The ways my days work, right now...

Life with four children isn't harder than I thought it would be, but it is a little more chaotic.  But if we survived the chaos of three kids -- what's one more! {although I realize that mentality isn't for everyone!} We have almost a year under our belts of four babes. Whoa!

Here are some things I've learned:
*I know nothing. Never ask me for advice. I'm winging it.
*Somedays I want more children.  Most days, I know better of myself.
*Each child is SO different and there is no one way to parent all children.  I HAVE to be willing to take each child and learn them and go from there.
*Know, study and learn your children.
*Low expectations.
*A family that has dance parties and dinners together, enjoy each other.

And my number one motto that I say on a regular basis -- if you don't laugh, you will go insane! So have fun and laugh a little. I forget this too often.

Here are some things that I want to remember about my days:
*If I do two loads of laundry each day, I can stay on top of the amount of laundry we produce.  If I do three a day, I can take off one day and still feel good about life.  If I get lazy about laundry, my life is miserable because it's my least favorite chore.

*Keeping the island in the kitchen clean and tidy helps me feel a little more together.  My neighbor is so great at this and I can see why!

*I sweep our floors about eight times a day.  I mop every other day.  I vacuum twice a week, but should do it every day.

*I make my bed every day to make my messy master bedroom look a little more tidy.  Some times it helps, sometimes it doesn't.

*I am currently working up the courage to throw away a pile of socks that I have held onto for the last 8 months.  I keep it in a red bucket on my dresser.  I lay them out on my bed at least three times a month without luck of finding the missing partner.

*I clean our guest bathroom 2-3 times a week because it's also now the boys bathroom.  And boys are really gross.

*I go to the YMCA once or twice a week and have been doing HIIT workouts at home.  I try to run one or two evenings a week.  These things are so vital to maintaining some sanity.

*I'm grateful for neighbors who have become like family.  We can stand in the front yard and talk, or go to someones house and chat.  Our kids all roam from house to house, depending on the day and whatever activity they have come up with.  It's actually more vital to sanity than working out, I think.

*I make breakfast each morning.  I make lunch at home at least five days a week.  I try to do one fun lunch out each week if we can swing it.  And I cook dinner at least five evenings a week.  On Saturdays, after church, we go out to dinner with our community group.  Some times, we get something quick out or have a family date night.

I'm sure there's more to my days, but I need to fold laundry or I'll get behind!

Laundry.

You can ask anyone who knows me well and they can tell you that laundry is not my strong point in home making.  And just recently I started doing a load closer to every day so I don't end up with an overflowing pile of stink that needs washed ASAP because it's Sunday night and we need clean clothes!

Most are appalled that I wash my whites and colors together.  The only things I separate are towels from everything else.  Sometimes, if I'm feeling squirrelly, I'll wash the boys clothes separate from ours for the convenience of folding.  And folding and putting away are an entirely different rant!  I do neither quickly, diligently or with precision. Just ask my sweet husband who steps over a pile of clothes to be hung out on the floor of our closet.  

Ugh.  SO. much. work. {insert a wink face here.}

But listen up -- I'll clean my kitchen and the bathroom daily!  I will dust and vacuum and sweep!  I love a clean house.  It's just that I don't enjoy laundry.

Someone who does like laundry? My boys.  Benjamin is great at throwing dirty clothes into the washing machine.  Andrew is great at throwing anything in the washing matching {truly. anything. the amount of matchbox cars, plastic men and toys I have washed is incredible}.  And they love laundry baskets.  But no one washes or folds for me -- yet! That day is not far away.  And once I've had B put his clothes away and he was very successful.

Okay.  Seriously.  This is a post of my kids playing in a laundry basket.  I'm not sure how I got so side tracked that I spent so long typing and processing my laundry habits. {shaking head}.  

BUT here is a series of pictures of how the boys play. Sorry if I've posted them before :) Occasionally, I'll walk into the laundry room and find Andrew just sitting in a laundry basket.  I suppose B has left him stranded in baskets when they pull each other around that he just doesn't mind.

And, lucky you, here are pictures of Patrick teaching the boys to build with their hands and work hard.  Well, Andrew was not pulling his weight {or maybe he was?}  He got demoted to the deck with me very quickly.  What can you do?

And now I need to go because I can't decide if that noise is my baby jumping up and down in his crib or someone trying to steal the outside of my house! Or the concrete guys coming to fill in our new patio.  Oh boy. Peace out!!!

Wall art

I have the hardest time being creative in decorating. I always have good intentions, it just never looks the way I imagined it to look. And over the years I've changed my decorating style quite a bit!  I really want my house to look like this...

