are exactly the things God wants us doing. That includes a pretty big change that will be taking place for our family within the next few weeks.

We're moving.

I don't have time or the energy to go into all the details leading up to this decision, not right now anyway. I am working on a longer post about the journey God has had us on the last 6-9 months, but for now we just wanted to let everyone know what's going on with us. And answer a few questions we've been getting lately :)

No, we don't know exactly where we are moving yet or the exact dates of our move.

We will be moving into a rental, but will still be in the Tulsa area.

Hopefully tomorrow we will know more concrete details as we are hoping the application process for the duplex we're looking at will be complete. We are praying that God orchestrates this move for next week, but we know that we will be out of this house by the middle of January at the very latest. We would certainly appreciate any prayers you can send up for us as we make this transition. Also, our oldest has an appointment with the developmental pediatrician for more testing on January 4th and we'd love prayers for that also! Hope to be back soon to share more about this journey!

S'more Trail Mix...good enough for frazzled mommy's everywhere

2011-12-15T17:22:00.001-06:00

Things around here have been CRAZY busy the last week or so. I promise I'll update more on that soon, but I wanted to pop over and write a short post on how one frazzled mama was able to giver herself 15 minutes of quiet (to do dishes).

My youngest is 13 months old and has been teething almost non-stop for the last 2 months. Normally he's a real trooper! Today, however, circumstances got the best of him. A morning running errands, an itchy rash on the back of his head, and a very late nap time all conspired against him today. It all added up to one super clingy baby who refused to take a nap. Did I mention that he has also hit that wonderful milestone where he wants to climb up and down and up and down on every.single.thing.in.sight? Oy. Unfortunately, I was in desperate need of getting some dishes done and working on a final assignment for school. What is that quote? "Necessity is the mother of invention?" And thus was born...drum roll please...indoor s'more trail mix :)

Took out two bowls (one for each child), threw in a handful of honey nut cheerios, a few mini marshmallows, and some mini chocolate chips (though I would recommend regular size ones for this in the future). Mixed it up and...voila! My children were happily occupied for 20 minutes without a single peep! Quite the feat considering our issues today. The best was that I was able to quickly get some dishes done and get myself that much closer to "daddy home" time!

**Note** This is not the kind of thing I would normally feed my children nor would I make this a constant source of snacks. The last two days have seen LOTS of car time and both of them have done amazingly well! We all needed a treat and some quiet.

30 Days of thankfulness...Day 29

2011-11-29T16:51:00.000-06:00

As this project draws to a close, my last two are two things that are thankfulness concepts God has been working in me for quite some time. It's really been quite amazing the journey he is taking us on with these issues and I'm so excited to see where He will lead us in the future!

Day 29: I am so thankful that God has given our family a vision to reach out to those less fortunate.

Now...I realize that might sound cliche as many people make efforts to reach out to others during the holiday season. What I'm thankful for is that God has given me a passion for this work. It's difficult and draining to serve meals on Friday nights (you can read more about that here), it's uncomfortable to drive around downtown and trying to figure out who is homeless to talk to them, and it's not popular to give your Christmas money to someone else. However, these are things that my husband and I have felt are very important for our family.

That means, that this year we will take what we would have spent on gifts and use that to bless others through organizations like Compassion International, Gospel for Asia, Samaritan's Purse, and OK Foster Wishes. We will still get one gift for each child and we make gifts for one another. We buy presents for our 2 nieces and do a children's gift exchange with parts of our families, but we aren't buying for adults this year. I want to say right here that this doesn't mean that is what is right for your family or that you don't care about others if you don't do/feel led in this way. This is just what works for us and what we feel called to do with our family...and it has been such a blessing to change what Christmas looks like for us! [There is more to this story than I care to share on here, but if you are interested in the journey that got us here I'd be more than happy to talk to you about it!]

30 Days of Thankfulness...day 19-21

2011-11-22T14:24:00.000-06:00

**Note: I couldn't bring myself to finish this post yesterday, but this has really been my "thankfulness" for the last few days. Sorry for the tardiness of the post, but it doesn't negate the amazingness :)**

Today I am, as my friend Heidi said, "just thankful"!

Last Friday my husband and I drove downtown to participate in outreach to our city's homeless community. We have gone several times (try to make it at least twice a month) and have begun to foster relationships with some of these people. We go down and feed them, worship with them, pray with them, and hand out needed items (clothes, toiletries, underwear, socks, etc). Every single time we drive home feeling like we don't deserve all that we have.

It is so easy to dismiss these people and assume they all made bad choices, are habitual drug users, are lazy, or a myriad of other stereotypes that just don't pan out when you actually hear there stories. Yes, there are those that use drugs and those that have mental problems. Some of them might be lazy and have made bad choices. But they are people first and foremost. They have hearts and feelings and emotions and needs and desires just like the rest of us.

Serving these men, women, and children (do you know how heartbreaking it is to serve babies and small children?) has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done! To see the genuine gratitude in their faces over something as simple as potato soup and crackers. Or to see the smile when you actually shake their hand...you can't help but be touched by these souls.

I've begun to see how close we all are (yes, even you) to being in the same position as these people. How the simplest of circumstances can alter someone's life forever. And it's an incredibly sobering experience. I am so thankful for the opportunity to get to know these people and I'm thankful that God is changing my heart because of it!

30 Days of Thankfulness...Day 17

2011-11-17T23:22:00.000-06:00

Today I am so thankful for nap time :)

I woke up this morning feeling just awful. Thanks to God's strength I made it to naptime and a surprise call from my father-in-law allowed me to extend nap time for myself beyond the time my son woke up! It was definitely needed and I am so thankful that I was able to take a nap today...as petty as that might sound.

30 Days of Thankfulness...Day 16

2011-11-16T21:40:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for rest. Today was a very crazy day, but I got to enjoy it with my husband and this evening we got to take a chance to just rest. No running around loading the dish washer (though it needed it), not doing laundry (though I have 3 loads waiting to be put away), and not madly working on homework (though I will need to make up for it tomorrow). We needed this! To be able to relax and spend time not worrying about anything else but having fun as a family and a couple :)

30 Days of Thankfulness...Day 15

2011-11-15T08:50:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for all the encouraging words that have been poured into my life giving me the peace to realize that, during this crazy busy season of life, I can let myself take it easy a little.

While I'm in school (and finishing end of the semester projects), working part time, and caring for our house full of boys (including one big boy who is also in school)...I can give myself a little breathing room in ways I wouldn't normally. Buying disposable items more often will save me when all the dishes still aren't done, using paper towels more often than dish rags will save an extra load of laundry, and planning simple meals will save me from meal planning every two weeks. I normally wouldn't allow myself some of these comforts (especially the disposable stuff) and I'm sure there will still be times when I feel guilty about it, but I'm going to remember that it's only a season and it is benefiting our family in other ways and allowing us more time to spend as a family :)

30 Days of Thankfulness...Day 12

2011-11-12T21:48:00.000-06:00

Today I returned from an overnight women's retreat with the amazing women of our church! Today I am so thankful for the women who went and even more so for our awesome God who (through the doubt and fears) brought us all together and then dug even deeper to allow us all the strength to open up to one another. God used each and every one of those women and their comments, prayers, stories, and singing to build me up! Something I really needed :)

So today I'm thankful for these amazing women and our even more amazing Heavenly Father who orchestrates it all to His glory!

30 Days of Thankfulness...Day 11

2011-11-11T09:00:00.002-06:00

Before I start I just want to say that this project has been awesome at making me more aware of the things I am thankful for everyday! I'm not perfect (thankful for that!) and haven't posted everyday, but letting myself have some slack has been necessary for this hectic time in our life.

That being said...I couldn't let today go by without expressing my thankfulness for my father-in-law!

My father-in-law, Jim, has been like a dad to me since James and I started dating. Always there to help me keep James in line (hehehe), be a good listener, and love on our kids whenever possible. He also served our country in Vietnam. Knowing that he served in THAT war makes me all the more thankful. He served at a time when it was extremely unpopular, he served without thanks or recognition, and he served his country...in two tours! He served so my husband wouldn't have to, so my kids could have the freedoms they have today, and he did it all without a big welcome party when he came home...in fact with a welcome that we should all be ashamed of! He is selfless and will always be a hero to me.

Today I am thankful for all of our veterans who have served our country, for those aren't "veterans" but who gave their time to our armed forces, and for the freedoms I enjoy because they fought. Thank you!

[Special thanks also to our friends Ginger, David, Josh, and my granpas for their services to our country!]

30 Days of Thankfulness...Day 8

2011-11-08T11:38:00.000-06:00

Today it is raining. Last night we had another earthquake and a tornado warning along with the crazy rain storm moving through. I've had only a handful of nights over the last week and a half that I have gotten 3 or more hours of consecutive sleep. I'm tired, cranky, and stressed. Finding something to be thankful for today was seeming impossible! Mounting to-do lists, upcoming deadlines, and a general feeling of uneasiness have left me depleted and on auto-pilot.

And then Carter hit me. This was NOT a good thing, he went directly to time out, but then something amazing happened...Carter started to cry and my little 1 year old Henry started to cheer him up. Henry crawled over to Carter, then back to the office, shut the door, opened it, and crawled back out to Carter. He did this over and over, playing peek a boo with his brother and both of them laughing hysterically! It brightened my heart on this gloomy day to see my boys playing together and to see the compassion starting to blossom in Henry. I can't think of something that would have been more touching or endearing to my heart this morning than hearing my boys playing together and laughing!

Today I am thankful, oh so thankful, for my children being so close in age and fostering such a beautiful friendship!

30 Days of Thankfulness...Day 4-7

2011-11-07T10:30:00.002-06:00

I'm a little behind on my Thankfulness Project :) It's for a good reason, I promise!

Day 4:
I'm thankful for technology! Sounds weird, but without the advancements in technology I wouldn't have been able to see my brand new baby niece minutes after she was born (especially since we live 4 hour away)! The gift of life is so precious and amazing and it was such a blessing to see her sweet little face and know everyone was doing well.

Day 5:
Thankful for safe travels for our family! We left late Friday night to drive up and see my sister and her new baby. We left late Saturday night to come home. So glad that the trip was safe for our family and we arrived home a little sleep deprived and weary, but in one piece!

Day 6:
Thankful for healthy babies! We take for granted the thousands of women (maybe more) who lose babies every day or have babies with major medical problems. I firmly believe that God is in control of all situations, but I'm still thankful when he blesses our family with happy and healthy children. We haven't been immune from problems with our children's births or from long-term medical problems, but I'm so thankful that they were pretty healthy at birth and that we live in a place where there are doctors with adequate training and equipment to help the ones that are sick.

Day 7...finally!

I am so thankful for my past.

That might sound strange. No...I didn't have a great childhood or a perfect high school experience. However, all the pain and difficulties I endured during my formative years were knit together by God to make me the person I am today! I had some amazing friends in high school and college that were such a blessing to me and helped me in ways they may never know (thank you...Shannon, Christin, Kristina, Tiffany, Catherine, Diana, Ben, Luke, Lacey, and James). I owe a huge debt to these people (and I'm sure a few others who's names I can't remember right now) and I pray that God will bless their lives the way He has blessed mine through their friendships!

30 Days of Thankfulness...Day 3

2011-11-03T16:54:00.000-05:00

I really needed the reminder to be thankful today, even when it isn't easy!

The last 5 nights have been rough in our house. 4 out of the 5 have included my boys waking up throughout the night for various reasons (no water, wrong blankie, too cold, diarrhea, etc.) and last night was no different in that capacity. What *WAS* different is that we couldn't get our youngest to stay asleep. If we rubbed his back he would drift back to sleep only to immediately start crying if we stopped. Somewhere in the hour long tag game between my husband and I, I got the idea that my "hungry Henry hippo" might be just that...hungry. It was 1 am...we were tired...I was willing to try almost anything to figure out what was wrong. So I gave him a piece of Chex cereal (one of his favorite snacks). And he ate it...and then wanted more.

So here we were, both my husband and I (our oldest son woke up when we got Henry out of his crib as they share a room), sitting on the couch feeding banana to our kids. Carter ate a half a banana and a few pieces of cereal and headed back to bed. Henry finished 1 1/2 bananas and a bit of cereal and we put him back down also. Miracle of all miracles--they slept the rest of the night!

As funny as this story is, there were definitely points when I was not just a little irritated that I was up at 1 am feeding my kid banana. Points when I craved my bed (which I haven't seen much over the last few nights) and peace and quiet. But upon waking this morning (not in the best of moods I might add) God reminded me why it's all worth it.

Carter found this hat of mine upon waking this morning and has been wearing it off and on all day :)

So today, on day 3 of my project...I am thankful for God's grace and provision.

I am absolutely not sufficient on my own to raise my children. I am an imperfect human being at best, but by God's grace and provision I am equipped to do a much better job of raising up these little men.

30 Days of Thankfulness...Day 2

2011-11-02T16:55:00.000-05:00

Today I am so thankful that God has given me such an amazing job! I work one day a week at a local college doing what I LOVE...cooking :)

My job has been so rewarding. Getting to know the students, hearing some amazing and touching stories about how God has worked amazing miracles in peoples lives, and being able to utilize what I feel is my one true gifting. It seemed like such a quick and fluke type of thing for me to even get this job and then for child care and transportation and everything to fall into place so perfectly! I know that God has me right where he wants me right now and is using this opportunity to grow me. For all of that I am so thankful!

30 Days of Thankfulness...Day 1

2011-11-01T16:49:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's already November! Where has the year gone! This time last year we were just getting used to our new family of 4 and now my sons are 1 and 2, amazing how fast they grow :). Someone on the radio today said that this was the official start of the holiday season and so I thought I would join my good friend Leah and everyone else participating with Thanks {squared} and do 30 Days of Thankfulness!

So to kick it off, here is day 1...

I am so thankful for my beautiful family! My wonderful husband who works so hard for us and my two beautiful boys!

My cute little pirate!

After a long night of trick-or-treating sometimes you just have to sit back and relax with your boots on :)

My happy little cow...had a great attitude all night!

Do you want to join us in giving thanks during the month of November? Put up one thing each day that you are thankful for. I'm going to try and post pictures as well, but if I miss a day I'm not going to stress! This is about being thankful...not perfect ;)

Frustration

2011-10-18T11:58:00.000-05:00

I've been having a rough time these last few months. Our schedules have been crazy, yes, but that's not the cause this time. It's not the extra activities, commitments, or lack of time. It's food. More specifically it is trying to justify and convince myself that the way we are eating is right for our family. It's about seeing the need in the world, the millions who live without enough food, and the homeless in my own city who go hungry more nights than they are fed. It's about wrestling with all of these things when I look at how much money we now spend on groceries. Don't get me wrong, for the size family we have we spend very little on groceries compared to most (and even less when you consider our dietary restrictions--currently that means gluten and milk intollerance).

It's becoming very difficult for me to reason spending so much money on our specialty diets since we don't have specific diagnoses from doctor's (we do on the milk, not gluten--though our doctor has noticed an improvement). It's hard for me to justify eating things that cost 2-3 times more than "normal" food and it has me second guessing the improvements we have seen in our families health. I will admit that, as a family, we cheat. My son...definitely not cheating (too much of a difference). However, my husband and I...well, we aren't the most devout to our new dietary restrictions. Maybe it's the frustration in having to explain it to people who think they know better what is healthy for us. Maybe it's the huge associations we have between food and good memories (or any memories in some cases).

For me, I felt a few months ago that I could no longer tax our families meager food budget by continuing to eat gluten free (and I REALLY missed bread). So I began buying flour tortillas and bread for myself to make sandwiches quickly during the day. I eat off diet at least 2 meals almost every day (usually not dinner because I make it gluten free and I only cook 1 dinner). I know that it will make me sick...I will have more headaches than usual, be more tired, and sick to my stomach most of the day. But I can deal, or so I tell myself. "The symptoms aren't *that* bad for me," I say. But when I really think about it and analyze how I felt before I started cheating and how I feel now I do see a difference. And I wish that wasn't true.

I guess I'm really just frustrated with myself...and God. Why does my body not work like "normal"? Why would God make us go through something that strains our budget even more and makes us increasingly suspect of our tithe? Why am I so tired all the time if I'm doing what you want me to do, God?

