Thursday, March 17, 2016
St Patrick's Day fun ~ Memories I want to savor!
My youngest fully embracing the green. Turning inside out fleece lined jeans for the full effect!
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Trying something new in my crockpot!
Ms. Scarlett, is a very faithful companion in my kitchen. (She is known by other names: crockpot, slow cooker.) She is a blessing regardless of her title. This past week, it was brought to my attention of another beautiful skill she has.
She can brown hamburger!
This tip just made my day. There are days, I just know the dinner hour is going to be difficult. Knowing this ahead of time is half the battle. Then coming up with solutions to reduce the number of steps in getting to the table is the other part of the battle. Mrs. Scarlett saves the dinner hour frequently. She warms up soups for lunch or dinner. She has made lasagna for me on days, I can't be home to slip it in the oven at the right time. She makes so many delightful dishes. I just never considered she had this blessed talent.
While this is not an extraordinarily difficult chore, it does sometimes require planning and effort on what could be very busy, exhausting and chaotic days. She doesn't do it quickly. But that is okay.. quickly done isn't always necessary. A friend of mine whispered this gem of knowledge to me via text. I was flabbergasted and excited all at once. She told me her personal assistant helps with Taco Tuesdays. At lunchtime she delegates the browning of hamburger. Hamburger + 1/4 cup of water + seasonings. A few hours later she gives it a stir and breaks up the hamburger and by dinner time, viola! All that is needed is the sides and maybe the adding of some beans to stretch the meat/protein of the night.
I am so excited because today, is one of those days, where I know I am going to need a little extra help later in the day. Sometimes cutting one 10 minute task off the to do list is all it takes to reduce the stress load of crazy family schedules.
She can brown hamburger!
This tip just made my day. There are days, I just know the dinner hour is going to be difficult. Knowing this ahead of time is half the battle. Then coming up with solutions to reduce the number of steps in getting to the table is the other part of the battle. Mrs. Scarlett saves the dinner hour frequently. She warms up soups for lunch or dinner. She has made lasagna for me on days, I can't be home to slip it in the oven at the right time. She makes so many delightful dishes. I just never considered she had this blessed talent.
While this is not an extraordinarily difficult chore, it does sometimes require planning and effort on what could be very busy, exhausting and chaotic days. She doesn't do it quickly. But that is okay.. quickly done isn't always necessary. A friend of mine whispered this gem of knowledge to me via text. I was flabbergasted and excited all at once. She told me her personal assistant helps with Taco Tuesdays. At lunchtime she delegates the browning of hamburger. Hamburger + 1/4 cup of water + seasonings. A few hours later she gives it a stir and breaks up the hamburger and by dinner time, viola! All that is needed is the sides and maybe the adding of some beans to stretch the meat/protein of the night.
I am so excited because today, is one of those days, where I know I am going to need a little extra help later in the day. Sometimes cutting one 10 minute task off the to do list is all it takes to reduce the stress load of crazy family schedules.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Passport to Purity by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
The past month we started up on Passport to Purity again.
Ideally, it is done in a weekend.
Parent and child go away and have a special weekend together.
Sometimes life and the schedule are in agreement... sometimes not.
With two of the kids, get aways were possible.
Now with two, that wasn't possible.
I put it off and put it off until child number 4 just isn't getting any younger!
So back in February when we were headed up to Kansas City for a weekend, we started up Passport to Purity again.
We worked through the first 2 CDs as a family during the drive.
The first two CDs address a lot about being able to talk with your parents and peer pressure and friendships. They also encourage young men and women to begin to think about the choices they want to make in the future. What was great about doing this a family, is getting to hear from the older kids and the perspective they have now several years later. The younger ones really do look up to and listen to their older siblings, it is a great opportunity for them to hear from someone else other than just me. Life is just full and busy and sometimes it just doesn't fit into the dinner conversation to talk about some of these topics, so revisiting and introducing the opportunity to think about friends, choices, peer pressure and personal struggles during the car ride was good.
Recently, my (number 4) asked if we could skip youth group one night to work through the next cd. We did! We survived and it was good. We are almost done. I appreciate getting to listen to the cd while someone else brings up the difficult topics and explanations. We listen together.. laugh..roll the eyes and sigh with relief when cd 3 is complete. Some things are just not easy to talk about. But it is so important to do it. The great thing about Passport to Purity is they do a lot of the difficult talking, (the telling) and I get to bond with my kiddo over how uncomfortable it was to listen to all "that stuff" and just ask and answer questions and chat and listen.