Either way -- I ordered a few prints from Etsy recently and they needed to be clearly seen!  So with a few other things, they got haphazardly placed on the wall for all to see! Lucky for me, I'm not much of a perfectionist.  Unlucky for me, most of my friends who come over are {including my sweet husband}.

I'm still deciding if it looks how I envisioned it -- maybe I need some more framed art. Or pictures. Maybe I should evenly space what's already there. Humph. Someday I will be awesome at this.  Or maybe not.  I'm clearly not gifted in this way.  Which makes me glad I know people who are!

What I DO know is that I LOVE my bird print and the "heart OK" print. And of course I just can't get enough of seeing my boys ;)

Do tell -- where do I go from here!?

In our house...

Right now, two little boys sleep the afternoon away and I can't tell you what I've done with the last two hours.  Wait, I can tell you this much: I ate three Milano Melts, took a shower, got the mail, laid down on the couch, researched a few things that we are looking into and picked up a few things off the floor.

We were up at 4:30 this morning, taking daddy to the airport for his birthday trip -- skiing with Kent in Utah.  I pray he is more than blessed, refreshed and relaxed!

The windows are open -- but only a crack.  It's 60 degrees, but super windy {per Oklahoma usual}.

The kitchen is messy and I can smell ketchup from a plate leftover for lunch.  I need to wash that off - asap.  In fact, I should just go ahead and do the dishes in their entirety.

Our floors are tidy because I have vacuumed them so many times this week.  For no other reason than it's easy to do and I like seeing freshly vacuumed floors.  And just a note: I cleaned the filters on the vacuum this morning and before I put {the spongey} one back in -- I rubbed a few drops of lavender essential oil on it.  And it makes my house smell lovely when I run the vacuum!

I just read this post by Justin Taylor this morning and it was such a blessing to me.  He is sharing a little about Martin and Katie Luther, and how their home ran.  I do desire for a home that exudes God's glory and kindness.  I want it to be full and busy and joyful and peaceful.  Don't worry, I fully understand the difficulties and hardships that come with such a desire -- but I just long for it so deeply anyways.

I have big goals of de-cluttering again.  These urges come on strong and anything in my path is vulnerable.  Friends, come over and grab things while you can.  I'm purging!

There is a large, open space in our built in bookshelves.  In 1979 {when the house was built}, I bet they thought -- "Oh boy! Someone is going to be awesome with a giant TV in here! They'll be the hottest on the block!"  I'm here to tell you -- it's awful.  Bad. Idea.  I think I may try keeping a large plant alive.  It's a daunting task, with my black thumb and all, but I need to fill than space with something other than clutter.

There has been much processing and talking and sharing and crying and praying the last several days.  It's been so good.  Mostly on my part -- Patrick is sweet to endure my insane emotions.  I was once told by a counselor {just about a year and a half ago!} that I'm the most emotional person he has ever met. {shaking my head in slight disbelief. and then nodding in agreement}

It's true.

I feel deeply.  I act deeply.  I love deeply.  That makes working through things, and life in general -- kind of intense.  But so good.  Because God is so good.  And beyond kind.

What's going on in your house, friends? Do share.

Just another Monday...

I don't know about you, but I don't sleep well. So sometimes when it's time to wake up I either feel really good about the day, or not so great about the day. I wish I could say that every day I'm just so excited to wake up and serve my family and smile and clean my house, but I cannot. Although, I enjoy those things {"smiling is my favorite"...anyone?} I think about myself more than anyone, or anything, else in the mornings.

All that to tell you this: I wasn't super excited about waking up this morning. Patrick is in State College, PA until tomorrow night and I knew that it was just going to be me and B for a long time {or 40 hours. whatever}. And I just didn't feel right. My body was sore, my back was achy. Laying in bed was a good option for today.

But as much as I wanted to lay in bed and let the day just carry on, I cannot do such a thing. My boy was yelling, "momma. where are you? whatareyoudoing?" and Beta was kicking away. Time to get moving! And I'm so glad I did.

We usually go to the YMCA on Monday mornings, but since I wasn't feeling too great we stayed home. At this point in my pregnancy, I'm not doing to push myself too hard. Benjamin was content to play with cars and trucks and trains and climb on things. And then I started cutting up fruits and veggies from the store yesterday.

All of the sudden I had a flashback, an epiphany of sorts: Wait a tick! I vaguely remember doing good homemaker/momma/wife things like this about seven months ago. I like doing these things. There is still some sort of "me" left in my body!!!! Woohoo!!!

So I was going about my cutting and chopping and sharing with my boy and felt pretty good about life. I was also very excited that there was going to be fresh fruit and peppers ready for me to eat whenever I wanted. Benjamin wasn't too whiny. Piper wasn't being too annoying. It was a good time.