Sounds silly, doesn't it? It does to me. I know that God doesn't bring anything upon us that He won't also help us walk through. Not by my own strength, but by His. He brings us through these situations not to bring glory to who we are and how strong I am, but to show how good He is. How strong He can be for us when we have no strength left. Having faith in this is something I struggle with every.single.day. Most days....I "win" and give in to the struggle, frustration, and cheating. No one is perfect, but in our imperfection God shines. So why do we choose over and over to deprive Him of this? Why do I choose over and over to put my own comfort/desires ahead of God's? Do I really think I can do such a better job at running my own life? If my past is any consideration I should have been assured of that a LONG time ago.

But knowing this, knowing the physical tole gluten and sugar take on my body, and knowing how much my attitude changes with these things in my system...I am still frustrated. I still feel "better" eating sandwiches every day and saving money for those who really *need* the diet (my oldest son and husband). Boy, it's amazing what I can talk myself into. I wonder sometimes, like today, how long it will take me of being sick and frustrated, to truly lay these things down. To really allow God to help me walk through this new life and be successfully because of His power and provision.

2011-08-25T05:00:00.002-05:00

I'm taking a break from posting about food to discuss something that has been weighing on me for the last few days. I'd love your input and advice if you care to share :)

Is tithing ever considered irresponsible stewardship?

Let me explain. In Luke 21 we read the story of the widow who gave her last two coins as a tithe to the temple.

" As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'Truly I tell you,' he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on" Luke 21: 1-4

This verse, in my experience, is generally given as a message of how we should "give until it hurts" or how even the smallest gift, if given in the right spirit, it glorifying to God. I've always like this story because I feel it gives a nice picture of sacrificial love...we love God so much (and appreciate Him so much) that we are willing to give all we have. However, now that I feel like I'm closer to being in the widow's position...well, I don't know how to feel. Do I tithe more and depend on God to provide for things like bills, food, etc? Or is God already providing for these things through the money we receive from the job He brought to my husband?

My inclination is to say that we should tithe and then God will provide for us, but is that being unwise? Is that ever possible? Malachi 3 gives us a story where God says that if the people will return to tithing he will bless them beyond measure. Does that mean the same is true of me? Was this specific to this group of people only who had made a covenant with God to tithe and then left their end unfulfilled?

And then there is the question of how much we should tithe. Is it 10%? More? Do we give all we can or only a certain amount? Are we falling through on our commitment to give less than 10%?

I know that much of this is personal. And as Americans and Christians we don't like to discuss money...especially what we are giving to the church. But the story of the widow comes to mind again. Everyone saw what she was giving (or at least that's the impression I always have)....are we supposed to be giving in a more public way? Should we be encouraging others to give without knowing their specific circumstance? Should we expect "blessings" from giving and, if so, by what yard stick to we measure blessing?

I've never bought into the "prosperity gospel" hype. The thought that if I tithe the way I'm "supposed" to then God will bless me with things like BMW's, wealth, a nice house, college funds for my kids, etc. Where is that in the Bible? Like I said, I've never bought into this line of thinking. In Malachi God's blessings are considered extra food. And when the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God provided manna to eat. Does that mean I should live off rice and beans and give more money to my church? Do I measure blessings based on how our society does (which seems eerily similar to many prosperity gospel types like Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, and Joyce Meyer)...or based on the Bible? Jesus didn't guarantee housing, money, food, or possessions to his disciples. Should I expect more just because I live now and here (21st century America) or should we still evaluate our standing based on what these men were promised?

I certainly don't expect answers on here, but hope that this will encourage us all to consider how we view tithing. I know that God is still working in me and my husband regarding this issue. It's something that I think we all need to re-examine from time to time to make sure we are still in line with what God is calling us to. I also think we need to all be more intentional about thinking about these issues and talking about them...especially with our church family. If we can't be open and honest with our church family...then who can we be honest with?

Milestones and Memories :)

2011-08-23T15:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my little monkey turned 2! It was amazing to think back on the last few years and what a whirlwind they have truly been. To see how much Carter has changed from the tiny NICU baby to the big boy he is now and especially with all of the things he has started doing in the last few weeks.

In the last few weeks he has grown 2 shoe sizes, started climbing (on everything), discovered that he can swing on the shopping cart handles, and has discovered what seems like an ENTIRELY new vocabulary...it's amazing! We've gone through our share of struggles over the last two years and it was odd to think back over them. My mind kept returning to different issues throughout the day as we celebrated. Also, I kept looking back over the journey I have been on in my relationship with God over the last few years.

God has brought me WAY out of what I felt my comfort zone was. Being raised in an environment where divorce was something that was common, men were absentee in their kids lives, and *knowing* that I never wanted to stay home with kids. From that God brought me to a wonderful husband who I trust completely, feeling now as if divorce shouldn't be an option except in the worst of situations, a wonderful husband who is an amazingly loving and present father to our children, and loving every minute of being able to spend every day with my beautiful boys! It's so amazing. And the work that God has been doing in me and my husband's hearts just in the last year has left us both feeling a bit raw yet renewed at the same time! Our priorities and values have shifted somewhere over the last four years and we both now feel like we are truly giving ourselves to God to use as He sees fit. I have to say that while so many people think Christianity is restrictive and full of rules, we have seen the opposite in our lives--truly feeling freedom! It's funny to look back at the things that were important and now see them as trivial. To be in a situation that you've been in before and have a completely different outlook and reaction. God has been so faithful to my prayers for peace and in giving me the knowledge that we are headed in the right direction.

This peace has so seamlessly transferred into parenting that it shocks me sometimes. When I go out with the boys I get a lot of stares and comments about how full my hands must be, but what I think (and rarely say) is how there is no way I could accomplish this on my own. But through God's strength I can lead these little boys in the right path for them. It may not look like what other people do or what other people think is important. But I know that it is right and it gives me so much confidence as a mother! Not to say that there aren't struggles or times (almost daily) when I doubt my decisions. But when I offer those feelings up to God, He is always faithful to give me strength to know that I am doing His will and He is walking in it with me.

It's funny because watching my son on his birthday...the joy on his face when he opened his present (yes one). It was like looking in a mirror at the joy I now feel with the gift that God has given me. I am so thankful to be one of His children. To know His love, kindness, faithfulness, and grace! With all the changes Carter has made in the last two years, I'm reminded still of the changes I've made in the last two years (or rather the changes God has made in my heart) and I feel that same sense of joy. I so look forward to seeing what changes will come in the next year in Carter. I look forward to seeing how much he grows and, deep down, I also look forward to seeing how God will chose to shape and mold me in the coming year and how He will step up to help me through the coming changes :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MONKEY! You are such a blessing in my life and I am so excited to see what you'll do in the coming months and years :) I love you with all my heart and I hope you can always see that.

Feelings vs. Duty

2011-08-04T11:38:00.000-05:00

Our family is going through a transition...and it's come upon us more quickly than I had anticipated. We are transitioning into a VERY busy time. Not that our life is anywhere near placid, but now it's starting to look almost frantic. My husband is applying for seminary for the spring, we are both taking classes this fall, I just got a part-time job one day a week, the Good News Club our church sponsors is beginning again, and our boys will be turning 2 and 1 in August and October (respectively). Add to the heavy load the fact that our classes, my job, and the Good News Club all start the same week (coincidentally the week of Monkey's 2nd birthday) and you have a recipe for disaster! Oh, and all this on top of our regular responsibilities to jobs/church groups.

It has become clear to me in the last few days that this isn't just going to happen...at least the transition won't be anything but horrible without a little planning and change of attitude for me. I need to have a plan...a plan for how to accomplish my primary job as wife/mother/home manager without feeling too overwhelmed, plans for what we will eat on days I'm too tired to cook, and a plan on how to organize my days/weeks that will make this transition easier on my kids.

The other major change is something that needs to happen quickly, and I'm very lucky that God has already begun this work in my heart. I need to change how I approach life. Wow. Writing it out makes is sound impossible, but I'm thankful that I don't have to tackle the task alone!

As a woman (yes, I am saying that men and women are different...please don't hate me) I have fallen into the easy task of allowing my feelings to dictate much of my day/life. As a single lady, it didn't matter. I could do whatever I wanted as long as I still was able to pay my bills. As a married woman, there was a bit more accountability and responsibilities began increasing, but it wasn't a whole lot different. Becoming a mother...well that changed things much more significantly. I had a tiny person who depended on me for EVERYTHING..and that's a sobering reality. I couldn't just sleep in because I felt like it...no, I needed to get up or the baby couldn't eat. I couldn't just lay around all day eating ice cream or watching tv or forget to eat all day because there was a little one that I was a) needing to provide nourishment to via breastmilk and b) I needed to set an example for my kids. SO my life started to shift from being lived based on my feelings to being lived based on a sense of duty and responsibility.

This point hit home the other day when James and I were watching Mark Gungor talking about the feminization of men in our society (check out this article for his input and this article for more evidence). Now while this argument is aimed at men, I felt that this was important for me to remember also...not to such a high degree as a man (because, let's face it, many women are improved by being attentive to their feelings) but it's important for me to remember that I also have a responsibility. If I sat around all day online and didn't pick up after the kids, clean up messes, or go to the store and James came home and got upset that I had been home all day and hadn't accomplished anything...well it would be a little ridiculous for me to cry to him that I didn't feel like it and he shouldn't get upset about that. It would be like your boss getting upset that you didn't accomplish anything all day at work and then you getting upset with him for yelling at you. Don't you think you maybe deserved a little frustration on the part of your boss/spouse?

So I need to be more honest with myself. While I may not *feel* like cleaning after I get off work, or cooking ahead when I have free time. Doing so will make my days and weeks run much more smoothly. Being aware that I have a duty to these commitments is paramount! I think that feeling like doing these things will come after a while, and all the better! But until that magic time comes...I'm heading into a time where I will be responsible because I have a duty...to plan ahead because that's what's best for my family...whether I feel like it or not.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-07-25T14:28:00.000-05:00

So many of my bloggy "friends"/acquaintances are doing pantry clean outs right now. So I decided to join in last week and am continuing on this week. This last weekend I went grocery shopping and spent 1/2 of my budget for 2 weeks worth of food! I'm gonna have to save some of it, though. I unfortunately missed our local meat sale and so I'll have to pony up a bit more for things like ground beef in the coming weeks/months.

Here's the plan for this week...

Breakfasts
mini quiche
breakfast cookies
baked oatmeal
yogurt with fruit
peanut butter banana smoothies

Lunch
leftovers
quesadillas/roll-ups with lunchmeat and cheese; fruit
hot dogs; chips; fruit/veggie

Snacks
hummus with veggie chips
fruit smoothies
granola bars (used only 1 T coconut oil and added in sunflower seeds)
healthier rice crispy treats
chex mix
protein bars
lara bars

Dinners
baked potato with brocolli cheese sauce; salad
cheeseburgers (w/o buns); corn on the cob; cheesy peas
potato-corn chowder; salad
oatmeal pancakes; sausage patties; eggs
cheese taquitos; seasoned black beans; mexican rice
chicken and rice; salad
mexican beef and bean casserole (already prepared and in the freezer); salad/fruit

The last two nights I've been able to take some extra time and put a few meals up in the freezer for next week. I was also able, last weekend, to get some of our snacks made and put in the fridge. I made granola bars, rice crispy treats, and chex mix (though we will need more chex mix). So nice to have a quick snack to grab that is diet friends, with little to no extra sugar, and I made sure they were all sources of complete proteins :)

Pantry Clean-out Tostadas

2011-07-19T13:21:00.001-05:00

So we had tostadas for dinner last night. Wow! It was the simplest of ingredients, but turned out SUPER yummy! We'll definitely be making these again :)

Beef and Bean Tostadas
12 corn tortillas
3 cans pinto beans, drained
1 can rotel
3 cloves garlic
1 t cumin
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning (3 T of homemade seasoning)
1/2 c water (optional)
3-4 oz velveeta, cubed

1. Lay out tortillas on cookie sheet. Bake at 400 until browned (turning at least once while baking) - approx 10 min.
2. Place drained beans, rotel, garlic, and cumin in blender and blend until combined and thin (may need to do in batches and may need olive oil to thin out a bit).
3. Brown ground beef, drain. Add taco seasoning and water. Simmer for a few minutes then add velveeta until melted and incorporated.
4. Assemble tostadas with tortilla, bean mixture, and topped with cheese/taco meat.

This turned out great! We were in a hurry or I would have made rice to go alongside. This would also make some killer nachos!

Recipe Options:
- Adding water will thin the meat/cheese mixture and stretch it a bit.
- You will probably have leftover bean dip...we had quite a bit leftover that we'll use to dip cheese taquitos in later this week.
- You could substitute regular cheese for the velveeta (it's just what I had and I'm trying not to go grocery shopping). You may need to add a bit of milk if you use regular shredded cheese.

Got the idea from two blog posts recently...one is for how to make the tostadas and the other on how to make the bean dip.

Pantry Cooking Day 5

2011-07-15T12:59:00.000-05:00

Is anyone surprised that the first thing I'm going to say is that I didn't make dinner last night? My son just wanted fruit for dinner. So he had fruit, part of a cheeseburger, and a larabar. Some days are better than others, right? So, of course, yesterday carries over to today :)

Breakfast: giant breakfast cookies
Snack: grapes
Lunch: cheeseburger pie (already done)
Snack: mixed fruit
Dinner: baked potato & salad/leftovers (for me and my son respectively)

One more night :)

Cheeseburger Pie

2011-07-14T16:30:00.001-05:00

This is a go-to recipe for our family, and to be honest it has been even before we were gluten free. This was one of the first recipes that I "converted" to gluten free. But do you wanna know a secret? It was super easy since you can now buy a gluten free Bisquick mix!

GF Bisquick is pricey compared to it's gluten-filled counterpart, but for us it was worth a shot simply because I needed something that made me feel more normal when cooking in the kitchen. One thing that has been nice is that we use it exclusively for this recipe so this one box has lasted us several months! By the way...there are people online with recipes for making a GF version of Bisquick at home that is supposed to be closer to the regular version, so if you want to save some money you could look into those options.

GF Cheeseburger Pie
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, minced/grated
1/2 t Montreal steak seasoning*
1 c shredded cheese (we like sharp cheddar)
1/2 c GF Bisquick**
1 c milk
3 eggs

1. Cook beef with onion and drain off excess fat.
2. Stir in steak seasoning and spread in pie plate.
3. Sprinkle with cheese.
4. Beat Bisquick, milk, and eggs. Pour over beef/cheese mixture.
5. Bake @ 400 for 25-30 minutes.

*You can also just use 1/2 t salt + 1/8 t pepper, but I prefer the depth provided by the steak seasoning (FYI...Aldi's carries the same seasoning under their own brand name).
**If you use a homemade GF Bisquick mix, only use 2 eggs.

Pantry Cooking Day 4

2011-07-14T12:16:00.000-05:00

4 days down and my pantry doesn't seem to be looking much different. I'm praying that next week I will have more enthusiasm to really be creative and clear some space since my husband will be home. I have trouble being creative and even doing any real cooking when it's mostly just for me. I am pushing through by asking my son (almost 2) to eat the exact same things (within reason) that I am eating.

Unfortunately, my frustration with cooking for 1 1/2 got the best of me yesterday. Son had a Larabar for lunch with trail mix and I cooked us a very early dinner. Therefore we only made it through the cheeseburgers I had planned for lunch yesterday (and I forgot the corn). For dinner, after my kids were in bed, I had 2 cheese roll-ups and a salad...the salad makes it healthy, right?

Anyway, today did not start out as I had hoped (since it started with a collections call from a bill I received for the first time last month). But we rebounded a little. I was able to make breakfast cookies this morning and am prepared to have leftover burgers for lunch :). So here's the rest of my plan for today...

Breakfast: giant breakfast cookies (recipe being tweaked a bit and I'll try to post it soon)
Lunch: cheeseburgers; chips; fruit
Snack: fruit w/Larabar; chex mix? (this didn't get mad yesterday but I'm going to try to make it right after lunch)
Dinner: cheeseburger pie; salad (recipe to be posted later tonight)

Chicken Taco Filling

2011-07-13T16:01:00.000-05:00

I realized today that I have not yet posted this AWESOME recipe on my blog! I've emailed to a few friends and somehow never got it up here...not sure how that happened but I'm fixing it now!

