Easter Firsts for Our Family

I had intended to post this yesterday but my to do list was a mile long and my family and home-keeping comes first. So this may seem like old news but our Easter was made up with a lot of firsts for our family and thought I would share them with you.

It was our first Easter living in Kansas away from all our family. It was also our first Easter at a new church.

It was the first Easter where I was responsible for the ENTIRE meal. I was a little intimidated having the weight of an expensive piece of meat on my shoulders but I guess with ham, unless you overcook it and dry it out, you really can't mess it up.

It was the first time I attempted making a pie crust. I wanted my Grandma's recipe but I couldn't get a hold of her in time. I used this recipe instead from AllRecipes.com. If you have a great pie recipe you use feel free to send it to me. It turned out okay for my first try but I made it a little thick. I know to roll it more for next time!

We also started something new with the egg hunt. I added scripture verses into the eggs that were about Christ's death, burial and resurrection. Eian put them in the order they happened. Since he's 10 I had to come up with something challenging for him. He seemed to like it and it helped me by writing out all the verses and bringing the Scriptures closer to my heart. I would have typed them but the computer was acting up and processing slowly. I appreciate writing them now though. :)

Although I missed being near extended family, it was nice spending some much needed family time with my three guys. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

This post is linked to Titus 2sday

5 Tips for Leaving the House on Time

Is the front door your enemy like it is mine? Okay well not the front door but the task of getting OUT of it?

I've really been enjoying my time at home and having the sole position of SAHM. I have days where, other than taking Eian to and picking up from school, I don't go anywhere. I never thought I would become a homebody but it's true I could probably be a hermit if I was allowed!

There's at least one day a week though that I have to go out to get groceries, run other errands and such. Those days prove tough for me when I have to constantly pick up toys, spills, change diapers, do the coupon thing and check my websites, get out the door before naptime hits, ooh let me check my email one more time and the list goes on!

I am finally fed up with not getting out the door until late afternoon and then having to rush to get Eian picked up from school. You all know I'm a major list maker so I've made a check list and thought I would share with you. ! Yay! Oh come on you know you're excited :)

1. Make a time line list of all the things I know I have to do BEFORE I LEAVE.

This really helps me because I am a chronic under estimator of time. The more I have the more I try to get done and then I'm frazzled trying to leave.

Making a list of even the mundane, routine things like breakfast is helpful for me. I have also had to learn I can't do everything in one day. Making pancakes and eggs probably wouldn't be the best when I want to leave the house by eight!

2. Maximize time away from home-Plan your trip

Okay so I know this isn't like revolutionary but it really does help to have a list of places I need to visit. I also put a number next to each one in the order I will go there. This not only maximizes your time by not back-tracking but it also saves in gas.

3. Do any prep for my errands/groceries the night before.

I'm now thinking through my days' errands the night before which really helps. I now plan my grocery trip by going through the sale ads and clipping the coupons before I go to bed.

I have also been putting little snack bags together and a small cooler if I know Elias and I will be out long or around lunch time. This really helps me stick to my weekly spending money and can't use the excuse, "I was in a rush to leave and didn't have time to grab something." This also makes for a happy little guy!

4. Leave first thing in the morning.

I know this may not be for everyone but since I take Eian to school anyway, running my errands immediately after dropping him off is best for us.

I find that the more we stay in the house before leaving the more messes we make and that leaves me in a constant state of running circles. So my new motto is Get Out While I can and FAST!

5. Pack the vehicle while kids are eating.

This is my most dreaded part of leaving. I never look forward to taking my purse (or some may call it a suitcase), my coupon organizer box, my bag of store ad inserts, a diaper bag, a lunch cooler if approriate...oh and the kids, out to the car and usually haivng to make multiple trips! Doing this with a toddler who follows me EVERYWHERE proves very trying. He has also discovered the playground across the street and can run a lot faster than me!

I am much more motivated to leave when I can set Eian and Elias up for breakfast and I can "sneak" out while they are occupied.

Well there you have it and now I have it for all the world to see and so I can stay on task! I know actually making a list for this seems trivial but it has really helped me.

So what do you do to make getting out the door a little easier?

Simplify: Be Content in Circumstances

What is Contentment?

Here's the definition according to Webster's

Contentment-

1) Mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are

2) Assenting to or willing to accept circumstances, a proposed course of action, etc.

I have to be honest here, I almost titled this post as Simple Mom Confessions. The reason I am blogging on contentment is because I really needed to practice it yesterday and I wasn't...at all!! As I continue to pray for God's guidance and purpose for this blog, as I am praying for guidance in all areas of my life right now, these thoughts, concepts, and words kept coming to mind.

Live Contently, Simply, & Fully

After the rough day I had yesterday (they were mostly self inflicted rough spots) I really wanted to seek God first this morning. Contentment is what He put on my heart and truly what I believe He wants me to share with you today.