Plus, I had already started a load of laundry {which is now folded. thankyouverymuch!} and the dishwasher! We skyped with Patrick for a bit. I called my mom. I talked to Amy. I cleaned up my mess. I played with B. And then we ate lunch. It was like life was happening with or without me and today I chose to be apart of it. In a real, "I feel great about this" way.

And then...nap time. End morning. Nothing tragic. No bad moods. No insane discipline issues. No tears. Sure, not every day is like that - even when I do participate in life. Some days are just plain hard, but today has not been hard.

I firmly believe that the Lord hears my cries, and those who are praying for me {thanks!}, and is caring for me in such sweet way. My heart seems so fragile and tender and weak and weary lately, but God knows better than anyone else how to make it a little lighter, a little more lovely.

And to just go ahead a pat myself on the back: I even took pictures this morning! Benjamin loves taking pictures. Or, well, looking at pictures that I take. So after I took the picture of my handiwork, a Benjamin and Piper photo shoot was inevitable :)

So - 3 pounds of grapes, cleaned. 1 cantaloupe cut up. 2 pounds of strawberries, cleaned and cut. 3 bell peppers sliced for snacking. 3 very ripe bananas cut up to be frozen. A lot of petite bell peppers, sliced and diced for freezing.

Benjamin wanted pictures with Piper.
Piper liked the attention.
Mutual love :)
Clearly NOT how you're suppose to use the table, but very fun nonetheless.
Horray for good days! Now, it only my child would sleep :)

Pantry

On Tuesday nights, Patrick goes to a guy's bible study. He's gone for about two hours and B's already in bed so it's free time for me! Now, I should have just taken a bath and gone to bed. But cleaning the house is on my mind. Always.

So I cleaned out and reorganized our pantry.

And it took me an hour and half.

Mainly because I'm OCD and rearranged the shelves three times until I like how it flowed.

Be gone, nesting!

I did make time to take a few pictures, though. Please know that in my head I thought, "Oh good, I can blog about this." So I made sure to have my camera on hand. Such is my life, I guess. And I'm okay with that.

Before:

Messy, messy. Please note that I had already started removing a few things.

After:

I threw away so much. I felt awful about it, but it was necessary. I mean, am I going to use expired evaporated milk any time soon. No, I don't think so.

Can you even tell the difference?

{Please say yes}

Also, I made good use of the storage containers I have. Crackers, rice, quinoa, pasta and oatmeal all made their way out of original "boxes" and into these handy, stackable containers.

We had a great pantry when we lived in Sugar Land and no pantry when we lived in Indiana. I now wonder how in the world I lived without a pantry.

I'll certainly keep you posted on more insanely weird nesting projects. You have been warned.

Kitchen love..

I love really fabulous, cute things. I love them even more if they can go into my kitchen! And the thing is, anthropologie has some really fantastic things floating around their site.

And when I say "fantasic", I mean "I should have these things absolutely immediately."

Just take a look for yourself!

The cutest of this dish towel is beyond words...and there are birds on it.

How could you not want to bake with then sweet babies?
This bowl! Mainly, the one on the bottom. With the red swirls. I.love.it.

I kind of want to order 12 of these and make them my new curtains. I would also settle for one or two to hang on my stove...
This is not all that I enjoy! There is so much to look at! But, alas, these wonderful things will not be in my kitchen. I'm sticking to a budget around here. Someday, maybe, but not today...or really this month. :)

By all means, though, browse around yourself, you'll be glad you did.

Let's get organized...

Here is the thing about me: I think I'm an organizing genius. Here is the truth: I'm not even close to being an organizing amateur. It's an awful complex, only made worse by a 21 month old and a very neat and organized husband (whose desk is ALWAYS clean and I get terrible dirty looks if I leave something on it by accident/forgetfulness ::Grin:: ).

There was a time (as in my whole life up until five months ago) that I thought I should organize like a professional and follow the rules of every organizing article around. I tried my hardest to succeed, I just didn't. Major fail. So this left me feeling terrible about myself and unorganized. Not that I ever was organized, I just felt more unorganized now that it was a definite reality.

Then, one magical day, I realized - Hey! Not every person is the same! There has GOT to be a way for me to organize efficiently and to fit my personality. I'm still searching for that method, mind you, but I am definitely searching. I've concluded that 2011 must be the year I find this skill, er, method.

I've tried to narrow down my issues with organizing as to help me process myself and find a method.

Issue #1: My desk is in the kitchen! What an awful idea this is for someone like me. Sure, it's nice and convenient, but really now how can this look good. Cleaning my desk is an all day adventure. I have to save certain things. I have to figure out where to put important things. I have to move things around. I have to clean the desk with some kind of cleaner to make it smell good. I have to check facebook. I have to throw things away. I need a snack. I sort through papers. I pile papers into "special" piles. See? It can go on and on and on.