This is our car setup. The cd player in the car has gobbled up a cd and isn't willing to let it go right now, so we went to plan B. We have a tape player (in the suburban) + a tape that plugs into our mobile devices. Our mobile devices then play and it is broadcasted through our car's sound system. Pretty nifty. In the process, my kids have discovered what a "portable cd player"/Walkman is!! When we went to Wal-mart and were asking about them, the sales guy (a teenager) asked, "You want a boom box?" No, nothing that big! Too funny. Technology today...
Ideally, it is done in a weekend.
Parent and child go away and have a special weekend together.
Sometimes life and the schedule are in agreement... sometimes not.
With two of the kids, get aways were possible.
Now with two, that wasn't possible.
I put it off and put it off until child number 4 just isn't getting any younger!
So back in February when we were headed up to Kansas City for a weekend, we started up Passport to Purity again.
We worked through the first 2 CDs as a family during the drive.
The first two CDs address a lot about being able to talk with your parents and peer pressure and friendships. They also encourage young men and women to begin to think about the choices they want to make in the future. What was great about doing this a family, is getting to hear from the older kids and the perspective they have now several years later. The younger ones really do look up to and listen to their older siblings, it is a great opportunity for them to hear from someone else other than just me. Life is just full and busy and sometimes it just doesn't fit into the dinner conversation to talk about some of these topics, so revisiting and introducing the opportunity to think about friends, choices, peer pressure and personal struggles during the car ride was good.
Recently, my (number 4) asked if we could skip youth group one night to work through the next cd. We did! We survived and it was good. We are almost done. I appreciate getting to listen to the cd while someone else brings up the difficult topics and explanations. We listen together.. laugh..roll the eyes and sigh with relief when cd 3 is complete. Some things are just not easy to talk about. But it is so important to do it. The great thing about Passport to Purity is they do a lot of the difficult talking, (the telling) and I get to bond with my kiddo over how uncomfortable it was to listen to all "that stuff" and just ask and answer questions and chat and listen.
This is our car setup. The cd player in the car has gobbled up a cd and isn't willing to let it go right now, so we went to plan B. We have a tape player (in the suburban) + a tape that plugs into our mobile devices. Our mobile devices then play and it is broadcasted through our car's sound system. Pretty nifty. In the process, my kids have discovered what a "portable cd player"/Walkman is!! When we went to Wal-mart and were asking about them, the sales guy (a teenager) asked, "You want a boom box?" No, nothing that big! Too funny. Technology today...
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Unplanned break from blogging... life is full!
Blogging has been taking a back seat lately.
Life has been full and hectic.
I managed near the beginning of February to start a bunch of posts and save them.
Then tweak and finish them up in spare moments...
When they were done...
I composed posts in my head while I my hands were busy
away from my computer.
We managed to put in the late winter/very early spring garden.
I never would have thought of planting seeds in February but the nearby nursery folks
were very encouraging.
I had to pick up some seeds for various science projects for the kids...
I had to pick up some seeds for various science projects for the kids...
and not one to waste anything... they are planted.
We have more peas planted than I have ever put in the ground.
Carrots, spinache, onions, lettuce and
asparagus (from last year)
are all in the ground.
Today's report from the kids is that we have sprouts in the garden!
Maybe I will get pictures sometime later this week.
Today it is raining!
Blessed rain.
February ended with temps ranging all the way up to the 70's.
March started like a lamb... beautiful spring like weather.
So we have tackled various outdoor chores.
Cleaning up gardens and corners of the yard.
Cleaning up gardens and corners of the yard.
Dismantled the compost "bin."
Fixed the neighbors fence that lines our yard.
They are in the process of packing up and moving, weilding a hammer is easy.
Indoors, I cleaned and fixed the bathroom fans.
Did you know, they can get really dusty?
All that dust can make the motor grumpy and noisy!
Life lessons/Home Ec of the week!
Decluttering, sorting through clothes.
The living room is more of a train wreck than usual.
Tons of science experiments and projects in all the subjects for the kids.
But we are getting it done!
There has been extra appointments.
Hockey has ended.
Only to add Soccer and Golf to the spring routine.
I will try to keep up!
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