I am finding the key to a simple life is fine tuning the art of contentment. If I seek contentment in all areas of my life then I stop spending money on things I want and don't really need, and I get off the hamster wheel of never having enough time in the day to accomplish all I want to and I learn to see my trials as a tool to help me be even more content.

I had to stop and access what areas of my life I needed to apply contentment. So I decided that over the course of the next few days I will share what I'm finding and what the Lord is showing me. The first area I know I need to practice contentment in is:

Stress (Circumstances)

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. Phillipians 4:11-12

Consider it pure joy...whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2

Now if Paul, who was imprisoned when he wrote this, can find contentment in all things then that's what I should strive for with God's help. This is where I struggle. I find it easier (this is me personally)to be content with money/material things and my time than I do in this area.

It's those little moments of the lost shoe when you're running late, the twentieth time of putting my toddler in time out, or the meal plans gone bad (see homemade tortilla photo). In those moments whatever is happening right then and there seems magnified and I even justify my exploding temper and outburst of frustration.

The Lord is slowly revealing to me that when I allow my anger to get the best of me I'm saying that I don't deserve this, this is unfair,etc. However, God is opening my eyes to if I believe His promises like Joshua 1:5, 1 Corinthians 10:13& Romans 8:28 then these trials, no matter how big or small, are for my betterment.

My betterment? I certainly wasn't thinking that after 5 months of moving from Indiana (where I call home, grew up there, family is there) to Florida, then getting settled in there and getting used to the beach life to be told "Guess what Honey? I've been offered a job in Kansas!" was for my betterment. But after being here for 3 weeks I can honestly say that I am better for it.

My faith has grown beyond anything I thought possible. My appreciation for my husband and my family as a whole is deeper. My prayers in other areas have been answered as a result to the move. The bottom line here is that I am on the road to contentment (which ultimately leads to simplifying) through circumstances I never would have asked to happen if it were up to me!

C.S. Lewis said "If you think of this world as a place intended simply for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think this world as a place of training and correction and it's not so bad."

*Disclaimer: Please read this post with discretion. I am in no way suggesting you stay in a volatile situation where yourself or someone else is in harm's way. The trials I am speaking of here are the everyday, minor annoyances I allow to be much bigger than they should. If you are struggling with a more serious trial that is ongoing, harmful or desturctive, please pray and seek the help and advice of a pastor, counselor, family member, etc.

Simplify Life in the Kitchen- Menu Planning

I recently began participating in Menu Planning Mondays at I'm an Organizing Junkie. I've been informally menu planning for years. It was crucial when I was a full-time working away from home momma. I had grand ideas when I dreamed of staying home that I would be able to concoct these fancy gourmet meals and I would have hours to prepare tasty, interesting meals!

Well, here's a reality check for me, the more you're home the more messes you make and thus the less time you really do have! Yeah, never thought about that in my daydreams! So I have found that menu planning is just as important when you stay home as it was 6 months ago when I worked away from home. I know a lot of you have been menu planning for along time, but for others, the concept may be brand new.

What is a Menu Plan?

• Seems like a goofy question but really I have had friends ask me, "A menu plan? What do you mean by that?"


• A menu plan, simply put (no pun intended) is having a plan for several days worth of meals.


• How do I start a menu plan? There are lots of techniques: like having a month's worth of family favorite recipes and just rotating the same things, or making meal plans by using what you have on hand, or making a plan using what's on sale for the week at the grocery store. There's no wrong or right way to make a plan. Do what you find works best for you!


• A menu plan can look different for each one of us, let me explain. A menu plan to one woman could be buying for and organizing 3 meals a day for a week. Others, may just have a menu plan for dinner and plan for a month (this is what I try to do).

Want to start? Here are some great meal planning resources:

• I'm an Organzing Junkie-I know I included her link above but she really is the best place to start. She spells the menu planning process out in an easy-to-understand way.


• Money Saving Mom- This is probably my favorite blog because of all the great tips and tools she has on her site. The best part is she's real and doesn't pretend to have "it" all together. Make sure to also check out her video series on meal planning.


• Life As Mom- Jessica's speciality is freezer cooking and has lots of great tips and good recipes that make it easy. She's also in the process of writing a cookbook and she knows what she's talking about!


• The Happy Housewife-She's a mom of 7 kids where meal planning is a must! Need I say more?


• Just a Pinch Recipe Club- My new favorite recipe site. I've used All Recipes for while and still like it but this one is much more user friendly in my opinion.

Happy Planning! Oh and I did originally post by menu plan in here but I removed it because of some blogger formatting issues. I can't figure it out right now so I removed it for the moment, sorry!

My New/Old Best Friend

I think I could learn to love my mixer, FINALLY!