This recipe is great for company, especially if you are dealing with allergies/intolerances. I recently made this for a friend who came to visit. She is lactose intolerant and we are gluten free, so there were some issues (especially since milk is in almost every recipe in my repertoire). This turned out wonderful! One note, if you want this to be lactose free...make sure you buy a milk free chicken stock and make sure you use a milk free cheese (our friend buys Kraft Naturals brand as it claims to have 0g lactose and she's good with that).

Chicken Taco Filling
1 c chicken broth
1 packet taco seasoning (or the equivalent of a homemade variety)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken (or just eyeball how much you'll need...I usually use about 3-4 large breasts)

1. Pour broth and seasoning into slow cooker and stir to dissolve seasoning.
2. Place chicken in broth.
3. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours (I always check at 4-5 since my slow cooker cooks rather quickly).
4. Use forks to shred when done. Leave in slow cooker and in juices until ready to serve (be sure to turn slow cooker off or to warm setting).

We LOVE this on tostada shells (homemade). I take corn tortillas and fry them in a little oil until they start to brown, flip and fry on other side, and remove to paper towel. These make the shells crispy, but still easy to fold over like a taco shell (and are much cheaper than buying taco shells). We normally top these with cheese and avocado/salsa. Yummy!

Side note: You could prep this ahead of time by putting the broth and seasoning in a zip-top bag and then adding the chicken. Freeze and then thaw the night before you're ready to fix it. Probably won't save a lot of time, but you'd have a quick dinner pretty much ready to go!

Pantry Cooking Day 3

2011-07-13T10:48:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I made a trip to the store for a few items (eggs, milk, garlic salt, sour cream, etc). It wasn't all absolute essentials...but it will help me stay on track with what I'm making in the next few weeks. So I didn't really feel like cooking much last night which worked out ok because I forgot to thaw any ground beef to make hamburgers for dinner...whoops! Anyway, pulled out some ground beef last night as well as some frozen hotdogs (did you know Oscar Meyer is now making nitrite/nitrate free hotdogs?).

My goal today is to finish recording what I have in my freezers and pantry and hopefully post that list tomorrow. I also want to get some snacks/breakfasts made for the rest of the week. On my list...chex mix, hummus, deep dish cookie pie, mini quiche, and breakfast cookies. Wow...that looks more ambitious all written out like that, I guess we'll just have to see what happens!

Breakfast: eggs with toast and fruit
Lunch: hamburgers with corn
Snack: chex mix and fruit
Dinner: bean tostadas

***On a side note, if you are looking for a cute picture of an adorable baby's bottom...check out my post from yesterday about diaper rash on our family blog...How to Kick Start your Child's Modeling Career. ***

Pantry Cooking Day 2

2011-07-12T08:59:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was my first day on my own since our first son was born, and it showed in the fact that I didn't want to get off the couch all day. I came very close to allowing my missing my husband to be more important than caring for my two little blessings. However, I did keep them fed, changed, and entertained all day. I wish I could say the same for myself. I realized late last night that I had only had a handful of trail mix since breakfast. So today I'm out to make sure I eat lunch :)

The plan for Tuesday:
Breakfast - chocolate chip muffins
Lunch - gluten free chicken helper (using leftover chicken from last night's dinner)
Snack - arrowroot cookies with chocolate chip cheese ball (no, it isn't healthy but it's leftover from Sunday's Bible study and it's yummy)
Dinner - hamburgers, corn, cheesy peas

**EDIT**
The chocolate chip muffins went over ok with Carter, though he didn't ask for more so that's usually a sign that he's not too into something. I thought they tasted like wallpaper paste :(
Also changed dinner from oatmeal pancakes to hamburgers b/c I have some fresh corn that is going to go bad soon.

Eating from my Pantry - Day 1

2011-07-11T12:57:00.000-05:00

I usually try to use Monday's to post my menu plan for the week. Unfortunately this week is shaping up to be a bit different. My husband will be out of town, my family is visiting for most of the week, and--out of neccessity--I am trying to clear out my pantry and freezer. The pantry cleanout is so I can save money on groceries this week and next. Also, I have some items that have been in there for quite some time and I need to use them up. My plan is to try and post a few times over the next few weeks with what we are making as we get creative in using the contents of our pantry. I'm also going to (if I get a chance) post an inventory of the food we have on hand in hopes that some of you may be able to help me find recipes to use them up :).

Tonight, I'm going to try something different. I'm going to cook a few chicken breasts in the crockpot with some chicken stock and cranberry sauce. Served over lettuce with my salad. I'm hoping it turns out well :)

Visions of Babies Danced in my Head

2011-07-06T12:29:00.000-05:00

I have wanted to post about this for a long time. Finding the courage and strength and will power to sit down and do it...well that's been my hangup. It's painful...frustrating...happy...amazing...awe-inspiring...and immeasurably emotional for me. What I plan to tell you is the story of my journey to motherhood (both times). What you will get is my version, what happened and what could have, in at least three installments.

I married the man of my dreams in 2007, May to be exact. Six months later we were living in Oklahoma, dealing with the tragic death of my sister's boyfriend, and contemplating our future. As my husband and I sat in our one-bedroom apartment talking we made the life-changing decision to start trying to have a baby. Actually, the exact thing we decided was to "not try to not have" a baby...and that's what we did. I quit taking birth control and we waited. By April of 2008 I was frustrated and quite a bit poorer from the number of pregnancy tests I had purchased. After reading an article my grandma sent in the mail about Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) I decided to talk to my doctor about it. So in July I went, I talked, she tested and determined that I did, indeed, have PCOS. I was put on a low dose of Metformin (a drug that counteracts the insulin resistance that can be characteristic of PCOS) and told to come back in 6 months to see if we should up the dosage. She also warned me that we "might never be able to have kids". So we waited some more and I mourned the loss of possible future children. I tried to be happy with my life, but felt very empty when I thought that we might not have children.

We were busy, we had just bought a house and a dog, and I sort of lost track of things (or worked very hard to forget them). I started to think that this was just God's plan for us...maybe we were meant to adopt or foster...maybe we should focus more on doing things while we were childless like traveling. The fall of 2008 I started researching more on PCOS and it's relation to diet. I read Managing PCOS For Dummies and learned about a connection with eating a low Glycemic Index diet. We started making some changes in our diet, but I didn't really see much of a change.

In December of 2008 my grandpa Claude passed away from a very long struggle with heart disease and my life went to pieces. Two deaths in two years sent me reeling. I was able to see my grandpa before he passed away, while he was still able to open his eyes and acknowledge that he knew I was there, and I spent the next week with my grandma trying to be as supportive as I could.

Shockingly, I started my period for the first time since April on the morning my grandpa passed. It was bittersweet. The thought that this could mean a possible pregnancy might be in the cards was exciting, but that knowledge mixed with the loss of my grandfather was very difficult to process. The funeral came and went. I went back to Oklahoma, returned to work, and tried to focus on preparing for going back to Missouri for Christmas a week later.

Somehow we muddled through packing, trip preparations, and traveling with our 80 lb dog. We made it through Christmas, thanks in large part to my niece are her amazement over her gifts and having us in town. My heart ached at the thought that being an aunt might be it. But I was determined to enjoy myself. We met up with some old friends on this trip and I discovered, much to my amazement, that a close friend also was struggling with fertility issues due to the same illness! Suddenly I felt much more hopeful. Knowing that I wasn't alone was very comforting and I walked away from dinner with an encouraged spirit and rekindled friendships.

When we got home I resigned myself to the fact that we weren't getting pregnant anytime soon. So I figured we should plan on something else... a trip to Europe! It would be a year or more in the future but we started talking about saving money, possibly going back on birth control (just in case) and saving vacation time at work. We were recovering from some major financial issues and it all seemed to be coming together to be a great year. Despite my enthusiasm about the trip I was still frustrated that I hadn't had a period again after the one around my grandpa's funeral. I chalked it up to stress leading to that one and figured the meds just weren't working. So I started making a list of things to discuss with my doctor at my upcoming appointment.

Then I got sick. I couldn't eat anything but peanut butter and crackers for 3 days lest I wanted to feel nauseous all day. I thought I had the flu and just muddled through. After many jokes from my dear husband about being pregnant, and many shed tears over how I couldn't be. I gave in. One night while he was at work I decided to take another pregnancy test to prove to him it wasn't possible and to put an end, finally, to the jokes that were so hurtful to me (though I never let him know). Imagine my surprise when that stick showed two pink lines! Was this for real?!?!? Were we actually...finally...pregnant? I rushed to Target and bought two more tests. As I sat in our bathroom looking at three VERY clear, positive tests I called him at work. He thought I was joking and then realized this was no joke...we were going to be parents!

***Stay tuned for part 2...the birth of our first son!***
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PCOS is sort of a catch all. It describes a set of symptoms experienced by women, but the source of the problem is still unknown. There are many theories on what causes this disease: poor diet, celiac disease, diabetes, etc. No one person has it figured out and if you talk to anyone they will probably have advice on how to treat it, someone they know who cured themselves, or tell you it's made up...I've experienced all of these things when talking to others.

According to WebMD, PCOS effects approx 1 in 15 women. If you think you may have a problem with this disease, you can check out more information here and please talk to your health care provider. My story is neither typical of a woman with PCOS, nor is it the only way to get pregnant. One thing I do believe strongly in is starting out slow (with natural changes before starting medication, low dosages to begin with). While women are usually frustrated after their diagnosis (probably b/c they were diagnosed after a long time trying already) they usually jump on a high dosage medical treatment plan. This may or may not be the best way for you to regulate your hormones. I didn't know much about natural ways to help my body combat this disease (check out this site for more info on nutritional changes) and started with medication. I was, however, fortunate to have a doctor who wanted to go slow. The dosage I was put on was EXTREMELY low...many women take upwards of 2,000-3,000 mg twice a day with no results. I very much believe that you should try natural methods to begin with and then, if you decide on medication, to start out on a low dosage and allow it to work in your body before moving up...but of course discuss that with your doctor.

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies

2011-06-30T04:00:00.001-05:00

This is a favorite around our house! It's quick and easy and requires very little prep work...so this is breakfast almost every Sunday. You might be surprised to find out that this is most loved my our 1 year old...he can finish off 2 servings himself!

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies
1 c milk
1/4 c peanut butter
1 T cocoa powder
2 T honey
2 bananas (frozen and broken into pieces)

Add all ingredients to blender in order listed and blend until smooth. It will be about the consistency of a Wendy's frosty.

Better late than never!

2011-06-29T09:15:00.002-05:00

So my menu plan is officially two days late. Not the worst I've done on here :) Here it goes...

Monday - we had various leftovers

Tuesday - Beefy Enchilada Bake (it was yummy...but I think I'd just assume make enchiladas and it would take about the same time...and I'd use this enchilada sauce recipe if I'd had more time)

Wednesday - Potato Corn Chowder (becoming my favorite recipe!)

Thursday - Taco Casserole (might end up just being tacos)

Friday - Boston Chicken with mashed potatoes and cheesy peas

Saturday - Cheeseburger Soup (I substitute a GF flour blend/arrowroot powder for the flour)

Sunday - Three Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Breakfasts:
- muffins (planning to use peaches or bluberries)
- breakfast cookies (substituting a GF flour blend that includes xanthan gum for the regular flour)
- smoothies (peanut butter banana smoothie recipe coming tomorrow)
- grits with cinnamon apples

Lunch:
- leftovers
- mexican casserole
- bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, fruit
- corn dog muffins (experiment)

Posted as part of Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie.com.

Back on Track

2011-06-20T04:30:00.003-05:00

Last week was C-R-A-Z-Y! VBS all week had me getting the kids up, fed, and out of the house by 8:15, returning home around 1:00, and then nap time. I haven't consistently been out of the house like that since I was working (December 2009). Yikes! We had a great week at VBS, despite the crazy schedule and I have to admit that I miss my pre-k kids :).

Onward and upward! Because of the crazy schedule last week we had a LOT of baked potatoes...3-4 nights if I remember correctly. Not ideal, but it was fast, gluten free, and fairly healthy. Now we're getting back the swing of things. Need to get my house clean this week, caught up on laundry, and cooking dinner (and breakfast and lunch) again. This week is a lot of recipes I'm familiar with and are relatively easy to prepare. Here you go...

Breakfast:
Mini Crust-less Quiche
Grits (with either cinnamon apples or cinnamon-sugar)
Peach Strudel Muffins (I'm using pureed peaches for the fruit)
Giant Breakfast Cookies
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies (recipe coming tomorrow)

Lunch:
Leftovers
Tostadas with Bean Dip
Bean Dip
Taco Casserole
Cheeseburger Pie

Dinner:
Sun: Tilapia Corn Chowder (this was amazing!)
Mon: One Pot Spaghetti
Tues: Potato Corn Chowder
Wed: Baked Potatoes with Broccoli Cheese Sauce
Thurs: Chicken Taco Tostadas (recipe coming soon)
Fri: Tacos with Mexican Rice
Sat: Baked Chicken and Rice
Sun: Mexican Casserole

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. Please head over and check out all the other wonderful recipes and menus posted to get ideas for your own menu plan!

Baked Potato Soup (crockpot recipe)

2011-06-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

I have really come to enjoy soup over the last year or so. And since my husband works in an air conditioned office, he doesn't mind eating warm soup at night when he gets home :). I have really come to enjoy soups that can be made using my slow cooker to help free up some time during the day when I know we will have a lot going on. This is one of those great stand by recipes!

Baked Potato Soup
6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, chopped
42 oz (5.25 cups) chicken broth
1/4 c butter
2 1/2 t salt
1 t pepper
1 c milk
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded
3 T parsley (I usually use dried)
8 oz sour cream
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Combine potatoes, onion, broth, butter, salt, and pepper in slow cooker and cook on low 6 hours (or high approx 3).
2. Mix/mash potatoes until coarsely chopped. (This step is optional, I leave it out. I find that the potatoes are usually falling apart at the end when I stir in the remaining ingredients and we prefer larger chunks of potato in our soup).
3. Stir in milk, cheese, sour cream, and parsley.
4. Top each bowl with crumbled bacon (we like quite a bit for flavor, but you could use less).

To make this more frugal: omit sour cream, bacon, and reduce cheese by 1/2 cup.

I also sometimes add about 1T of sage as I like the flavor it lends to soup.

Menu Plan - Quick and Painless

2011-06-06T00:28:00.001-05:00

We have a busy few weeks coming up. This week is prep week for VBS, which means my friend Michelle and I will be cutting out a lot of cute little things for our VBS class to use next week. And, obviously, next week is VBS. I am super excited about working with our kiddos and getting to share with them about Jesus, but I'm not super excited about the daunting task of doing that AND keeping up with my daily household tasks like laundry, cleaning, and cooking. So I'm planning some relatively easy meals for this week and next that will let me spend lots of time with my family and less time stressing to "catch up".

So here's the plan for this week...

Monday - baked potato soup (in the crockpot) *recipe to be posted tomorrow*

Tuesday - chicken taco tostadas with spanish rice

Wednesday - baked chicken and rice; salad

Thursday - taco casserole

Friday - biscuits and gravy

Saturday - tilapia corn chowder

Sunday - bean dip (making double to share with our Bible study group)

Stone Soup

2011-06-01T18:18:00.000-05:00

Have you ever read the book Stone Soup?

I loved this book as a kid and was pleased to discover that the author of Miserly Meals: Healthy, Tasty Recipes Under 75¢ per Serving* also has a daughter who enjoyed this book and created a recipe to go along with it! I don't add the stone and I've made a few other changes, but it's become one of my favorite dinners to make and one of my husbands favorites to eat!

Stone Soup
2 T butter
1/2 c diced onion
1/2 c diced celery
1 c sliced carrots
2 gloves minced/pressed garlic
1 t sage
1 t basil
10 c water
1/3 c chicken bouillon
3 med brown potatoes, peeled and diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 c cooked chicken/turkey (optional)

1. Melt butter over med-high heat and sautee onion, celery and carrots. When onion becomes almost translucent, add garlic, sage, and basil; sautee until garlic starts to brown.
2. Add water, bouillon, salt/pepper and potatoes. (Add chicken now also if you're using it)
3. Bring to a boil, reduce to low and cook approx 30 minutes (until potatoes and carrots are tender).
4. Remove from heat and serve.