Issue #2: I make piles! Confession: I make piles of paper everywhere. I think I know what each pile holds, but that's not true. I forget within minutes. Piles are not a safe organizing method for me.

Issue #3: I don't know where to begin! You would think that at the age of 29 I would have some clue as to how I should sort my life in ways that make sense. False. I start in one place, and then I get distracted by all those pictures I meant to scrapbook last year. Then I don't know where put those so I don't forget about them. I clearly think that downsizing is my best option here. I mean, seriously, can't I just not be good at this and that be ok? :)

Issue #4: Maintenance! Now, on a regular (non-pregnant) basis, I am pretty good at maintaining a lot of things. Usually our houses is clean and neat. I can find all of our Christmas decorations and scrapbooks with a snap of my fingers. My kitchen is mostly efficient. My cookbooks make sense. My clothes are sorted in ROY G BIV order, even! (I wish I were kidding). But my desk. My bathroom drawers. My thoughts. All scattered. I can spend an endless amount of time cleaning these things and then moments later - gone. I need to have a desire to maintain organization in "my areas". I need to have motivation to maintain. I need, really, someone to maintain for me. That would be most helpful.

Once upon a time, Real Simple had an organizing quiz. I took it and turns out I was more of the "cluttered" organizer. But here is my confession: I really wanted to be the other way! When I looked at the pictures they provided to show how one type likes order and how the other likes order, I was disgusted at the way my "type" organized! That should say something for my desire, right? I really want to be a neat and skilled organizer. Really. I do!

Now I move toward something organized. De-cluttering is a good skill of mine, how can I not apply it in places that would make sense? And, for goodness sake, I'm a mom. How much nonsense do I really need on my desk and in my drawers? Isn't it enough that it's everywhere else?! I'm going to trudge through this. I spent my whole 25th year figuring out my favorite things (although that was really fun), I can certainly spend a year (Lord willing, less than a year) finding a way to get and stay organized!

Okay, friends, hit me with your best ideas! I'm willing to try anything (that will make sense to me)!!!

Making a home...

I'm doing a bible study called, "Called to be a Keeper". A woman from Henderson Hills wrote it and we watch a video every other week. Think: Beth Moore bible study. I've enjoyed it thoroughly and have learned a lot, even though I have studied the main passages over and over (Titus 2:3-5 and Proverbs 31:10-31). You can never learn too much about being a homemaker and a woman of God!

The study has progressed biblically, which would be getting your priorities straight: God, husband, children, home, ministry. Last week we studied keeping our homes, or being a home maker. You probably know that I feel very strongly about this and LOVE my job, my calling and my privilege of caring for and making our home a place that's comfortable, warm and, mainly, where God is known and glorified.

Over the last 5 weeks, my effort in our home has been less than stellar. It's not desire that's keeping me from working hard. It's mostly motivation and exhaustion from Beta (which is what we affectionately call baby #2. You know, Greek for the number 2). I've found myself laden with guilt and shame because all of the laundry does not get done as usual, my bathroom is not as clean, the kitchen is pretty messy and the floors need mopped very badly!

After wrestling with this, I called upon the Lord for guidance and wisdom. Then I went to Patrick. His response? Grace! My sweet husband simply reminded me that my standards are pretty high and now is not the time to over-do it to meet them. He also told me that he thought I was doing great and he appreciated me. His kindness, grace and willingness to remind me that our home doesn't need to be perfect was just what I needed.

Sure, I prefer my home clean and neat. But that's not the reality of my life right now. I have a toddler who we, kindly, call "destructo". We are not busy, by any means, but I don't want my life to be so consumed with cleaning and doing laundry that I miss opportunities to bless and minister to my family! Besides, how can you feel comfortable and cozy in a house that is so neat and clean you're scared to relax or touch anything!? :)

I read this quote in Country Living the other day. "Clutter is the poetry of our homes. It is an intimate view that is not always perfect - a few dishes in the sink, books piled next to the bed. Everything in its place may give a certain satisfaction, but a lived-in room exudes comfort and warmth." - Mary Randolph Carter (author of A Perfectly Kept House Is the Sign of a Misspent Life)

Good reminder. Plus, I need to remember who I'm serving in the first place: The Lord. And if my heart is seeking Him and my desire is to bring glory to Him, my house will be warm and comfortable and, quite possibly, neat enough for company.

Upstairs tour...

I'm so scattered in this video. It was a long day. Finally, though, you can see the upstairs of our house! :) If you missed the downstairs tour, click here. I shall warn you thought, much has changed.