I'm ashamed to admit that I've had it since David and I married almost 6 years ago! We received it as a wedding gift and I was excited to get it. However, like many of my kitchen gadgets I tend to keep them boxed up or in the cabinets and end up doing things the old fashioned way.

David has actually used it a few times but I guess maybe I was intimidated by the big heavy mixer. I know it sounds silly doesn't it? But honestly I'm a simple gal and it seemed just as easy to mix things by hand. Well, that is until I decided to use it today. Oh my, I'm in love!

So now my mission is to find the user's manual that had some recipes in it! Hopefully I'll get time to experiment using it and can post some new recipes soon!

P.S. Thank you Uncle Ron and Aunt Debbie and sorry it took me so long to use it :)

Crazy Life, Good LIfe

My goodness I cannot believe it's been two weeks since I last posted! I guess this posting on a regular basis thing isn't going so well huh? I will admit a lot of it is lack of good time-management along with an increasingly unstable schedule as an impending move approaches.

I've been reading several different blogs, usually written by SAHM's, and many talk of having a home binder. It's simply a way of prioritizing your time at home and being more purposeful with it, kind of like how you should treat money. Oh how I need to make one of these but I have been putting it off not knowing what my new schedule will look like in the next few weeks with moving, packing, my sister visiting, etc.

So I plan to keep up with the blog at least once a week (hold me accountable for those who know me) for the next couple weeks until we settled in our new place.

As a side note for the family and friends reading this, Eian is finally accepted the fact we're moving AGAIN. He seems to be doing well with it now as am I. We both realize God has bigger plan in all of this that we cannot see.

Elias has yet another ear infection. We know he needs to get into the doctor to discuss possible surgery options but with moving it's pointless to go through all that with a doctor here. So for now we're praying we can get just one more rx of ear drops to hold him over.

David will be visiting Kansas soon to scope out our new location and find us an apartment. So please be praying for his safe travel. My sister is coming up from Brooksville while he's gone to watch the boys while I work. I know next week will be somewhat stressful and rushed but I'm still looking forward to her visit.

God is also allowing the temps to warm up a bit here for our last week in Florida. The weatherman says we should see high 60's...oh yeah beach here we come! Cannot wait. We haven't seen the beach since November and Eian commented how sad he would he be if we didn't get to go one last time before we leave. Me too kiddo, me too!

DIY: Flour Tortillas

Okay so those who know me know I like to be domestic and try to be domestic. However, they also know the truth is I have had many more flops and failures than successes when it comes to various organizing attempts, home decor ideas and especially kitchen related projects.

Now that I'm home more though, I have become a bit more proficient in the culinary category and am a little more adventurous in my recipe choices.

I have also come to realize how much JUNK my family consumes in easy convenience foods. I'm not a huge health nut or anything, and am certainly not suggesting a ding-dong free diet. I do like the idea of recreating some of those convenience items here at home though with ingredients I know how to pronounce and are just that, ingredients and not some chemical compound.


So in my pursuit of wholesomeness, I have found a great "5 Minute Bread" recipe that we all love and tonight I will attempt to make homemade tortillas!!! I have heard the rumor in the blogosphere that the time isn't really worth it to make these from scratch, so I'm a little nervous this might be a total waste of time or another one to add to my flop list. For us though, tortillas are one of those items that we never seem to have when the craving for Mexican comes around. So I shall continue my expedition because I would love to say the next time my husband or kids ask for enchiladas, sure let me just whip some up! This is a response I would rather give them versus the hurried trip to the store where I end up getting way more than just the tortillas, thus wasting money and gas!

I will keep you all updated on my findings, if they're worth it to make from scratch or not. What convenience food have you started making from scratch? I would love for you to share or feel free to email me stefani0521@hotmail.com and do a guest post!

Homekeeper's Journal

I've decided to give blogging on a somewhat regular basis a try. Now that I am a part-time SAHM I now see why so many bloggers are SAHM's! We are women and we need to feel connected! Am I right or am I right? Having nothing but Mickey Mouse, Elmo and baby talk for days can wear a girl down!

One of the ways we as women feel connected is to "peak" into the lives of other women and see how they do life. With that said I will randomly partake in The Home Keeper's Journal sponsored by the ChristianHomekeeper.org.

This week’s Journal is all about HOME.

In my homey kitchen …..There are fresh baked banana-nut muffins and choc chip cookies (cheated on these, they're a mix!) in a container ready for little hands to grab. I have a 5 minute bread batch in the fridge. This bread was probably one of my best Internet recipe finds! Good thing no one here is on a low-carb diet. I also have a partially eaten cheesy-Italian bake in the fridge I made for the guys before I had to work at the bookstore tonight.