I really love this recipe because it is really cheap in most seasons to find the veggies, you can substitute homemade chicken stock for the water and bouillon and use up some leftover shredded/chopped chicken/turkey. Or you can leave the meat out for an even cheaper soup!

Sometimes we pair this with a half a sandwich or grilled cheese (when we were still eating bread)...made for a really nice supper! This also reheats well for lunch the next day :)

*I really enjoyed this cookbook and make quite a few things from it on a fairly consistent basis. It has recipes for things like hot fudge sauce, chocolate sauce, homemade chicken bouillon powder, etc. I found it at our library and would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a cookbook to start making more things from scratch.

Do you ever feel this way?

2011-05-26T09:54:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about my struggle with healthy eating and how easily I become frustrated that I'm not doing more (you can read it here). The last few weeks have been so amazing in how God has spoken to my heart and confirmed that I am, indeed, on the path He desires of me. Here are a few posts from other bloggers abouts similar issues...not all of them are at the same place I am in our healthy eating journey, but I have found all of these posts to be helpful to me. They all acknowledge that there are different levels of healthy and that not all people are in the same place.

Luke @ Losing Luke

Emily @ Wegener Family

Laura @ Heavenly Homemakers

Lynn @ Lynn's Kitchen Adventures

In another amazing way, my fears and doubts about the things I feed my family have been quelled. God keeps introducing one certain verse (in very different ways) about how He is in control...and it has been so comforting!

For VBS this year (I work in the pre-k room) we are focused on James 1:5 as our verse.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ~ James 1:5

This verse keeps popping up in odd ways. The other day it was the verse of the day in my email and today I found it on another blog (here). Though neither have been in reference to food choices, they have both confirmed to me that this is a concept God wants in my life right now and that is a really comforting thought!

Week 3 Gluten Free...no end in sight

2011-05-03T16:32:00.000-05:00

So the original plan was to start adding gluten back to our diet after next week. However, the progress we've seen with Carter definitely is leading us to keep him on a gluten free diet. And since James and I have both lost weight (me 3 lbs and him 6 or so), we're inclined to continue also. I may try to add in some things like sourdough, regular oatmeal (possible cross-contamination issues), and maybe a little bread here and there and see how we do...we'll go slow though so we can thoroughly assess our progress.

And here is the plan for week 3...

Breakfast:
baked apple puff
mini crustless quiche (review to come of the new silicone muffin cups I got for this)
peanut butter baked oatmeal
GF breakfast cookies
GF oatmeal fruit muffins
coconut flour muffins

Lunch:
leftovers
bean dip with chips and veggies
sandwiches
smoothies

Dinner:
Mon - grain free waffles with bacon (these waffles were really good, though I didn't add the fruit...they tasted like french toast)
Tues - baked potato soup; grilled cheese
Wed - beefy enchilada bake
Thurs - chicken with baked potato; corn
Fri - spaghetti squash pie
Sat - cheeseburger pie; salad
Sun - chicken and dumplings (this will be my first attempt at converting a non-GF recipe...wish me luck)

Laying Open my Heart: One of Many Struggles

2011-04-29T14:51:00.002-05:00

They say that "ignorance is bliss". Now I don't know who "they" are, but I feel like I do understand that sentiment, especially when I learn something new that I want to pursue but there are a million roadblocks in my way. In general this is how I feel about eating well. I don't mean dieting or eating low-fat, but really nourishing my family with good foods that aren't processed or contaminated. This issue may not apply to a lot of people because you either don't care, don't believe it, or don't have a problem implementing it. But this weighs on my mind weekly if not daily. I want to feed my family the best possible food I can. I want my boys to be healthy and strong and smart. Heck, I want to be healthy and strong and smart. But sometimes my goals and plans don't line up with where I am in life right now. I'm definitely not healthy or strong...I can agree with some that I'm kinda smart (but I'm no genius by any means). Being a parent has really changed my feelings about nutrition. We know more now than we did when I was growing up and my kids generation will know even more...it's just the way we, as humans, are...we crave to know more, to dig deeper, and to understand.

For me, I really feel that eating a whole foods diet is healthy (I think few would compete with that statement). I believe that eating organic is important in most aspects, that making your own things like bread is important (because of limiting chemicals and preservatives), and I think raw milk is great! Unfortunately, I'm not a millionaire--I know you're shocked, but it's true. I don't have unlimited funds available to buy meat straight from my local farmer or raw milk up the road...and even if I did, well do you know how expensive that can be? And therein lies my dilemma...the one I struggle with. Knowing what is most important RIGHT NOW, in the place God has me NOW, and knowing what it is that God has charged me with.

That probably sounds weird, let me try to explain. I feel passionately about feeding my family the best food possible, but what I don't feel passionately about is going broke doing it. It would make me a poor steward of my families resources to ignore the balance in our bank account and spend all of our money on better food. You might think I'm being extreme about how much it would cost or underestimating the importance of good food on our nutrition, but the honest lay-it-all-out-there-for-the-world-to-see truth is that our budget for food every month is slightly less than it would be on food stamps...I have a grand total of $320 to spend on food, toiletries, household products, dog food, and all 4 members of our family. It's tough, it's a stretch, and that number actually includes a generous increase that I finagled when we decided Carter needed to eat gluten free (not a cheap option)--before two weeks ago our monthly budget was only $220. Its frustrating!

This amount of money can only be stretched so far. We don't always do a good job of sticking to our budget, but we definitely feel it elsewhere if we don't. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God has called me--as a stay-at-home wife and mother--to do everything possible to keep us on track. It is my responsibility to ensure that we have enough food in the house to feed us all as well as finding unique ways to make up for any shortfalls. If I don't do this, then I am not only disappointing my family, but I know I am disappointing my Heavenly Father. This is what he has called me to...it's not always fun, it's very often frustrating, and I don't know how I make it sometimes. Coveting others grocery budgets is something I have to keep in check quite often.

I don't talk to many about how much I spend on groceries and I do my best to make sure that we still get to use a good portion of that for ministry opportunities (inviting people over to our house to share a meal, taking someone food when they're sick, eating out occasionally in fellowship with our church family, etc.). Ministry is very important to us and I joke that my spiritual gift is cooking :). God has demanded us to be open to these opportunities to fellowship with others--believers and unbelievers alike. It is important to us and a calling from God. So that brings another aspect of my struggle to light.

How do I justify spending my small budget on others?
God has asked me to. Can I really say no? I guess I could, I could say to myself and others that we just don't have the money or it's more important to feed my family, but then I would be saying to God that he doesn't provide for us adequately and that is absolutely un-biblical! God tells us in the Bible that He always provides for our needs. If I say that I can't do something because of my own folly or poor stewardship that is one thing, but to claim that I "can't" because I don't have enough? That is claiming that God is not who He said He was.

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

So that is where I stand, or usually kneel. Dealing with my own frustrations and sinful thoughts, relying on God to reveal a better path for me. I am so thankful for his grace and compassion. I am also thankful for a wonderfully understanding and hard-working husband. But this is my struggle...not the only one, but one that is prominent and I frequently have to return to God for strength in going on. I can't let myself become mired down by what I *think* I should be doing, but to find strength that God can help me through it.

I hope that all who reading this will understand that it has been difficult to reveal this personal aspect of my life and will take that to heart before commenting. I know that I am doing the Lord's work and I would be more than happy to have a more intimate conversation about this with you so feel free to email or (if you have my number) to call :)
I hope that in sharing these intimate struggles and thought, I can encourage other women--especially Christians--to step up and be willing to be more transparent with one another. I don't think anyone has it ALL together and I certainly don't think we're meant to seem we do. While it's important for us to seek joy and understanding in our situations, this doesn't always have be done in private or alone. Please reach out to those around you and if someone comes to YOU with something weighing on their heart...please try and be Christ-like in your response. God Bless!

Gluten Free...Week 2

2011-04-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

I know I'm a little behind on getting this posted, but life has sprung up in weird ways this week. Anyway, week one of our gluten free diet went great! I cooked more last week than I think I ever have in my life. Almost everything has been made from scratch and it was all pretty wonderful! Even the things that seemed like flops turned out to be pretty tasty and I'm learning a lot in the process (like my Crockpot gets super hot and doesn't need nearly the whole time to cook chicken...unless of course you want it to be SUPER dry). So we're heading into week two--though I'm almost positive at this point that we'll be continuing this diet for the long term because of how well Carter's doing.

Anyway, here's the plan for this week.

Breakfast
Mini Crustless Breakfast Quiche
Coconut Flour Muffins with Chocolate Chips/Walnuts
Peanut Butter Oatmeal
Smoothies
Scrambled Eggs with Bacon

Lunch
leftovers
sandwiches; steamed veggies
chicken nuggets; fruit

Dinner
Lemon Chicken; Salad; Brown Rice
Tortilla Soup
Cheesburgers; Oven Fries
Easy Cheeseburger Pie; Salad
Tandoori Chicken with Rice; Salad
Boston Chicken; Quinoa Pilaf
Cheesy Beef and Rice

Cleaning House

2011-04-27T14:49:00.000-05:00

So the post where I bear my soul that was due last Friday? Life snuck up on me in the form of fussy kiddos, ER trips, and other issues at home. But I am going to post it this Friday.

I also have a post in the works on our family blog about our first week gluten free and I'll post a link to that over here as well when it's up...the changes have been surprising!

Today, however, I want to blog about a subject that I don't have much experience with...cleaning. I know how to clean and the reasons to do it, but I'm awful at actually doing it and doing it correctly (if there is such a thing). I have this grand idea in my head that the entire house should be scoured from top to bottom every day and when that doesn't happen--and let's be honest...it doesn't with 2 under 2 in the house--I get very distracted and discouraged. Combating my ADD also proves difficult in this are and I tend to jump from one thing to another never quite completing anything. This is frustrating for me and my husband is not a super fan of half finished projects....sooooo. Anyway, this book was just released called 31 Days to Clean – Having a Martha House the Mary Way and i'm so excited to read it! I have been waiting for the money to buy it, but today if you blog or tweet about it, you can actually get the ebook for free!!!! I love free stuff :)

Anyway, if you're interested...head here to check it out and get your own copy!

Christian Women...a call to openness

2011-04-20T14:50:00.000-05:00

I have a personal journey, we all do. There are stories about my life that are nice and fun and silly and romantic. And then there are stories that aren't so nice, things that aren't fun, and others that are down right uncomfortable both for me to share and for others to hear. What to do with these stories? The ones we try so hard to make sure no one else sees. This video touched me and I hope that you can find some level of yourself in her words (I found this video in this post on Rachel's blog, check it out for more inspiration on goals).

So how do we deal with this? What do we share? What is too personal to share in public or even with close friends? These are questions I struggle with constantly. I like to share some of my stories. I like to think that what I went through means maybe someone else won't have to or will find comfort in the fact that they aren't alone. I have met (in the last two years) two women who I was able to speak candidly with about one story. Two women who, to my great shock, were both indirectly dealing with the same issue. I would like to believe that I opened doors between them and myself that can create great and lasting bonds and friendships. I hope that they can see that there is success/merit/value/hope in the situation of someone else going through the same struggle.

Do you have a story like this? Do you struggle with wanting to seem "perfect" to those around you?

I have found that Christian's seem the worst at this! I had many friends in high school whose entire goal in life was to see who had it worst! Whose day was worse...whose parents were the worst...who had it so bad that no one could possibly feel anything but pity for their situation. What time I wasted in those feelings! On the other hand...I know that I've been guilty of going to church and trying to seem like everything is completely normal/together/fine when I feel like my whole world is crashing down. We all struggle with things--small and large--and you would think that your church family would be the ones most likely to be compassionate. Of course we all know the reality is that they are people just like anyone else. People who can be judgmental, back-biting, ugly, and mean. But do we give them the benefit of the doubt? Do we give people a chance to show their Christian compassion? A chance to show us Christ-like love? Or do we stay quiet, wishing someone would ask just the right question or make the right statement to let us know that they will be understanding.

I'm going to try something new here. I'm going to share with the world something that I struggle with daily. It may not be a big deal to you, though it is to me, but I hope that it will inspire others out there to share more of themselves and for a way for us to step up as Christians and be loving and kind to one another...to offer support...and maybe we might even realize that we are nowhere near alone in our struggles. I want this to be important, not just something I throw out, so please come back on Friday when I plan on sharing my story. It won't be anything earth shattering like a drug addiction, affair, or anything else you might think of when you hear the word 'confession'. But I hope that it will inspire!

Therefore, confess your sings to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

James 5:16

Cooking Gluten Free

2011-04-19T11:42:00.000-05:00

This is our first week on our four week challenge to eat gluten free. We are embarking on this to try and help my son with his recent diagnosis as well as trying to resolve some of the health problems that my husband and I have dealt with or are currently dealing with (PCOS, heartburn, allergies, asthma, migraines, depression, ADD, etc). Hopefully this experiment with help, but we'll have to wait to see. I have read everything from 2 weeks to 6 weeks are needed to see a quantitative change, we're going with four because it seemed manageable to me and not too overwhelming to my husband.

The biggest change so far has been the need to plan more specifically. While I almost always menu plan dinners for at least a week at a time, I now have to plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for every day of the week. Buying convenience food that is gluten free (though possible) is expensive and it's difficult to find places that are safe to eat out. I also felt it would be easier to just focus on cooking while I'm still learning more about what is ok for us on the diet. I have made a general rule to not buy things with extensive lists of ingredients as I'm still not sure about all the hidden gluten-containing things I need to watch for. By buying things with readable ingredient lists, I have a better chance of getting things that are a) healthier and b) don't contain gluten.

For the most part we have avoided a lot of convenience type foods for ourselves, though I have splurged a bit on things that are quick or good snacks for my son...things like gluten free graham crackers (which are surprisingly yummy), crackers, Lara bars (until I can make some from scratch), cereal bars, and animal cookies. I also ordered a box of gluten free food from Angel Food Ministries which is an EXCELLENT way to buy some more convenient gluten free food and not go completely broke. I also try to spread out my shopping, only purchasing the absolute necessities at more expensive stores like Whole Foods and buying what I can at Aldi's (where I buy gf lunch meat, canned veggies and fruit, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, etc.).

So that is where we are right now. I'll update more as we progress :)

Menu Planning on a Gluten Free diet

2011-04-18T22:51:00.001-05:00

This week is our first week going gluten free, so this menu will be more extensive that what I normally plan. I will try to link to recipes when possible, but if you want more ideas on gluten free foods I am posting a link to some good recipe sites at the bottom of this post.

Breakfast
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies
Crustless Mini-Quiche (made mine with turkey ham, hash browns, and cheese)
Coconut Flour Muffins
Overnight Eggs (I make this without the salsa)
Yogurt and Fruit
Baked Oatmeal (using gluten free oats)

Lunch
Leftovers
Sandwich (using this bread) with fruit and string cheese
Chicken Nuggets with veggies and hummus
Spinach Ricotta Bites
Chicken with potatoes/rice

Dinner
Stone Soup
Beans and Rice with Corn Tortillas; Fruit Salad
Baked Chicken; Baked Potato with Broccoli Cheese Sauce
Boston Chicken; Salad; Quinoa Pilaf
Tacos with Spanish Rice
Jerk Chicken; Carrot Salad; Rice
Taco Corn Fritters; Fruit

Snacks
Protein Bar
Peanut Butter Krispie Treats (with gf cereal)
Corn Tortilla Chips with Salsa
Veggies/Crackers and Hummus
Apples/Celery with Peanut Butter
Popcorn
Granola *
Applesauce Fruit Rolls *
Mock-Lara Bars *
Peanut Butter Cookies

* - These recipes came from the ebook, Healthy Snacks to Go, which you can purchase here.

Some great resources for gluten free recipes:
Heavenly Homemakers
Lynn's Kitchen Adventures
Kiki's Kitchen
***EDIT***
Found this blog today and it is WONDERFUL!
Chocolate Covered Katie

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday, hosted by OrgJunkie.com.