Also, please excuse my random insert of the word "batteries". What I was trying to tell you was that the camera battery died a long time ago and we couldn't find the charger. Ohhhhh boy. Next video starring me, I'll make sure my hair looks good and I slept a little more.

Enjoy :)

Every little bit helps!

When Patrick and I decided that I wouldn't work after we got married, I had a hard time adjusting to not making money. More than that, it was hard for me to live off of Patrick's money (only for a while, I assure you) while not bringing anything in. This was only made more difficult by concerned women who, I'm sure meant well, constantly asked why I wasn't working or what I did all day.

Good grief. Can't a woman be a homemaker, care for her home, be apart of the community - without having kids? I would argue a resounding YES! A soapbox of mine for another day, friends :)

I digress. What I really wanted to write about is ways to help your family financially. Anyone can use these sites, not just a SAHM or a homemaker! I'm not going to go into budgeting or saving or whatnot. I fully support and practice these things, but today we're going to the internet.

Here are some excellent websites to check out!

Swagbucks: A search engine that has improved greatly over the last year or so. You win "swagbucks" with every 7th search (on the site, not personally). As you earn swagbucks you can buy things from the swag store. Right now I have enough bucks to get two amazon.com gift cards. I'm hoping to have enough for a few Christmas presents this year. Every little bit helps. Also, if you click on the link I provided and sign up, I get extra swagbucks. I'll give you a high five if you do :)

Ebates: If you ever shop online, go through ebates! Just sign up (use the link, please ::grin:: ), search the stores and go from there. You'll get money back just for going to the site through ebates! I did a little Christmas shopping last year online and got a check for $22 from ebates. This is legit and definitely worth the short amount of time it takes to go to ebates.com before shopping!

Also, check out sites like couponcabin before making an online purchase. You can usually find free shipping codes, percentages off and the like. And if you sign up for emails for certain stores you'll get weekly or monthly coupons that you may not find elsewhere. If you don't want to receive tons of store emails, set up a "coupon only" email. Just make sure to check it :)

That's only a few sites to check out. I'll provide more as I find them and check them out. If you have any suggestions, pass them along! I love being able to save our family money!

Kitchen deco...

So, I've decorated my green kitchen. I'm by no means a good decorator, but here I am exposing my sense of style to the blog world. The bare green was starting to get to me, so I needed to get on the decorating ball before I felt like I was cooking inside a green bean.

Let's start with the plates. Joy of all joy. I love these plates. When they were arrived at my house (I may or may not have been waiting anxiously, by the door, all day for the UPS man to come) and the box was open, one of the plates was cracked! The horror! I emailed heliotrope right away and they were so awesome to send me another one to replace it. Thanks, heliotrope, for making my decorating dreams come true!

Anways, Target only had three plate hangers. Now I must wait until next week to hang the fourth plate. Impatience is a strong quality of mine. So I obviously hung three plates today.


I made framed art, on the cheap, by cutting up a (beloved) dish towel I had. I bought black 8x10 frames at Walmart (for $3) and got to it. I'm pleased with how they came out. Although, if I could change one thing it would be that the frames would be smaller. Oh well.

While at Walmart, I was browsing the sheets. And then I saw them. Stripped sheets. In the very colors that I wanted to make curtains. So I bought a full sized flat sheet (for $6) in this lovely, colorful stripe. I just had to cut, measure and sew. A bonus: some of the edges are already done because it's a sheet! Brilliant, me!
Here is a expanded view of the eating area. I have not sewn the curtains yet. Maybe I'll have time tomorrow.


And here is the kitchen window with curtain. The trim work is brought to you by the fine workmanship of Walmart sheet makers. Plus, I wanted you to see this badly enough that I didn't even do the dishes in the sink before taking the picture. Real life, baby! And there you have it!

Song birds!

So, we painted our kitchen. Wait. First you should know that I have the most incredible and patient husband. Okay, now I was telling you about the kitchen.

It use to be dark brown. It made the kitchen look so small! I went to Lowe's and picked out a yellow that I thought would look great. We primed and painted and I didn't love the yellow at all. I mean, it was nice. But it wasn't - it.

I've been agonizing over the color of our kitchen for weeks. We went to Home Depot tonight and I found a color I really liked. When it came out a lot brighter than I hoped, the wonderful woman added more color to it to make the paint darker. You know what? It's perfect!

Now, it's a big step for me. My kitchen is now green. Note: it looks quite lime in this picture. I don't think it looks lime in real life. Although, I'm still in shock. Don't listen to a thing I say about color.