My thoughts on being at home …… It is a blessing! I remember when Eian was little and actually kind of resenting having to stay home. I missed having "me" time and feeling like I never got anything accomplished but cleaning, cooking, and diaper changing just to do it all over again. I was not a Christian during this period but even if you are being at home is tough IF you lose focus of the purpose. I then went from full-time SAHM to having no choice but to work again full-time in a clerical position.

It didn't take more than one time of dropping my baby off to strangers that I longed to be home again! Due to un-foreseen circumstances I worked away from home full-time for the next 7 1/2 years. Oh how I missed being home to where my heart ached for it. But the Lord in His awesome wisdom and love, He knew the perfect time and here we are. I appreciate it so much and see it as a wonderful gift and a high calling to be able to take care of my family.

I'm getting choked up as I type this, oh my word! But I love watching Play House Disney and watch my lil guy do his funky dance to the theme songs, picking up toys is a pleasure (yes I said pleasure) because there were lil hands that played with them, and meal planning is so much fun and I love trying new recipes. I also have more time to coupon and get the best deals AND I don't have to shop when all the crazies are out on the weekends! I love being home when Eian's out of school, not to mention being able to attend school functions and volunteer without doing anything short of giving a kidney to get out of work. I love the look on my husband's face when he comes home to a sometimes clean home and the smell of something simmering. Is my life PERFECT because I stay home more? Absolutely not but there is more peace and order to our home. That I like, a lot!

A constant habit I have of making my home comfortable is ….keeping it warm and cozy with candles burning and I bake a lot in the winter. But as soon as there's a slight warmth to the air, the windows are opened. I make an effort to at least keep the bathroom clean and nothing smells better to me than bleach in the bathroom! I also strive, as much as one can with an 18month old, to keep things off the floor. I also like to keep clutter contained in lined wicker baskets. You may not find what you're looking for IN them but they look pretty!

What I want my children/spouse/other family to remember about my home is …… that it was a comfortable, relaxed place where they could be themselves and feel welcome.


So what is your home like and your thoughts about it?

Menu Plan Monday

It's Menu Plan Monday again already. I have to say that so far (it's only week 2 though) I look forward to Monday's because it's when I get to share my meal plan with all of you! It was time consuming to go grocery shopping Saturday (6 stores in 4 hours, but NO kids!) because I had specific things I needed and they were on sale at certain locations. The good news though is all the stores I went to are only 2-3 miles from one another so it's not like I was wasting money on gas or it would not have been worth it! I think I did pretty good. I spent $132.00 for two weeks worth of groceries!

I went ahead and made a menu plan for two weeks instead of just one for the simple fact of saving time and less trips to the store means less cash coming out of my pocket! It felt good and a weight was lifted. I guess just knowing what you're eating for two weeks and knowing that you're saving money by going to the store with a plan makes a huge difference!

So here is what our dinners look like for the next two weeks:

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches with Curly Fries

Chili and salad

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Chicken Quesadillas with Spanish Rice

Tater Tot Casserole & Salad

Chicken Pot Pie

Stir Fry

Sloppy Joe's with fries and veggies

Herb baked chicken thighs w/ garlic,parsley & butter noodles with broccoli

Chicken Tortellini Alfredo

Pizza

Hamburger Helper (what can I say, I need an easy one at least one night of the week!)

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Tomato Soup

As you can see I haven't added which days we're eating what, like I did last week. I kind of just pick what will work for us on which nights. For example, I don't pick something like Chicken Pot Pie that takes 45 minutes to bake, when I know we have church, play dates, appointments, etc.

So there you have it! I hope to link to my recipes once I get some added.

Menus Plan Monday

It's my first week back to meal planning and I'm kinda excited. I guess it makes me feel like I have a little control in my crazy life!! No really I'm mainly anxious to get back into it because I won't have to stress about forgetting to leave something out for dinner and wondering what I'm going to make and the added bonus is saving some green! I used to be a meal planner and a weekend cooker which meant on I would make enough meals for the week and freeze some and leave the rest for leftovers through the week. I got away from cooking all day because it was a lot of work! I think though if I plan out simple, low cook time recipes that will take a lot of pressure off. Do you know how stressful it is to come home with two starving kids (and I mean ravenous and I give them snacks to eat on the way home!) and I can never seem to pull in the driveway before 6pm?

So my stressful days are over thanks to the encouragement of the ladies who are involved in Meal Plan Mondays!

So enough talk, here's my menu:

Monday: Pot Roast in crock

Tuesday: Ham, Cheese, Potato, and Broccoli bake

Wednesday: "Crazy Dinner" It's my son's way of saying we're having breakfast for dinner. He loves it!

Thursday: Herb Roasted Chicken thighs, butter & parsley egg noodles, and veggies

Friday: I don't have anything here yet because I have to go to the store really bad! We'll probably have pizza!

I'll try to post pics and recipes after I make them. Have a great start to your week ladies!