Out with the Gluten

2011-04-13T17:16:00.001-05:00

Since we will soon be embarking on a voyage into the world of gluten free, I felt I should clean out my cabintes and pantry of anything containing gluten so we don't accidentally pull things from there and so I know what all I need from the store this weekend. And here is the result.

5 bags cleared out of my pantry:

And 2 from my kitchen cabinets:

Now, some of the stuff is already opened and we will try to use that up this week in preparation (while not going overboard and making ourselves sick).

Gluten Free...the way to be?

2011-04-10T12:56:00.001-05:00

This has been a crazy week. Started out with finding out some big things about our son, Carter. You can go read about his diagnosis on our other blog....here. This discover has lead to a renewed interest in going completely gluten free (which we've had good results with before). I'm giving myself a week to get ready for it and use up some food in my fridge (though much will be boxed up until after our experiment) and then we're going all in! I have to admit I'm a bit scared. But the idea of being able to control some of his symptoms (as well as ones my husband and I have experienced) is so promising!

I'm going to try to keep you updated of our two week experiment and let you know the results. I also plan on posting some resources we have used to get ready for this and where we've found more information.

Btw...if you are already gluten free you should check out this awesome giveaway! http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/2011/04/gluten-free-naturals-review-giveaway/

Tackling the Laundry Monster

2011-04-06T10:52:00.002-05:00

Have two kids under two is tough...especially when it comes to keeping any sort of schedule because something always comes up. Someone wants to read a story or not take a nap. While I love these impromptu moments of cuddling and teaching with my boys, it can make it difficult to get anything done around the house. Laundry is by far the hardest thing to get done. Partly this is because my laundry room is near our back door and quite a way (in my toddlers eyes) from the main part of our house. He does NOT like mommy to leave his sight and so it's usually the cause for a crying/screaming fit when I go out there. So I try to do it during nap time or at night when daddy is here to distract him.

When it comes to actually doing the laundry, I don't sort colors...I know, bad mommy! I sort based on these five criteria:

Heavy duty clothes -- These are things like jeans, underwear, and socks. Any kind of clothing that should be washed in warm water for sanitary purposes, but I'm sure won't shrink.
Regular laundry -- The laundry that can we washed and dried in the dryer (mostly this is my shirts and my kids clothes).
Air dry things -- Mostly this is my husbands work shirts which are notorious for shrinking if dried with any amount of heat in the dryer...some of my nicer shirts go in this one also.
Bathroom towels and bedding -- Pretty self-explanatory.
Kitchen laundry -- We mostly use cloth in the kitchen instead of buying paper towels (check out this post) and I don't like to wash these with the bedding/bathroom towels because they have nastier stuff on them (food, bacteria, etc).

I do 1-2 loads a day (depending on whether I am washing cloth diapers or not). Here is the schedule I try to keep to:

Monday - regular laundry and cloth diapers

Tuesday - bedding/towels

Wednesday - heavy duty laundry and cloth diapers

Thursday - kitchen laundry

Friday - air dry things and cloth diapers

Saturday - catch up day

Sunday - my day of rest :)

We have four people in our home (including the two boys under 2) and this works well for us now. My hardest chore is getting it all put away promptly without my 19 month old stealing/hiding things. I have been really wanting to switch to a family closet for ease of getting laundry put away (only one room to go to to put away regular laundry), but so far my husband has not been on board so I wait patiently (most of the time) until he feels more comfortable and/or until I can find a very compelling way to implement this in our house.

This has been posted for Works for Me Wednesday, hosted by We are THAT Family.

10 Years of Me

2011-04-01T10:34:00.001-05:00

I read this really cute post on my friend Dollie's blog and though that my birthday (yes, it really is today) would be an appropriate time to post my "10 years". Enjoy!

10 Years of Me in April

10 years ago: I honestly don't remember much from this time. I know I was in high school, learning to drive, and getting myself into trouble. Other than that, I don't remember a lot.

9 years ago:  I was driving, growing in my faith, and trying to figure out what God wanted me to do for the rest of my life. This was also a time that God used to grow and stretch me in some very uncomfortable ways.

8 years ago: I was preparing to graduate from high school, head to college in the fall, and was learning that God's will was better than my own selfish decisions. This was also when God brought some new friends into my life that have been a wonderful addition to this day!

7 years ago: I was welcoming my little niece, Adriana, into the world. Enjoying college life and so sure I knew God's plans for me. It was also around this time that God put Africa on my heart (something I'm still passionate about, but not been called to move yet).

6 years ago:  I had met, dated, and was engaged to the most wonderful man! We were making plans for the rest of our life.

5 years ago: I moved out on my own (outside of the dorms) for the first time, was working full time at one of the best jobs I've ever had, and planning our wedding.

4 years ago: I was finally getting close to our wedding day! A lot happened around this time that is still difficult for me to deal with...it was a very difficult time for me though I stayed VERY busy. I was working two jobs: at a furniture store full time and part-time as a wedding consultant.

3 years ago: We were living in Tulsa and had bought a house here. This was also the time that I found out I have Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and was told that "most likely" I would never be able to have children.

2 years ago:  I was still mourning over the loss of my Grandpa Claude the winter before, celebrating the pregnancy we had discovered only a few weeks before, and undergoing a MAJOR change in my heart totally led by the Lord!

1 year ago: I was a stay-at-home wife and mom! I was still reeling a bit from losing my Grandpa Claude (the third death, three years in a row, around the holidays), excited about joining our new church, and feeling really crummy (I mean super sick when I ate anything but salad)! This day last year we "pranked" my in-laws by telling them I was pregnant again....not knowing yet that I actually was!

Getting Good Deals Online...that Works for Me

2011-03-30T17:52:00.001-05:00

I don't do a LOT of online shopping, but it is a great tool to use to help find things cheaper than in a brick and mortar store. One of my favorite sites lately has been Amazon.com. Lately, I have found some GREAT deals on there that I have been wanting to share with everyone so that you can also find great deals and save some money! Here are three ways I have saved money with Amazon in the last few months.

Gift Cards

The best way I have found to get gift cards is through Swagbucks. All you do is sign up on swagbucks and use it as your search engine. You earn swagbucks for searches (though not everyone) and there are a variety of other ways to earn swagbucks on the site if you want to really get into it. For every 450 swagbucks you earn, you can redeem it for a $5 Amazon gift card (FYI: You can redeem these for other things or use them to enter drawings, this is just how *I* use them). I can earn 450 usually in about 2 months...it's not a lot, but it helps me get free or discounted things on Amazon.
Another way to get gift cards is to request them as birthday or holiday gifts (I do this since I also have a Kindle and can buy books with them) and I even found a Groupon deal for a gift card to amazon (paid $10 for a $20 gift card)! You can sign up for swagbucks HERE and Groupon HERE. (Disclaimer: I do get a referral bonus if you subscribe through my links for Swagbucks and Groupon.

Subscribe and Save. Amazon runs deals where you get an additional % off (usually 15%) if you subscribe to have the items shipped to you regularly (this can be monthly, every other month, every 6 months, etc). You can go in and change your subscription at any time and even turn it off (meaning they won't ship again until you tell them to).
Amazon Moms. This is a new program they are offering to moms and other caregivers. You get a discount on all baby items, free Super Saver (2-day) shipping for a few months, and other perks! It costs nothing to sign up and has been WELL worth it for us!

How has this worked for me?
Here are a few examples.

I had had my eye on a few kitchen gadgets that I just couldn't bring myself to spend money on b/c I felt they "weren't essential", but didn't feel bad buying with gift cards. I bought a cheese planer and garlic press for free! I also bought this quirky "action figure" as a Christmas present for a friend of ours (who, incidentally, looks just like this action figure). All FREE with Swagbucks gift cards.
I ordered 2 new wet bags and a toy hammock with a $10 off coupon I got in a magazine for any baby item through Amazon (I think it was in Baby Talk) and my Groupon card. This entire order was also FREE!
I ordered some coconut oil (great for baking) using Subscribe and Save which got me an extra 15% off. Total purchase was $11.51 for two containers with free 2-day shipping (b/c I signed up with Amazon Mom).
Luvs diapers (since we're using sposies while I'm in classes).

Size 2 diapers: normally $35.54 for 228 diapers. Discounted 15% for subscribe and save, additional $15% for Amazon Mom subscribers, and free shipping (also from Amazon Mom)...brought my total to $24.88!
Size 4 diapers: Normally $34.54 for 180 diapers. Discounted 15% for subscribe and save, additional 15% for Amazon Mom, and free shipping...brought my total to $24.18!

Pregnancy tests are expensive, but I found this package of 25 for $5.36 and ended up only paying $1.25 with gift cards. If I only use 2 ever I will have paid myself back :)

This has definitely helped me save money on Amazon purchases in just a few easy (and mostly free)!

This has been posted as part of Works For Me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family.

Super Easy Chicken Recipes, Make Ahead Monday

2011-03-28T11:09:00.000-05:00

OK, so I just realized that I haven't every posted two of my favorite chicken recipes! I wanted to rectify that today by sharing with you two recipes that my family really enjoys! The second is one of my husbands FAVORITE dishes! These both freeze wonderfully and are quick to heat up for dinner...which makes me love these dishes too :) Enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (serves ~8)
4-6 c cooked, diced/shredded chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup^
1 small can diced green chilies (undrained)
flour/corn tortillas cut into strips or cubes
grated cheese

1. Combine chicken, soup, and chilies.
2. Layer: tortillas, 1/2 chicken filling, 1/2 cheese, and repeat.
3. Sprinkle top with paprika and bake @ 350 for approx 20 min.
[This usually makes 2 casseroles for our family, 8x8 sized casserole dishes are what I use. If you make the whole thing, you'll probably want to use a 9x13.]

**You can also mix all of this together and put in a Ziploc bag to freeze for later. Then you just thaw, pour into a casserole dish, and go to step #3.

Dump Chicken (serves ~10-12)
12 chicken breasts or thighs (trust me, use boneless)
1/2 c melted butter
2 envelopes Italian salad dressing mix (you could try a homemade mix...here's one...or here)
2 cans cream of chicken soup^
1 c chicken broth/white wine (I always use broth, but the recipe originally called for wine...your choice)

1. Mix butter, dressing mix, soup, and broth/wine together.
2. Place chicken pieces in Ziploc bag and top with wet mixture.
3. To freeze, just seal it up, label with date/name/instructions, and freeze.
To cook: Dump in crock pot and cook on low 8-9 hours (or high 4-5 hours). toward end of cook time (about 1 hour until end), stir in a tub of flavored cream cheese (we like garden veggie).
4. Serve over rice, potatoes, or noodles.

**I make this into two smaller batches b/c otherwise this is A LOT of food. But this would be great to feed a crowd! Also, even if I halve the recipe, I usually still use a full tub of cream cheese at the end (b/c if I tried to store 1/2 a tub it would inevitably go bad before I got back to it).

^I highly recommend this recipe for cream of chicken soup. It doesn't have any MSG and it tastes so much better in my opinion. It's also super fast and easy! I read somewhere that you can also freeze this which sounds awesome and something I plan to try soon. A heads up...this recipe makes the equivalent of 2 cans of cream of chicken soup so make sure you only use 1/2 if your recipe only calls for 1 can.

WFMW - Finding Shortcuts in the Kitchen

2011-03-24T00:19:00.002-05:00

So, I promised to write more about my marathon-o-cooking that took place last week. Trust me, it was NOTHING compared to the cooking days I had in preparation for Henry's birth (you can read more about that here). I do, however, like to ~~set aside~~ ~~find~~ make time to do some small things in the kitchen that help make my daily cooking adventures a bit easier. So, from time to time, I will do a few days like this (usually not all at once) to keep my freezer stocked. So here are a few ideas that I've found to help me keep up during busy times by being prepared for our families needs. (NOTE: Our family is different than yours, not better or worse...just different. Find what works for you and try to make time to fit it into your schedule to make it easier on you at other times when you just CAN'T find one extra second.)

1. Browning large quantities of ground beef at once. I don't like to brown too
much b/c of fears of freezer burn, but having some already browned ground beef that can be quickly thawed for dinner can shave off some serious time in dinner prep--especially if you're like me and often forget to thaw the raw ground beef you need to start fixing dinner...in an hour. Last week I browned about 16 lbs of ground beef, stored it in 1 lb portions in Ziploc bags, labeled them with the date and contents of the bag, and put them in the freezer.

2. Cooking up several pounds of cinnamon apples. Carter loves cinnamon apples for breakfast, I quite enjoy them in oatmeal or grits (I know...no true Oklahoman apparently likes sweet grits, but I'm a transplant), and James enjoys cinnamon applesauce for snacks or lunch. I core and dice several pounds at once, cook them with a bit of cinnamon and sugar, and then put them in canning jars. One usually goes in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. Also, this is a super easy way to make applesauce, just puree the apples in the blender after you're done cooking them (or after you've thawed them in the fridge).

3. Blanching and freezing potatoes. This is something that never occurred to me before last week when I was upset, once again, for having so many potatoes about to go bad and not knowing how in the world I was going to use them all. My solution was to dice them into approximately 1" chunks and blanch them for about 5 minutes in boiling water. I then put them on a cooking sheet and in the freezer. Once frozen, just pop them into Ziploc bags. This works great as we really love cheeseburger soup, stone soup, and cheesy potato soup, and casseroles...it makes the cooking time on all of these a lot faster also!

4. Sauteed onions and celery. Celery is another thing that usually goes bad before I can use it all. Today I chopped several stalks of celery and about 1/2 a large onion and sauteed them in butter, laid them out on a cooking sheet, froze them, and then bagged them up for use in future soups and stews.

5. Cooked, chopped/shredded chicken. Usually at least once every 3-4 weeks I cook two small roasting hens in the crock pot all day. Then I take the meat off the bone and shred/dice. I package it in 1 cup portions and freeze them. This is also convenient for use in making quick meals (like this one).

Well, that's what's working for me right now. Are there shortcuts you use in the kitchen that make dinner prep easier? I'd love to hear about them!

This was posted for Works For Me Wednesday, hosted by We are THAT Family.

Menu Plan Monday - quick fix edition

2011-03-21T13:40:00.001-05:00

For those of you who don't know...which is probably most ;)...I am back in college. I am currently enrolled in a course that meets for several hours two nights a week leaving my husband to get the boys feed and to sleep all by himself...not something I even look forward to, poor guy. Anyway, to make it easier on him I have planned pretty simple meals for those two nights, please don't think poorly of me for feeding such "junk" to my family...a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do sometimes.

Monday - cheeseburger soup

Tuesday - enchiladas (trying this for the first time, but the recipe can be found here)

Wednesday - pepperoni pizza

Thursday - hamburger helper (we are using the icky store-bough stuff, but there are great recipes out there for more homemade versions....try this one or this one...I haven't tried either but they look yummy!)

Friday - tandoori chicken (new recipe) over brown rice

Saturday - breakfast strata (recipe coming soon)

Sunday - clean our refrigerator night

When I Learned To Cook

2011-03-20T23:18:00.000-05:00

I was inspired today by two things. One is my friend Lynn (who blogs at Lynn's Kitchen Adventures) and my the massive cooking day I did today (more to come on that later). Lynn asked when we learned to cook and whether it was something we loved or hated....hmmmm. I'd never really thought about WHEN I learned to cook, probably because I feel like I'm still learning....a lot!

All that aside, I think I have been interested in cooking for quite a while. The first time I remember really cooking was when I was Freshman in high school. I begged my mom to let me plan a dinner party for my grandparents, mom, sister, and our old neighbor who lived by himself. I was obviously interested in cooking enough to even have this idea. I made EVERYTHING from scratch and by myself (also planned the menu on my own). I don't remember everything, but I do remember that I made a batch of rolls, some kind of chicken dish, a fresh salad, and a side of some sort.

It was so much fun and I really enjoyed it! This was probably my earliest memory of enjoying cooking and, of course, was for a "crowd". I still love to do that! I love cooking for a lot of people...church fellowships, small group fellowships, birthdays, etc. Now cooking for myself or my hubby and I...not so much. That is an area where I am definitely still learning to have joy. In high school I did a lot of cooking for myself. I went through a phase where I was vegetarian, where I was working multiple jobs, and where I was just plain tired of only eating food my mom had either purchased from a restaurant or could make in the microwave. Mostly this was one dish meals, casseroles, or even frozen skillet meals. I also remember eating quite a bit chicken and hamburger helper. It was a necessary chore and one I didn't particularly care for.