Oh boy. That's your sneak peek. I'm not sure if I love it yet. It makes me nervous. But it makes me really excited all at the same time. I immediately got online to see if I could find something to decorate and put on these grassy walls. Of course I found a thousand things I like. But these plates, well I had to have them...I love little birds. Plus, these plates incorporate all the colors in my kitchen. I think they'll be a great addition to the walls. I also have a cloth napkin that I got years ago (and now I want several, but alas I only have one) that I'm going to cut into squares and frame. Instant art!

I'll keep you updated on this crazy color and the decorations that go with it. Until then, I think I need to recover from the shock. I can't believe I just painted the kitchen pea green!!!

Quick house pics...

Here are some pictures of our house. Please know that a few video tours will be up and coming, I'm just waiting until things are a little more settled. I'm mostly unpacked, with a few exceptions, and we're exploring and learning all about Edmond.

Thus far Benjamin and I have visited the zoo, joined the YMCA, went to Chick-fil-a for lunch, had lunch and played at a park near our house - all with friends! I signed up to do the OKC Memorial half marathon on April 25th. Yes, that's in 10 days. I'm not 100% sure what I was thinking, but I did it. I'm a little nervous, now that I'm thinking about it.

I'm looking forward to more exploring and sight seeing, but mainly I'm looking forward to all of the boxes being gone and our house being settled. Our days are spent sorting and playing and trying to nap. Mainly Benjamin because he left his (not very good to begin with) napping skills in PA. We'll get there as we all get more acquainted with our new home. Patrick doesn't come home for lunch anymore and that's kind of sad. We liked seeing him and it makes the days a little longer without him.

Speaking of Patrick. He's really liking the new job. He's pretty busy and there has been a lot for him to figure out, a lot of people to meet and a lot of meetings to attend. He's very optimistic and so far, it seems like a great fit for him! Praise God!!!

Breakfast area. Which is our every meal area. Someday (maybe tonight?!) those coats will not find themselves hanging over the chair. Instead, they'll be nicely hung on a wall rack in the laundry room.
Kitchen. You can see the laundry room and it's not very organized yet. So you don't get a closer look just yet :) Well, unless you come to visit. There are exceptions to every rule.
Master closet...most of it.
Precious little man. He finds pens and carries them around. Also, he likes to draw with them. And eat them.
Some of B's room...
Guest room...
Master...

Whew. Quick, I know. And not very thorough pictures. Patience, patience. :)

$5 Dinner Cookbook

Over at $5 Dinners, Erin Chase is giving away her new book every day (10 per day!) for two weeks. This gal is impressive, making every meal for five bucks or less! Now that a wise use of food and money! She also has a pretty neat story. Double bonus for her :)

If any of you watch Good Morning America, you may have seen Sara Moulton promoting her book as a great Christmas gift idea. I know I can always use some meal ideas and a few ideas on how to lower our grocery budget. If you don't meal plan or clip coupons, what a great cookbook to help you get started. Check out $5 Dinners and enter to win!

Chalkboard craft and randomness

I was on an intense hunt for a chalkboard recently. You know, the huge rectangle boards with a wood frame. Great for anything. Right, Indiana, PA does not have a single one. Nothing! I wanted a chalkboard to write our weekly menu on so I don't have to keep looking at my notebook (since I plan my meals monthly).

After some processing, I made my own. I was going to use an old window, but I lost motivation at some point and thought of something a little more simple. I found an 11 x 13 wood board and some chalkboard spray paint at Michael's. I had a 50% off and a 40% off coupon, so I got both things for pretty cheap. I got some hangers at Lowe's and got to it. At the end of the project, I think the chalkboard cost something like $11.00 (including a box of white Crayola chalk!).

The board came pre-sanded, so that was less work for me! We had primer on hand, so I painted a coat of that before I applied the spray paint. I applied two coats of spray paint and after I've written on it a few times I'm considering spraying it every few months or so. Also, I wish I would have sanded it myself. It has one "fuzzy" line going down the center of the board. Bummer.

All in all, I think it turned out pretty well. Plus, our weekly menu has a great place to be seen!

So, a side view from when you walk into the kitchen. Note my boy smiling down in the corner...
A frontal view.
What do you think?!

As I was looking for my "meal planning" blog, I got completely distracted by posts from when Benjamin was born! Oh my soul. I can't believe it's been eight months already.

Just for staying on track, here are some pictures of the babe on his eight month day. He is still huge and weighs 21 pounds! I think he's around 29 inches long and his little 9 month pants are getting too short on him. He's getting more active every day and scoots and wiggles around. He loves to stand and gets pretty irritated when he falls down. He eats pretty well and his favorite vegetable is sweet potatoes (obviously!) and he loves any kind of berry fruit. He likes to feed himself puffs and naps pretty regularly, which is wonderful :)

I love watching him grow and change. His personality is so much fun! He is content, patient and generally very fun. He is also pretty stubborn and easily frustrated. It's so incredible to see the very things I've prayed for him since he was born to start to be evident (in his personality). I never, ever cease to thank God for the miracle of Benjamin's life! God has been so sweet to us!

Happy baby!
This is his "squishy" face. He makes this face when he is generally unhappy about something. Annoyed, frustrated, bored - this face makes an appearance in all of those things :)

Here you can see 5 of his 6 teeth. They are so cute, but also very painful sometimes.
I have so much more I want to say, but I really should clean some while the babe is napping!

Meal planning this month...

As most of you know, I love to meal plan. Even though I meal plan, my love for cooking (my desire to cook anything and everything and my selfishness) exceeds our monthly budget on a pretty frequent basis. I think our monthly budget is fair and a good amount for Patrick and I (plus the friends I feed and baby food for Benjamin). We budget $400 monthly for food. We eat fresh fruits and veggies and I don't buy boxed meals too often. So it may seem that our budget is a little higher than some, but completely worth it for freshness!

My goal this month is to take what we have and make my meals from that list. I'll only buy fruits, vegetables, staples and things for breakfast and some lunches. I try to do this monthly, but when I get excited about making something I usually just go get what I need. I can have fun cooking and be mindful about our budget!

Here is the list of things we have:
*Chicken breasts (8, I think)
*Pork chops (2)
*Homemade meatballs (3 bags of 12)
*Ham steaks (1 1/2)
*Tortellini (small bag)
*Chicken thighs (about 1 pound)
*Drumsticks (3.5 pounds)
*Lasagna (pre-made and frozen from last time I made lasagna)
*Dried beans (5 bags of random beans)
*Pasta sauce
*Pasta
*Cous Cous
*Oatmeal
*Flour
*Sugar
*Homemade vegetable stock
*Rice
* Frozen Mixed vegetables (2 bags)
*Corn (blanched and frozen from this summer)
*Snap peas (blanched and frozen from this summer)
*Green beans (blanched and frozen from this summer)
*Shredded cheese (4 bags, bought on sale a few weeks ago)
*Plus - canned fruit, vegetables, beans and tomato products

Whew! Last night I went through and planned out 13 meals using these items. Here they are:
*Cinnamon oatmeal pancakes
*Chicken enchiladas
*Slow cooker chicken stew
*Meatballs with tortellini and corn
*Chili
*Lasagna with snap peas
*Pork chops with sauteed vegetables over cous cous
*Ham steak with smashed winter squash
*Ham and vegetable soup
*Minestrone
*Spaghetti with meatballs
*Chicken tortilla soup

This is two weeks of meals if we didn't eat leftovers and have a date night. Also, I haven't found a drumstick recipe (or 3) that I'm excited about yet. I can probably get these meals to go into week three if I plan well with leftovers (as in twice a week for dinner, plus lunches). I'm excited to try some new recipes, which meets my need to cook and experiment. Even more, though, I'm excited to challenge myself to stay within our budget and cook well and healthy!

If you have an drumstick recipes, let me know! More "Food Thoughts" coming soon.

How to...

...prepare your home and such for a bridal shower while entertaining a cute baby and your husband is out of town!

1. Put babe in carrier, front facing.
2. Bounce joyfully & sing songs to make babe laugh.
3. While bouncing & singing unload dishwasher, make spinach dip, cut up bread, wrap gifts, clean kitchen, (take your picture for a blog post) make a to-do list and organize shower things on table.
4. Take babe out, feed him, put him to bed.
5. Finish cleaning and stay up to welcome incredibly missed husband home!

Whew! I'm hosting a bridal shower for my friend, Al, today. She's getting married in 3 weeks. Oh boy. I can't wait - for the shower OR the wedding!

Benjamin will be hanging out with daddy and putting up a fence during the shower. We are both so glad Patrick is home. He was missed. Not for the extra help, but because he's so great and it's so sad when he is not around. Our lives are much more fun and joyful when Patrick is home!

Benjamin and I went to a baby shower yesterday and he was around way too many women :) After the baby shower, we went to see Uncle Kent and Benjamin was one happy baby! He must have needed a little man time.

Off to get a run in before I need to finish up my to-do list! Enjoy this gorgeous Sunday!

Cleaner cleanerson

I've been on a cleaning frenzy lately (and a blogging one too, woohoo!). I suppose most of the frenzy could be blamed on a small child coming into my world anytime now. I'm not crazy about baseboards (but I imagine if little Benjamin takes his time coming out, I'll get there), windows don't really phase me and I could care less if the attic is organized.