***Disclaimer: To be fair, my mother did used to cook wonderful meals almost every night! Pork chops, steak, burgers, pizza, etc. That was when she was a stay-at-home mom (while I was in 4th through 8th grades). After that she was divorced and fell into a horrible depression. That is where the microwave meals became her friend. I wish I had been old enough (or smart enough) to really remember the wonderful meals she made for us, but unfortunately for far too long all I remembered were the microwave meals--something I still joke around with her about.

If you care to join in...please let me know when you discovered a love for cooking or whether you're still praying to find joy in that area (as I am).

Staying Sane While Traveling with Littles

2011-03-11T11:07:00.000-06:00

Generally speaking, we don't take many trips with our family. It's an undertaking to get everyone to the store to buy groceries so traveling several hours in the car doesn't seem real appealing to me or the hubs. However, when we do travel it is almost always to visit my family who lives 4 hours away. Since they can't get away to come visit us very often, we try to make it up there usually at least twice a year. Traveling with two boys under two is no cake walk. It takes pretty precise planning, optimal traveling conditions, and a bit of grace.

So how do we do it? Well, here is a list of a few things that make these trips smooth. I would caution that some of these we learned the hard way and won't work for everyone else.

1. Lists, lists, lists! At least a few days ahead of time I make a HUGE list of what all needs to be taken on the trip. This includes food to prepare meals we will make there, personal items for each family member (be sure to remember any special items your kids can't do without), and a to-do list to complete before the trip.

2. Decide on your optimal travel time. For us this means leaving at night. We dress the kids for bed and load them in the car about bedtime. This usually ensures they are asleep within an hour and don't get too fussy. It does NOT mean that they sleep the entire way there, though usually any waking results in falling back to sleep relatively quickly.

3. Pack in a way that will make sense when you get there. For us, this means I pack all my toddlers items in one bag as he sleeps in his own room, and the babies things get put in mommy and daddy's bag (or his own if there isn't room). All the food usually gets packed together or with any other misc items. We also pack a "snack bag" that stays up near the front seats.

4. Remember to have fun in the midst of spilled drinks, fussy babies, and multiple stops, you can't control everything. Just try to move on and know that if you can't laugh about it now....you'll be able to one day :)

The Llama Mama Speaks

2011-03-09T11:14:00.000-06:00

My son's favorite book is Llama, Llama Red Pajama. We read it every...single...day. Sometimes more than once. He loves the whole book (except the page that suggests that the mama llama might be gone, so we skip that one). It really amazes me sometimes how much our everyday circumstances can be impacted by something to trivial as a children's book. It amazes me that God can speak into our lives comforting words through simple writing and illustration...it doesn't have to be something intricate and complex for us to learn a lesson. That blows my mind!

Anyway, this book has become the inspiration for my blog. My favorite part of the book is near the end. The mama llama comes back to baby llama's room and says, "Baby llama don't you know, mama llama loves you so. Mama llama's always near, even if she's not right here." Wow.

Does that speak to anyone else? It amazes me in two ways. 1) How shockingly accurate that thought represents how I feel about my own children and 2) how amazing it is that that is how God feels about us as well! It's such a great feeling :). This passage also reminds me to be patient. God is always near, seeking to give me the desires of my heart, but in his own time. I suppose one day I will have to thank my son for his immense love of this book and explain all the wonderful ways he has blessed my life!

Introductions...

2011-03-08T13:18:00.000-06:00

So I have used this blog to convey my opinions, things God has been doing in my life, wonderful recipes I can't live without and other various things that pop into my head from time to time. But lately I've noticed a glaring hole in my writing.

No one knows who the heck I am!

That's right, the horribly socially awkward person I am...I have never actually introduced myself.

Well...with several of my friends starting their own blogs recently, and seeing their wonderful introduction, I have decided that I should do a bit of update myself. Apparently my new year, new me campaign is being forced upon my blog as well. New layout, new title, and a new post to introduce this crazy person writing :)

Here I am!

My name is Brianah, I am a transplant to OK having spent my life in the Kansas City area from birth until age 22 when we moved here to be closer to my husbands family. Here's a picture of us from December 2009 with our son Carter (in this picture he was 2 months old).

And less than a year after this picture was taken we added another little boy to our family...our son Henry!

And for reference, this is a more recent picture of Carter.

I plan to write more about my life, how we got where we are, and my goals for this blog...but you'll just have to wait a while for that one :)

New Year, New Me :)

2011-03-07T12:13:00.000-06:00

I realize that it's March and that most people are giving up resolutions right now, not making them. But I've always like to be different ;)

This past ~~week~~ month has been terribly frustrating for me. God has been revealing things to me that I am NOT comfortable with and things that I have tried with all my might to rationalize away. It's not working...is anyone surprised? It's not the first time that God has pushed me out of my comfort zone. There was a trip in high school that my church took to Myrtle Beach, SC...I wasn't planning on going as I had two jobs at the time. Little did I know that God had a very different plan. I think it may have only been a week or two before the trip that I felt so convicted to go that I quit one of my jobs and had to beg and plead to get off work at my other job. My mom was unhappy, I was broke, and the wonderful leadership at our church helped me get everything together money-wise. It wasn't a great trip for me...but it was a GREAT trip for God's glory in my life! I was pushed that week...to befriend people I had been hesitant of, to step out of my comfort zone and speak to strangers, to learn so much about God's calling for me and about leadership, and most of all to realize God's nagging guidance about some portions of my life that were HORRIBLY out of whack and defiant. It hurt...it was tough...it didn't stop hurting for almost 2 years! Not what I thought I had signed up for in this Christianity thing. But with the help of my youth minister, his wife, and some great friends I made it through. The things I was being pushed to change didn't completely change for a while and it took some more major intervening from God, but when they did change...my life was so much better! I met my husband and was able to feel God's leading in my life once again. I was also so much more grown up spiritually for having gone through this tough time.

So that brings us to 2005, but in 2011 there are some new challenges God has been weaving into my consciousness. Not so say that there haven't been growth periods, pruning, and difficulties between then and now...but that's a whole string of posts for another time (or a book). Though the things I'm dealing with now aren't as pressing as what I dealt with back then, they are still tough for me. Is it ever easy to listen to God tell you that you've not been doing well and he has some major changes in store?

One thing he has convicted me about is my use of the computer. I love reading other people's blogs. Mostly on food, parenting, and living a Christian life. I feel that it is very uplifting to me, most of the time, and helps give me ideas on how to be engaged with my family better. But that's only true when I'm doing my main job which is caring for the family and lives that God has entrusted to me.

Titus 2:4-5 has been on my heart lately:
"Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

My ministry right now, is my family and that's how it should be. Though I know that...I've not been living that. So, in an effort to change, I have made some decisions--with God's guidance and much prayer. I am shutting down my Facebook page (not because it's evil, but because it is not uplifting to me the way it should be and it is a time waster for me) and I'm majorly scaling back on the number of blogs I read. So that is my resolution for this time in my life. To get my priorities in order and begin to prune all activities that aren't leading me toward my goal of being a Titus 2 woman!

Snack Time!

2010-12-02T18:53:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've posted...yikes! If I could ever find my camera and the cord to link to my computer I could actually finish my post on organization but, alas, I think my toddler has other plans :)

Anyway, today I got to do some actually cooking/experimenting in my kitchen with some new recipes for snack items to keep around the house. I've been looking to move away from using too much white sugar, but I can't afford to switch to anything better (read: more expensive and more nutritious) right now...so I've been trying my hand at some recipes using honey and maple syrup as sweeteners and the results have been, well, YUMMY!

Today I made rice crispy treats (a healthier version) and chewy granola bars. Now, I will warn you that the granola bars taste much more like no-bake cookies (and much yummier than any version I've ever made before)...so proceed with caution!

This is the recipe I used for Rice Crispy Treats (and here is a link to the original...which you should totally check out because she has SO MANY other wonderful treats that I can't wait to try).

Rice Crispy Treats
1 c smooth peanut butter
1/2 c honey
1/2 t vanilla extract
3 c crispy rice cereal (this is what I used and it was yummy...it kind of has a chocolately flavor which was a special addition to the bars)

1. Melt the peanut butter and honey in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, stir until combined.
3. Stir in the crispy rice cereal
4. Spread into greased pan and allow to cool (9x9 works well).

And here is the recipe for the granola bars I made (again the original can be found here - told you she had lots of other yummy things on her site)...

Chewy Granola Bars
1/2 c smooth peanut butter
1/3 c honey
1/4 c coconut oil
1 c oats (I used a combination of quick oats and old fashioned oats)
1/2 c shredded coconut
1/2 c mini chocolate chips (you can try these dairy-free chocolate chips if you have to avoid dairy)

1. Melt together peanut butter, honey, and coconut oil over medium heat until well blended.
2. Remove from heat and add oats, coconut, and chocolate chips. Stir well.
3. Spread into greased pan (I used a 9x9 pan).
4. Cool approx 2 hours (30 minutes on counter and then transferred to refrigerator for remaining time).
5. Cut into bars and TRY, TRY, TRY not to devour every single one b/c you know that you're supposed to share with your family and that it's never good to eat that much at once...everything in moderation ;)

FYI: The chocolate chips melted completely into the mixture and I think I'd scale back to 1/4 cup next time and use more coconut or maybe add some sunflower seeds or something, but that's just me.

If your look for some relatively healthier options this holiday season to the normal fare (think fudge, cookies, cream pies, and the like) then these could be a great alternative! Enjoy!

Make Ahead Monday: Chili

2010-11-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

When my husband and I were in college, one of the "things to do" in that small town was to go to a burger chain there called Steak'N'Shake. It was super yummy! Almost everything they serve is wonderful, but one thing I especially love there is their chili. We searched long and hard to find a chili that compared and finally I found a knock-off recipe online. After a few minor tweaks here is what we ended up with. We really enjoy this hearty meal during the colder months, but have even been known to enjoy it in the spring and summer! Even better is what a frugal meal this is (though not completely healthy as I have yet to find a good substitute for the cola) and the fact that it is done in the slow cooker AND it freezes well for a quick meal!

Steak'N'Shake Style Chili

2 T oil

1 lbsground beef

½ t salt

1 T chili powder

2 t ground cumin

½ t pepper

2 t cocoa

3 (15oz) cans chili/kidney beans

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 cup cola (not diet)

Brown ground beef and salt in oil – if there is a high fat content tothe ground beef you can omit the oil (I usually do).

Drain meat and add to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir.

Let simmeron low for 4 hours or onhigh for 2 hours.

To Freeze: Mix ingredients together and transfer to freezer bag (or other container for freezing). I usually double bag soup style dinners to prevent leakage when thawing. Also be sure to write the date and directions for cooking on the bag. Take out of freezer the day before to thaw (or thaw in cool water in sink--will probably take a few hours), place in slow cooker morning/afternoon you want to enjoy and follow cooking instructions.

**Frugal Tip: You can cut the amount of ground beef in half and add more beans to make this stretch further and be cheaper.

Make Ahead Monday: Chicken Cordon Bleu

2010-11-01T10:00:00.001-05:00

This recipe isn't as frugal as most of the others I have or will post, but it is super yummy! It is something I usually make for special occasions with my husband as some of the ingredients are usually on my regular shopping list (boneless, skinless chicken breast being one of them). My husband also enjoys the leftover ham and swiss cheese for sandwiches the following week ;)

Chicken Cordon Bleu

6 4-oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
6 thin ham slices
6 slices swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 c white wine or chicken stock (I never have wine in the house)
1/4 c nonfat sour cream
1 T dijon (or spicy brown) mustard
1 c mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 t minced garlic
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1 t salt (preferably kosher or sea salt)
1/2 t black pepper
2 scallions, chopped (optional)

Putting thedinner together:

Place thechicken breasts on a plastic cutting board. Arrange a slice of ham and swiss cheese on top of each one. Roll each chicken breast tightly and securewith a toothpick.
Place the rolledbreasts in the prepared baking dish(es).
In a bowl, combine the soup, wine, sour cream, mustard, mushrooms,garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly.
Pour the mixture over the chicken.
Sprinkle with the scallions.

For dinnertonight:

Preheat theoven to 375 degrees. Bake, uncovered,for 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165degrees.

To freeze:

Cover thedishes with plastic wrap and heavy-duty aluminum foil. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3months. Thaw in the refrigerator beforecooking as directed above.

***Frugal Tip: Since I only make this for the two of us, I usually cook 3 portions (one for each for dinner and one lunch for the next day) and freeze the other three. So, theoretically, if you doubled this recipe you could make enough meals for 4 nights.

Make Ahead Monday: Mexican Casserole

2010-10-25T10:00:00.003-05:00

For our second installment of Make Ahead Monday, I am sharing a recipe that I found online. I am fairly certain that, in some way, it came from a recipe on The Common Room blog, but I can't for the life of me locate the recipe. I also know that I have cut it down from it's original amounts. Anyway, here it goes...and please check out The Common Room for other recipe ideas (especially to feed a large family or crowd on the cheap).

Mexican Casserole

2-3 lb ground beef

2 cans cream of chicken soup (can use this recipe to make a homemade, gluten free version)

2 cans black beans

2 cans corn/ranch beans/pinto beans (optional)

1 can rotel or 1 c salsa

¼ c taco seasoning

Grated cheese

Tortillas or corn chips

Cook and drain ground beef. Add soup, beans, rotel/salsa, and taco seasoning. Heat and stir.

In large greased roaster (or 2 9x13 pans), layer as follows:

- tortillas cut to fit (cubes/strips)

- ½ meat sauce

- ½ grated cheese

- repeat

Heat in oven @ 325 until bubbly, about 25 minutes.

***A few hints about this recipe:

I can split this recipe (as written) into 3 9x9 casserole dishes and I freeze the extra to that and heat up later. You can also mix everything up (instead of layering) and freeze in a gallon size freezer bag. This method takes up a lot less space and means that you won't have a casserole dish out of use.
You can add extra beans and take out some of the meat to make this a more frugal options. Or you can just add extra beans to stretch the meal even further.
We prefer this dish made with corn tortillas instead of flour. We just like the taste better that way. [And now that we are gluten free, as long as we use a gluten free cream of chicken soup, the corn tortillas make this an easy gf meal!]

Works for Me Wednesday: Freezer Cooking for Baby

2010-10-20T10:00:00.002-05:00

I thought I would take this time to write about how I have been preparing for a new baby in the kitchen. In the way of preparations, cooking probably isn't one that a lot of people think about. Between painting and preparing nurseries, picking out names, and caring for other children...who has time? But our budget is small and so tending to these details before baby came was very important to our financial security after baby came. Soooo....I decided to make many meals for my family and keep them in the freezer, things that could be pulled out to thaw and cooked quickly, things that didn't require a lot of sides to make them a complete meal, things that my mother could cook (who has very little cooking skill), and things that would be nutritious for our family.

My goal was to have enough food to get us through almost a whole month. This way, if my husband or I feel like cooking we can...and if we feel a bit overwhelmed then we don't have to worry about it. It will keep us from eating fast food or attempting to go out to eat with an infant and a 13 month old (which probably wouldn't be good for any of our sanity). I will link to any recipes that I have online and have planned a series of posts for "Make Ahead Monday" where I will post any recipes I use that are not found online. So here goes...
(FYI: the number in parenthesis is how many meals worth I made and froze)

Ranch Chicken with Potatoes (2)
Chicken Enchilada Casserole (2)
Sloppy Joe Meat (2)
Mexican Casserole (3)
Chili (2)
Taco Meat (2) - This is just ground beef prepared with homemade taco seasoning and a bit of water...I'll post the seasoning recipe on Wednesday
Chicken Cordon Bleu (3)
Manicotti (2)
Dump Chicken (2)
Meatloaf (4) - For these I made up mini-meatloaves and froze them in individual servings totaling approx. 8 servings so this would function as 4 lunches/dinners for me and my husband.