I do, however, care about the condition of my bathroom, kitchen, all floors, the handles on the refrigerator and freezer and washing machine. Oh and today, I started caring about the cleanliness of the walls. Go figure. Either way, my kitchen is nearly spotless and our little bathroom smells wonderfully like almond with a hint of mint.

I haven't bought too many household cleaners since, well, since we first lived in Texas. I enjoy making my own or buying the yummy smelling lavender Method brand. I like scrubbing the bath tub and toilets with baking soda, vinegar and castile soap. I don't mind mixing borax with a little peppermint castile and water to make a wonderful smelling all purpose cleaner. Shoot, I like cleaning the floors with the same stuff. Vinegar doesn't bother me. In fact, I think I should take stock in the following to help reduce cost even further: baking soda, vinegar, castile soap, borax and really great heavy duty spray bottles. I will say this, though. I haven't got to a point where I make my own laundry or dishwasher detergent. Maybe some day I'll get there, but those stinkin Cascade tabs are so great!

All of this to say, I'm really glad that I enjoy these things. It may take a little extra planning sometimes, but it's completely worth it! I don't have many chemicals in our home for cleaning and the items used to make the cleaning products last for months! Not only am I saving money in our budget, I'm caring for our home in a very healthy way. I love that! (and recognize that not everyone gets a kick out of it like me...)

Now, if I could only find something (or create it) to make the dog stop shedding or the floors automatically suck up his little black hairs (that are everywhere).

Meal Planning

I am am meal planner. I love it. I've always enjoyed looking through cookbooks or cooking magazines to find recipes that sound oh-so-good. I started out with weekly meal planning (when we first got married), then moved my way up to monthly.

I've tweaked my methods. I've changed plans, completely, some weeks. I've learned what works and what does not work for our family. I use to print out a monthly calendar and write in meals for each day. That was fine and I didn't mind it. I now make a list of 25 to 30 meals at the beginning of each month. Each week, I look over what we have and plan five or six meals from the list (at least one night being leftovers).

I love the flexiblity that comes with planning meals. On my list, I usually include a few meals that are super easy to throw together, meals that we love and meals that we always have ingredients for. For instance, I usually have what is needed for grilled cheese and tomato soup, pasta pomodoro, chicken noodle soup (homemade), spaghetti, chicken casserole, chili and baked oatmeal. That seven meals that I know we can have during the month.

I like trying new recipes, but sometimes it just easier to stick with classics. I try to throw in a few newbies each month to challenge myself. I must say though, there is a time and a place for all of this. When I was first pregnant meal planning was useless! I had no idea what I would want to eat. It's better now. Each season brings about new challenges and new obstacles. However, I do believe that even in hard times or crazy times meal planning can be a life saver! Case in point: I know we're going to have a baby soon. I've been planning meals and buying things for easy meals for about two weeks. Plus, I've been freezing "extras" and muffins for when the baby comes to make eating at home and together much easier.

Here are some things I've learned:
*Homemade is the way to go! It's cheaper and much better for you. Plus, tons of things freeze well. It doesn't take a lot of time to make a batch or two of biscuits one day (or night or weekend) and throw them in the freezer.

*Deer meat saves you A LOT of money.

*Coupon clipping, when done right, can save you so much! I've had to learn to overlook the "really great deals" on things that we NEVER use. Don't let coupons trap you into buying things you don't need!

*There are tons of websites that you can download coupons from. Plus, once a week I'll look over my grocery list and go to product websites to see if they have any coupons on their specific site. I've gotten some great coupons for laundry detergent, toilet paper and cereals by doing this. Also, my grocery store has a monthly e-mail they send out with coupons. Most of the time it's $5 off $50 purchase, ect. All I had to do was sign up for the e-mail.

*Start small and be willing to work through a few hard weeks of tweaking your system.

*Allow for a few "free" days. I put two or three "Dinner Out" on my monthly list (I would do more if Patrick let me!!! ::grin::). I know that at least two or three times a month, I'll get a much needed break. Plus, it's kinda like a date night (probably not so much if you have children in tow).

*Stick to your budget. If you know you're going to be feeding a crowd at some point, work that into your schedule. July a big cooking month? Save a little more through May and June. It's truly not hard to feed a family on a set budget - no matter how much it is. AND don't compare your budget to others. Some families need more per month for dietary reasons, others like more dinners out. It doens't matter. To each his own budget limit! HOWEVER, after meal planning you may find that you can cut your budget or at least move things around a little more.

I don't know if any of this was helpful or encouraged you to try meal planning, but it works! Thanks for letting me go on and on about something that really excites me and makes me love homemaking!