I also prepared/bought and froze some things with which to cook up quick meals and make mealtime a bit easier. Here's what I put back and how it can be used to save time on meal prep.

Precooked and Diced Chicken - Frozen in 2 cup portions which can be easily used for Chicken and Rice Wraps, quesadillas, and casseroles.
Breakfast Sausage - Frozen in 1 lb portions and can be used for sausage grave, omelets, or breakfast burritos. Could also be used in spaghetti sauce and served over pasta.
Frozen, Preformed Hamburger Patties - Can be thawed and grilled or cooked on the stove for a quick lunch or dinner.
Frozen Bratwurst and Hotdogs - Thawed they make a quick lunch or dinner.

Make Ahead Monday: Ranch Chicken and Potatoes

2010-10-18T10:00:00.009-05:00

I am headed to the doctor this morning for another blood pressure check and, most likely, will be headed to the hospital this afternoon to be induced. Since a lot is going on in our house, I have planned out a few posts for the next few weeks in lieu of Menu Plan Monday.

I am calling these posts "Make Ahead Monday" as they are all meals that freeze incredibly well and can make for a quick dinner during the week or during a stressful time in life. These make wonderful meals to take to others. For instance new mothers, after loss of loved ones, when people are sick, or just to let someone know you're thinking of them. These meals are all fairly frugal options and easy to assemble. They are also easy to double or triple and then you can cook one night and have 2-3 meals to put in the freezer for the future (this method has really helped us in not going out to eat as much).

I will be posting various recipes, most of which we will be enjoying after the baby comes thanks to my marathon freezer cooking session a few weeks ago. I hope that you will enjoy these recipes and that they will bless your bellies and wallets :)

Ranch Chicken and Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, quartered and blanched in boiling water for 3-5 minutes
1 c red bell peppers, diced/minced
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thirds (I usually use diced/shredded, precooked chicken to make this faster and cheaper)
1 c nonfat sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1-oz package powdered ranch salad dressing
1 t garlic salt

Spread thepotatoes in the bottom of the prepared baking dish(es). Layer the bell peppers and chicken breasts ontop of the potatoes. Set aside.
In a largebowl, combine the sour cream, soup, ranch dressing mix, and salt and stirthoroughly.
Spread sour cream mixture over the chicken.

For dinnertonight:

Preheat theoven to 350 degrees. Cover the dish withaluminum foil and bake for 1 ½ hours, until browned and bubbly (may take less time if using precooked chicken--test potatoes after 45 minutes).

To freeze:

Cover withplastic wrap and heavy-duty aluminum foil. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking asdirected above.

Menu Planning Monday

2010-10-11T09:09:00.000-05:00

Last week went very well! We were able to share meals with friends on two separate nights while not making much of a change to our actual menu. The only difference was Friday when we ended up eating dinner at my in-laws house and thus postponing sloppy joes (which we will be enjoying for dinner tonight).

Of the new recipes we had planned to try, here's the verdict...
- Cheeseburger Soup was AMAZING! I'm not a big fan of soup, but it was really quite wonderful and we had plenty left over for a soup and sandwich lunch the next day. This will DEFINITELY be made again in our house...probably soon!

- We did decide against the Baked Egg Cups as we ended up with more gravy than we had anticipated.

- Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli was generally well received by my husband, but it made a HUGE amount of food and some ended up in the garbage as we couldn't possibly finish it all for lunches. I don't know that I would make it again for a regular meal, but it would be wonderful for a church function or other type of potluck meal (not very expensive and makes a lot of food).

Quite a few new recipes in the rotation again this week and I'll be sure to keep you updated on how they turn out!

Monday - Sloppy Joes; au gratin potatoes; salad

Tuesday - Sausage and Pancake Muffins+

Wednesday - Beef Stew

Thursday - Fettuccini Alfredo+ with Chicken and Broccoli

Friday - Cheesy Beef and Rice+

Saturday - Pizza (trying again with this recipe for the dough)

Sunday - Penne with meat sauce; garlic bread; salad

+ A new recipe I'm trying this week.

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. Please head over and check out all the other wonderful recipes and menus posted to get ideas for your own menu plan!

Oy Vey! Blogging made...very frustrating!

2010-10-09T23:57:00.001-05:00

It has been hard to find either the motivation or time to sit down and blog this week. I have so many ideas of things I want to write about. Things like why church seems to be a place that people are most hesitant to tackle touchy issues and why Christians work so hard to be like everybody else when we have clearly been called to be more and our journey to parenthood. I also have a few not so in-depth topics I'd like to discuss...like menu planning, how to deal with feeding a growing family on a VERY tiny grocery budget, having a good attitude during pregnancy, and organizing solutions for tough/small spaces.

Unfortunately, none of these things seems solid enough in my mind for me to actually sit down and write a post that would be cohesive enough to make sense to anyone outside of my head. Perhaps I can blame in on the end of pregnancy brain we all hear so much about :)

Whatever it is, I do hope to add to this blog over the next few weeks with posts that will be thoughtful and well planned out. Until I can actually accomplish that, I hope that the few readers I have will stick with me and be patient while I find my voice amid the cacophony of other thoughts and uncertainties swimming around in my brain as I near the end of my pregnancy.

Confessions of a Recipe-aholic...and Menu Plan Monday

2010-10-04T10:47:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Brianah and I'm an addict...a recipe addict that is. Yep, I'm sure I'm not alone in the boat, but if I see a recipe I like I write it down (or bookmark it, or tag it in my blog reader, or copy it into a Word document). Needless to say I have accumulated quite a large amount of recipes over the last year and a half or so--since I started trying to feed my family healthier and cook more from scratch. Unfortunately, due to the time restraints of caring for a small child, I usually end up making the same few meals over and over again. Normally the reason falls in to one of three categories: it's easy and/or I don't need the actual recipe anymore, it's cheap to make, or it goes in the slow cooker.

Since realize this about myself I have started paring down my recipes to things I might *actually* make for my family which means they need to meet a few criteria. Here's what I came up with:
1. It must be easy and quick to prepare.
2. It must be made with easy to find and inexpensive ingredients (preferably things that can be found at Aldi's or that I already keep on hand).
3. It must be filling (this just lets me get more mileage out of leftovers).
4. It must sound like something my family would actually eat...amazing how many were vetoed b/c of this rule.

So I have pared down many of my recipes and am now starting the process of going through them. I plan on noting new recipe trials in my menu each week from now on. Any recipe that is online, will be linked in my menu plan. Other recipes will, hopefully, be reviewed later in the week and posted on (hoping that I get time to really follow through with that one).

Without any further ado, here is my plan for the week of October 4-10.

Monday - Cheeseburger Soup+; Salad
Tuesday - Baked Egg Cups+; Biscuits & Gravy
Wednesday - C.O.R.N./rewind*
Thursday - Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli+; Salad
Friday - Sloppy Joes; Au Gratin Potatoes; Salad
Saturday - Pizza (trying Laura's recipe for bread machine pizza dough found here+); salad
Sunday - One Pot Spaghetti; salad

*C.O.R.N. - Clean Out Refrigerator Night. This means we are either eating on leftovers or I might "rewind" a meal that I had planned for earlier in the week but didn't, for whatever reason, get to--usually because of eating out with friends/family or a church fellowship I failed to account for when planning my menu.

+ means it is a new recipe we are trying...lots of those this week!

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com. Please head over and check out all the other wonderful recipes and menus posted to get ideas for your own menu plan!

The most amazing thing happened...

2010-09-29T11:20:00.000-05:00

27 years ago today, my husband was born! This is quite possible THE most amazing thing that could ever have happened b/c even though my parents hadn't even met yet, God was already orchestrating life so that one day I would meet this amazing man.

It is amazing to me to look back over the years we've been together (and even the years before) and see how amazingly God's hand was present in bringing us together. I am so thankful that this wonderfully creative and funny man was able to look past my weaknesses and see me as his wife.

Today he turns 27 and I am looking back over the last few years we've shared and am truly astonished by all that he has accomplished. If you know my husband, James, please take some time to send him a message and wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL HUSBAND, JAMES!

***Next week, we'll return to the normal schedule of Works for Me Wednesday with a post on organization in our kid's room and how I combat the limited space.***

Wow...has it really been that long?

2010-09-27T10:58:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how long it has been since I've posted...must get better about that. Well, my new goal for this blog is to get at least two posts up each week: menu plan Monday and works for me Wednesday. Without further ado, here is my menu for this week.

Monday - Tacos (using this recipe, but serving in corn tortillas instead of over potatoes) and Spanish rice
Tuesday - Buckwheat pancakes with sausage patties
Wednesday - Chicken and Rice Wraps (I'll be tripling the recipe and freezing the extra for after baby comes); salad
Thursday - C. O. R. N./rewind (Clean Out Refrigerator Night, or I rewind and make a meal I skipped--for whatever reason--earlier in the week)
Friday - Sloppy Joes; salad
Saturday - Chicken and Ramen noodles (cook noodles, drain, add chicken, some seasoning/soy sauce, and stir fry veggies)
Sunday - Spaghetti with meat sauce; salad; garlic bread

So that's what's on the menu for this week. Check out the other Menu Plan Monday posts linked up at orgjunkie.com and feel free to link up yourself. I'd love to hear what you're plan is also...so if you don't have a post to link up, please feel free to share in the comments below!

Also, coming up for the next few weeks I have some posts planned for Works for Me Wednesday on organization in a small space. So stay tuned!

Cloth Diapers - A Love Affair

2010-07-27T11:33:00.000-05:00

Fellow Blogger, Amy, over at Raising Arrows is doing a giveaway this week for some FuzziBunz diapers and it got me thinking about our cloth diaper path. She is talking about her path to using cloth diapers and how it has changed over the years. Go check out this post for more information on the giveaway and here for info on her cloth diaper path.

For us, we started out on our journey about 1/2 way through my pregnancy with our first son. I knew I needed an alternative to disposables because of the cost factor and had some friends that cloth diapered their kids, so I started asking questions and doing more research. It was pretty evident early on that we needed an option that wouldn't cost a lot to start up and we weren't terribly concerned about the ease of use since I was planning to stay home with my son and didn't mind the extra work. It helps to note that my husband was on board with all of this and also didn't really care about how easy the system would be to use.

There are tons of sites out there to do research on cloth diapers and compare prices, but I ended up ordering from Cotton Babies and we decided to start with prefolds, Dappi covers (the pull-on nylon pants), and Snappi's as a closure instead of diaper pins. So for little out of pocket expense we got ourselves set up to start.

We waited a few weeks after Carter came home to jump in (we had a lot of disposables given to us at showers and so we used those during this time). Once we started, we quickly got the hang of things. There is a learning curve and I did a lot of research on different ways to fold the prefolds for maximum absorption, but it really wasn't too bad. The laundry was also a breeze! Since I was exclusively breastfeeding, everything just went straight from Carter, to the diaper pail, and into the laundry.

Once we had the hang of things I started looking for other kinds of diapers on sale. We got some all-in-ones from a garage sale and some "seconds"/clearance of the BumGenius 3.0's from Cotton Babies (TIP: seconds may seem like a risk, but they have been wonderful for us...a great way to try new diapers without the sticker shock of buying them brand new). I eventually also bought some hemp liners for my BumGenius diapers that have been WONDERFUL! I found some homemade diaper wipes from a woman on Freecycle and bought some BumGenius wipes from a garage sale (I prefer the homemade wipes which are mostly just flannel and are super easy to make on your own).

A few months ago Cotton Babies came out with 2 new diapers, Econobum and Flip. I was interested in trying the covers with my prefolds as the dappi covers have to be purchased in each size and these covers were one-size (meaning they adjust to fit your baby from birth to potty training, generally). I found some Econobum covers being sold in their clearance section and bought a few. Well, me and my husband LOVED them! They were so much easier than Dappis, and since we bought them on clearance the price wasn't too bad either. When they went on clearance again we bought enough to diaper our son and the baby that we were expecting (due this October). We also got, via a trade on Craigslist, some fitted diapers that would work for a wide variety of sizes and we really enjoyed them. We are currently on the lookout for another brand of fitted diaper to use with Carter as he gets bigger and to add to our diaper stash for the new baby as well.

Overall I have been incredibly happy with cloth diapering! It hasn't been too much extra work and I'm not a slave to the system. We still use disposables at times when I know I can't keep up with cloth (when I'm sick, baby is sick, or we are traveling a lot) and he is usually in disposables when we go out of the house or to relatives. We don't expect other family members to cloth diaper him, we have disposables available for these times. I'm still frustrated at finding a good cloth diaper for overnights as our son is a pretty heave wetter, but I don't mind using disposables for these times either. Hopefully in the next few months we will be adding to our stash and, as we do, I will try to update with any new products that we try.

Works-for-Me Wednesday....making my life easier edition

2010-07-07T11:15:00.001-05:00

The other day my husbandand I were talking about the "stuff" we own and how it affects ourlives. We've all heard the guys on TV, other bloggers, friends, andfamily talking about how some new gadget or machine has made their life so mucheasier...but is it true? Do we really need new things to make lifeeasier?

In some ways Icompletely agree! I really enjoying having a washer and dryer and do feelthat those make my life easier. But I'll admit that I have, before,become caught up in owning new cleaning gadgets and they end up making my lifemore difficult and tying me down with lots of stuff! That's not easierfor me.

Here are some thingsthat we do and don't own that HAVE made my life easier...some of them you mayagree with and some of them you won't...but this is what works for me!

1. Not using papertowels.

This was not somethingwe actually did on purpose, believe it or not. I had read of people whostopped buying and using paper towels and it sounded like a nice idea, but onethat I thought would have to wait until we had the "right" clothoptions. That's what I thought anyway. One day we ran out of paper towelsand I just didn't buy anymore...we had a ton of paper napkins that did the jobin a pinch and we really weren't ever using them so I thought I'd wait to buypaper towels until we ran out of napkins. It has now been several monthssince we ran out of napkins. I don't really know when it happened andcertainly didn't notice until cooking bacon a few days ago and I wasn't aboutto leave what I was doing to go buy a roll of paper towels! So we used awire cooling rack. The next time we used a regular dishrag (clean ofcourse) and it worked great!

2. Not having a workingdishwasher.

I never thought I wouldenjoy NOT having a dishwasher. We do have one, technically, but it hasbeen broken for goodness knows how long and we just haven't had time to fix it. While I do miss the convenience when we have lots of people over, I don'tmiss how many dishes we used to have and use! Since we have to washeverything by hand, we only have 4 place settings. This wouldn't havebeen enough to fill up our dishwasher and I would have felt bad using all thatwater for a very less-than-full machine, but by washing things by hand we use fewerdishes. We also question every time we want to get out a dish...which haslead to less snacking!

3. Using "familycloth" in the bathroom.

If you aren't familiarwith this, please check out these posts for more information. This came as an ideafrom a fellow blogger and I am so happy with it! Since I already washcloth diapers, I can just throw them in with my son's diapers, but I've beenknown to throw them in with regular towels also. The name is a bitmisleading, I am the only one in the house that uses these and I only use themfor....shall we say, "wet" trips to the restroom. My familythinks I'm crazy and it's OK if you do too! I love it! The clothsare more absorbent, comfortable, and leave no paper residue.

4. Owning a steam mop.

We recently had to buy anew vacuum cleaner and while we briefly thought of shelling out major dough fora top of the line one for allergies (as the whole family has been plagued thissummer something awful) we reconsidered. We only actually have one roomwith carpet (which is hopefully going to be torn up this summer) and 3 arearugs. It didn't make much sense to spend so much on something that wouldreally only clean a handful of surfaces/floors in our house. So we lookedat steam mops. I HATE mopping! I really am not so keen on sweepingeither, but it's necessary so it happens most of the time. Withthe new steam mop I can vacuum the floors and steam mop in the same time ittakes me to sweep/mop with normal methods. But this way I don't have toworry about any nasty cleaners being harmful to my babies and I don't have tomess with a mop/bucket. It works for me and I love it!

Those are just a fewthings that I thought of that make my life easier. Maybe not alwayssimpler...but definitely easier :). What are some of the things youuse/own that make your life easier?

This blog post issubmitted to Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup...just what we needed

2010-05-20T15:32:00.001-05:00

Last night was yet another night of rain here in Green Country...and for those of you that don't know, that's Oklahoma. :)

We have had rain every day (or so it feels) for the last few weeks. This has made for almost an extended winter menu in our house. We love soups and stews during rainy nights and last night was no different. I should warn that I'm still learning how to cook by taste instead of by recipe...making recipes my own and improvising is not something I usually do well. Last night was an exception as it left my husband asking for seconds both for dinner and lunch today...yay! So I'm sharing my success with all of you and here goes.

Chicken Noodle Soup
2.5 quarts water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
1 T onion powder (could substitute fresh onion, but I was out)
2 stalks celery
1 carrot
3 cloves garlic
2 c cooked chicken (cut into small pieces or shredded)
8 oz pasta (we used the wide egg noodles from the store...the ones with the Amish buggy on the front)
drizzle of EVOO
thyme, salt, and pepper to taste

Drizzle EVOO in bottom of stock pot and add veggies (I shredded our carots, celery, and garlic...if you do this, shred over the pan so you get all the good juices/flavor).

Cook over medium until everything is soft and fragrant (if you shred them, do this for about 5 min).

Add water, bouillon, and chicken to pot and bring to a boil.

Add noodles and seasoning and cook according to package directions for noodles.

I let it set on the stove, covered for about an hour after I turned off the heat to let all the flavors really come together and let the noodles soak up the broth.

Enjoy!

**This is just what I had on hand and what looked right for us. You could add as much celery, carrots, or onion as your family prefers.

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-05-10T15:50:00.001-05:00

Wow! What a weekend! This was my first official Mother's Day and my husband made it wonderfully special!

We spent lots of time with family (my mom and grandma even came down from Kansas City) and had a wonderful time. Friday night James had to work late helping with graduation, but when he finally made it home he had flowers and ice cream. We spent the evening watching a movie and then headed to bed. We got up early on Saturday to prepare for the guests we were expecting on Sunday and James went to help his dad with some jewelry work (for those of you that don't know...his dad is a goldsmith). My family arrived and set about helping me with some last minute preparations and some chores around the house that I have not been able to get to.

When James got home on Saturday it was just me and Carter and he confessed that he hadn't been telling me the whole truth...he was working on jewelry for me! :) I was so surprised and immediately started crying. This is the gorgeous, silver necklace he made me with the flowers he brought home on Friday.

Sunday was Carter's dedication at church...pictures to come later...and it was awesome! I was so excited all morning and it was really great to have most of our families there to celebrate with us. Our pastor also gave a wonderful sermon on prioritizing on purpose as parents. All about the priorities we set for our kids and how those need to reflect what we want them to know when they grow up. A great reminder that our actions and words have huge ramifications! It was one of my favorite sermons since we started attending our church.

After church our families came over for lunch. Sandwiches, fruit, veggies, pasta salad, and homemade cookies! It was a great way to celebrate mothers day! Afterward, James went to a baseball game with a friend and my wonderful sister-in-law watched Carter so I could take a much needed nap. :)

Overall, it will be hard to top next year!

For another wonderful Mother's Day post check out my friend Grace's blog!

Blogging: 5 W's

2010-04-26T16:04:00.001-05:00

My friend Grace is talking today about the 5 W's of her blogging journey over at wheelsoffun.blogspot.com and I thought I would jump on the bandwagon as well!

Who do you blog for?
I blog mostly for myself right now. Kind of a chronicle of my journey through life (marriage, parenting, spiritual journey, etc.). I also post this for friends and family that live in other parts of the country.

What do you blog about?
Lately it has been things God has been laying on my heart about our life. I also hope to blog in the future about cloth diapering, cooking, my journey of being a home manager, and more about our family.

When do you blog?
During Carter's nap times and after he goes to sleep (if we don't have any other pressing chores to work on).

Where do you blog?
In our guest room/office.

Why do you blog?
As a way to keep myself accountable to the things I am working on. I also blog as a way to show a bit of our life to others around us and hopefully help others understand the "odd" things we do. I would also love to be able to share with others that there are other options out there. Many of the things we do might come off as strange in the culture/society we live in, but these choices are valid options and things that don't need to be scary.

Weekend Epiphany (pt. 2)...a long time coming

2010-04-19T22:42:00.000-05:00

So several weeks ago I wrote about my weekend epiphany...my crazy shelf that runs my life ;). It has taken me some time to come to grips with part two of what I realized that weekend.

While I was driving home from the grocery store, it was one of those rare times where James was at home, the baby was at my in-laws, and I was alone in the car with God and my thoughts. I had been struggling with the concept of doing what is best for my family. For those of you who don't know, I am a perfectionist. It is something God has been slowing working on in my heart for years...and unfortunately something I tend to fight Him on way too often. I want to do the absolute best things for my family. I think I know, in many cases, what those things look like but not always how to go about changing and I tend to think in terms of all or nothing.

For example, cooking with Teflon coated pans has been shown to be bad for your health in the long term. To me that means throwing out my Teflon coated pans and cooking with other types of cookware (which I already own). But I also know that eating meat full of hormones and antibiotics is bad for you. So in my mind the answer is to start eating grass-fed, free range meat in addition to throwing out my Teflon cookware.

That even sounds crazy to me! Why, you may ask, don't you take one step at a time. Good question...one God has also been asking. Which brings me to the revelation I had in the car that day.

I need to do what is best for my family at this time with the resources God has blessed us with.

That doesn't mean perfection. It doesn't mean starting over or doing every single thing that I feel needs to be done right now. It means taking into consideration the most important things and changing what I can. For us, in this season of life, that means staying on budget. That is the most important aspect of my daily life...staying within the income God has blessed us with without complaint and while honoring God through my diligence and obedience.

The action plan has taken shape over the last few weeks (with much thanks to the films Food Inc. and Super Size Me for their wealth of information and to my husband for his direction and wisdom). For our family this means we won't eat out at fast food restaurants (which is good for us in LOTS of ways), we will cook as much as we can from scratch, and cooking through our overflowing pantry. It means focusing our grocery budget on fresh produce. With the next step being that once our pantry is depleted, we will restock with foods that are much healthier (i. e. not repurchasing but the occasional can of cream of whatever soup, processed foods, and junk food). I am learning to make more from scratch -- which I have always loved doing -- and I am setting us up for a healthier life. We are also making sure that our son will benefit from healthier foods that will nourish him as he grows and hopefully avoid some of the poor eating habits James and I have had in the past.

I could probably write for hours about the things we are changing and the things I want to work on next, but that would be getting ahead of where we are right now. And thus, challenging the path God has laid before me...to be present in what I am doing right now instead of living in the future. For me, this takes continual trust in God and requires me to seek His guidance and provision every day. I would love to fall back on my own understanding, but that would get me nowhere...fast!

Giveaways Galore :)

2010-04-04T12:52:00.000-05:00

So I know I am long overdue for a post about my weekend epiphany...from last weekend, but things have been a little crazy. More to come on that later.

In the meantime, I wanted to let everyone know about a wonderful set of giveaways being hosted by my friend Grace. You can check them out at her blog...wheelsoffun.blogspot.com. Enter to win some cool stuff made by work-at-home-moms and check out her other posts about her crazy exciting life as a stay at home mom to 4 littles all under 5 (amazing, huh?).

Weekend Epiphany (pt. 1)

2010-03-29T15:11:00.000-05:00

I had a revelation this past weekend...two actually. It is changing the way I think about my home, life, and parenting. Isn't it amazing when that happens?

Revelation #1
Some people say that they need one room in their house clean to avoid feeling overwhelmed. For some people this is the bedroom or maybe their kitchen. If that one "safe haven" looks good and everything is in order, so is the rest of their life. No burnout, feeling overwhelmed, or frustrated. These people will tell you that if that room or space isn't clean they just can't function. They may start fighting with their spouse or getting frustrated with their kids. I realized this weekend that I have this problem...but not with a room.

Oh no, my problem? When one particular shelf in my pantry is disorganized. That's right...you read correctly...ONE SHELF! It's utterly amazing! I did not know this about myself on Friday, but by Sunday night I was at my boiling point with my house. Everything felt out of control and I didn't know where to start. I took out my frustration on my husband (bless him for dealing with my horrible attitude) and even got frustrated with my son. That is until I realized the source of my frustration was one shelf in my kitchen.

To be fair, there are few convenient shelves in my kitchen. Many require the use of a step ladder to reach and we have way too little cabinet space anyway. This one shelf is the most convenient shelf in my whole kitchen, and it happens to be where I keep plates, bowls, mugs, and cups. Over the last few weeks, random things have gotten piled on that shelf because there wasn't a better place to put them (see previous note about minuscule cabinet space). A half loaf of bread, box of cereal, funnel, pudding mix, and a can of something. That was what it took to turn me into a horrible person. I cleared it off and awoke this morning to the same chaos (house is cluttered, dirty dishes in the sink, fussy baby) but my attitude was remarkably better.

I will leave you with that for today, tomorrow I will post about revelation #2. It's quite life altering for me and I'm just feeling I need more time to truly get into the subject before I'm ready to post it for all to see.

Mommy, are we poor?

2010-03-25T21:59:00.000-05:00

I read an article** today about what the average, middle-class family looks like today. The median income is $81,000, the low end is $51,000. The average family takes one vacation a year, usually totaling $3100 and lasting one week, typically to a beach or somewhere coastal. They have 2 medium size sedans, their home is typically worth approximately $231,000, and spend roughly $1200 a month on living expenses (clothing, food, utilities, entertainment, etc.).

Wow.

I started thinking about how our family stacks up to these odds and have to admit that we fall short. I have never really considered our financial position in terms of middle-class versus working/lower class. I always felt that we had more than enough and didn't lack for anything we needed, and not usually anything we wanted. Other people, I know, see it differently. Even our family members seem to think we are not well off because we choose a different lifestyle than most. And I hate to say that I feel a lot of that is our fault. It is so much easier to tell someone we do something because it costs less or because we don't have the money to do it than to really explain our point or reasoning for why we choose the things we do.

For example, save 2 months when we first moved to Tulsa, we have never had cable (we only had it then because it was accidentally installed with our internet and we thought we'd give it a shot). We quickly realized what a time waster cable was for us. We could sit in the apartment all night, get nothing done, go to bed late, and have nothing to show for it except that we could tell you exactly what happened all night on TBS. It was just sad. So we got rid of it and have never considered going back. This means we pay less for tv than most people (nothing) and have more time for other things. By not having cable, we aren't as likely to waste our evening sitting on the couch--though we still find plenty of time for that with basic/local channels.

This seems like a luxury that most people don't realize is just that...at luxury. It isn't neccessary to have cable or to even have a tv, but some people think we are poor because we don't pay for cable. Fine with me.

My husband and I have also chosen to give up taking out loans on new cars. Our one, and only, "new" car purchase was a Saturn that we bought used from a dealership for much more than we should have paid. We gave up the car and loan about a year and a half ago and I don't miss writing that check every month. We currently have one car that is used and paid off. Sure it needs work every now and then, but by not making a monthly car payment the occasional mechanic fees don't seem that bad. The fact that we can opt for minimum insurance coverage is also a bonus. But having one car for a family of 3 seems to be impossible in the view of our society.

We do other things that most people consider odd. We cloth diaper our son, don't look down on any free clothes, I breastfed as I could, we check out movies and books from the library, we have one cell phone and a prepaid for emergencies, use cloth instead of paper products whenever necessary, and we don't have a credit card. You would think people had never done any of these things for the responses that we get some times.

I will admit that there are times when I feel it would be nice to have more money, like when I'm cooking dinner and really feel like just going out. But the payoff is so much better than what we would get from having those things that society tells us we absolutely need.

We are doing what we feel God has lead us to do giving me the opportunity to stay home with my son all day every day. That is something that is worth more than what I could monetarily bring in with a 9-5 job. We eat fairly well and we're doing better all the time since we are actually learning how to cook and cook well. We also know a lot more about Bonobo Monkeys and Cuttlefish than the average person (who doesn't watch tons of PBS) and our favorite shows are things like Big Bang Theory, America's Test Kitchen, and The Red Green Show. Many of these are things we would never experience if we had cable. I know how to cook a variety of foods, my favorite thing to do is replicate restaurant dishes at home and they always taste better.

All in all I am happy with where we are and that is enough for me. I am going to try to stick up for our choices more instead of using the easy way out. God definitely didn't call us in this direction because it was easy and it is of no benefit to anyone for me to act that way. I am proud of the decisions we have made because they are right for our family, maybe not for everyone, but for us it's perfect!

**If you want to read the full article, here's the link: http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgetingk/article/109155/how-to-gauge-your-middle-class-status?mod=bb-budgeting.

Happiness vs. Contentment

2010-03-24T19:00:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot recently about the difference between happiness and contentment. It all started when I read a wonderful post by a fellow mommy out there in cyberland. She talks in the post about how much she loves her kids and while she wants them to be successful in life, she doesn't make it her goal to make them happy in every way. She says this not because she doesn't want them to be happy, but because she doesn't want them to base their life and decisions on striving for total happiness in everything they do. That is a pretty unattainable goal in the world we live in, especially as a Christian. Being happy is hard especially when you are doing something that is uncomfortable or something that you aren't completely sure will have a good ending. Following God can be like that sometimes.

As I read this post and thought about my own son and my family, it really hit home. I hate hearing my son cry, but tears are sometimes neccessary for him to grow up to be a successful person. Our nighttime situation has been the most recent and glaring example of this in our house. We have been trying to help Carter learn how to put himself to bed at night. While we don't expect perfection from him and hate hearing him fuss (for what seems like an eternity) we know that we are doing what is best for our family. James and I can't be there every second of the night and day when he needs to be comforted and by learning to handle some of that on his own, we are helping him become a successful person. This is by now means fun or a happy time for anyone...but so neccessary and we feel it is what God has asked us to do.

As I sit here writing, Carter is crying. It breaks my heart every time because I know he is frustrated and wants nothing more than for me to come and hold him and help him fall asleep. Could I go in there right now...sure. Would I be helping him in the long run...nope! This is one of those things that I can't show him how to do or help him do, it is something he has to learn on his own. Of course I don't let him just cry and cry for hours, I go in every 15 minutes and check on him so he knows I am close by and still there for him while he is learning this new skill.

To bring me back to my original point, Carter isn't happy and James and I aren't happy to hear him cry. But we are content knowing we are doing what is best for Carter and for us. We are content knowing that this will pass, Carter will learn how to sleep, and we will tackle the next skill when it comes along.

Seasonal Change

2008-07-22T15:53:00.006-05:00

I have heard people speak before on seasons with regards to friendships. I don't think I ever really understood that concept until recently. I went through a period where I lost several friend I had known for some time...this happened about a year and a half ago. Then in the last few days I have gone through a similar separation. This time it was from a group of women I met online while planning my wedding. With the first set of friends I was...am...heartbroken, but they decided our friendship was of little value to keep it. Through that (and other situations in my life) I became depressed and began pushing other people away. I know that I alienated many people through this period as well and have been trying to mend some of those bridges as I work to pull myself up and become the positive person I used to be.

However, this most recent loss fees much more like a gain. I allowed myself to believe I was close to these women and allowed their opinions to hold some amt of validity to me. I realized today that I don't want to surround myself with negative people or with people who put so much stock in the things that I find trivial. It is nothing against these women...it just isn't what I want for my life. I want to surround myself with people that lift eachother up and don't bring people down. With women that search for solutions and strive to make thier lives better as opposed to people who hard on negatives and complain about the small things they see that are wrong.

I used to be a very positive person, and I know that person is still in me somewhere, but I have lost sight of the things that are important to me...God, my husband, family, and school. I have no need (or room) for drama and people that aren't interested in the same things I am. I need to refocus myself and allow myself and my life to come back to what I want it to be. I need to take control of myself, my relationships, my work life, my home life, and my spirituality. I need to prioritize again and bring myself back into focus.

It is amazing to look back on your life and all of a sudden feel like, "oh, yeah...that is what it was all about. How did I ever forget that?" But I am there right now. My focus for the next few months will be on becoming a healthier person all around...healthy marriage, healthy physically, healthy mentally, and healthy financially. This will definitely be a journey, but I am so excited to get started and can't wait to reap the benefits of the outcome!