Yummy Cracker Toffee

I'm pretty sure I've had this before, but this is the first time making it. Cracker Toffee. Or Brittle Cookies. Or whatever people are calling it. I have a craving for chocolate, but not the packaged Christmas candies we have. I want something with chocolate chips in it. So, here's what I just made:

Saltines - line a baking sheet with them
1 cup brown sugar and 1 stick butter - melt them til gooey on stovetop
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Pour gooey sugar mess over crackers lining pan.
Bake for about 5 minutes or until sugar is bubbling on top of crackers
Sprinkle 2 cups of chocolate chips over hot sugar crackers. Let sit for a few minutes to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over all crackers. Place pan in freezer for about an hour or until chocolate has hardened. Break into pieces to eat! (or you can bag them and keep in the freezer to give out as gifts!!)

Yum. Mine's in the freezer now. In about 58 minutes, I'm going to chow down on that goodness! :) Too bad the girls are in bed.....NOT. :)

Meatless Mondays

So, I have been trying a new thing, Meatless Mondays, for a couple weeks now. It was going well, until today. I am so lost on what day it is because we've been off schedule, that I pulled out meat to defrost for dinner. Then, I remembered about an hour ago that it's Monday. Oops. Oh well, I am doing an easy ground beef dish because I'm still exhausted from the holidays; pregnancy tends to do that to me - drags out my exhaustion about 4 days longer than the normal person's. :) 

Tonight, it's Ground Beef Stroganoff for dinner. I am serving it over rice, with green beans and rolls. I'm excited. For some reason, stroganoff sounded really good. I haven't made or had it in probably a year. Here's the recipe I snagged from Cooks.com....

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped (or for tonight, i'm lazy and just using onion powder)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
rice, noodles, whatever (i've heard mashed potatoes is also tasty with this)

Brown the beef with the onion. Drain. Add salt, pepper, and soup. Simmer 15-20 minutes (i added a little water because it seemed awful dry to have sit for 20 minutes). Add sour cream and heat for 5 more minutes. Serve over rice or noodles.

Maybe I'll make it a meatless Tuesday tomorrow. That'll save me the trouble of pulling meat out of the freezer....because it's oh so much work! HA.

Today, we played with the girls' new Play-Doh Ice Cream Shoppe set. That occupied them, without fighting, for about an hour! Addy even got in on it from her highchair. Then she ate some of the blue play-doh....and was done. :) I am STILL working on laundry...Day 2. I will not finish today. 11 loads this week. That's up 4 from my normal 7 loads a week. That's insane! These girls got waaaaay too many new clothes, I guess. 

Alright, dinner's almost done. So, it's not the healthiest. It's not going to kill us, either. I'm happy. Little effort.  I am only serving one vegetable, though, which is unlike me. I almost always have 2, in addition to a starch and meat. Oh well. It's winter break, right? :)

Happy Meatless Monday!

The Chaos of Christmas

Christmas was wonderful! We had such a great time visiting both my and Arthur's families. It was a lot of driving, but it was well worth it. :) We ended up having Christmas at my parents' house on the 23rd, in order for everyone to make it. What a day! We started opening presents among the 8 grandkids, 4 at-home kids, 6 married kids and my parents at 10:30 in the morning. We finished some time before 1pm! Everyone got so many more presents than they deserved, as usual. :) All of us kids surprised my parents with a 20x24 framed photo of all of the kids and grandkids, an 11x14 photo of the 8 original kids, and an 11x14 of the 8 grandkids. I think they loved it! We had to sneak around to get the picture taken after Thanksgiving, but we pulled it off and they were surprised, so I was happy to see my mom's reaction. I know she's been wanting to get a good picture of all of us together but someone's always taking a nap or crabby or absent. 

We left my parents' house on Friday morning and came home to drop off the presents and relax for a few hours....or so we thought. We ended up opening all the toys just to get the garbage out of the house. What a mess! Kid toys are so difficult to open! But, the girls were happy to see everything out of the packaging. 

Around 3, we headed over to my in-laws for dinner there. It was Italian-themed for the food. I brought an antipasto tray, and I am very proud of myself for going outside my little box to make a pretty decent dish. :) Addy opened her gifts shortly after 7 because she was exhausted and needed to go to bed. After putting her to sleep, we watched some TV and then all opened gifts around 9:30 or so. All 3 girls got (again) a TON of toys and clothes. They were very excited. Arthur got an iPad! He was super excited as well. I got some really great and useful kitchen items, so I was very happy. We got home around 11 and again decided to open the packaging of all the toys. What a chore! Of course, Polly Pocket's roller coaster playset had a ridiculous amount of pieces. We were up til 1 putting it all together and getting out the gifts from Santa....and eating the milk and cookies. 

Christmas morning was awesome as well! The girls loved their presents and note from Santa. We opened gifts from each other and then ate a pancake, egg, and bacon breakfast made on my new electric griddle. :) Then, we were finally able to just lounge the rest of the day. Our friend Mike surprised us in the afternoon and stopped by to visit and with gifts for the girls. 

It was a great couple of days. Now, we are headed to church this morning; Arthur headed off to work. Should be another great day. I'm already looking forward to a nap and starting laundry so we can get all these new clothes put away!!

Hope your Christmas was just as magical and special. We did review the real meaning of Christmas yesterday, and I was pleased when Iris didn't skip a beat in answering "Jesus was born" when asked what happened on the first Christmas morning. :) That's my girl!

Jesus is the Reason for the Season

The other night while praying with the girls before bed, Arthur and I took turns asking and thanking God for things. It was kind of like a joint prayer. We were both trying to think of a way to ask God to help us remember what Christmas is really about, and all I could think to say was "Jesus is the reason for the season". I remember wearing pins as a child that had that phrase on it. Or seeing bookmarks or bumper stickers with that phrase. It sounds so childish, but I think it really encompasses what we need to remember. 

I know my girls (at least Iris and Lily), know that Christmas is about Jesus and celebrating his birth. But, I also know we get soooo wrapped up (no pun intended) in the presents and the tree and Santa. I want my girls to keep singing "happy birthday Jesus" when they're older and not just in preschool. I want them to remember to thank God for the real reason for Christmas, to make that connection between Christmas and Jesus' birth and (eventually) salvation. 

I took them to see Santa last Friday at the mall. We stood in line for about an hour, which is something I would normally complain about. I knew full well, though, that the line would be crazy long and that the girls would probably get antsy. They, surprisingly, stood perfectly in line and patiently waited their turn. Iris even commented, "This is a really long line, Mom. We need patience." I smiled the biggest smile ever. We've been working on understanding patience, so it was nice to see she made that connection. We finally got up to Santa and they all got so shy! I expected that somewhat. Lily and Iris just hid behind my legs and Addy stared at Santa with big eyes. I tried to set Addy on his lap, she sat for half a second then looked and me and started crying. Iris finally mustered up the courage to speak to him. She planned to tell him she wanted Barbie and baby dolls for Christmas, but when she did speak she said, "I want a pony." ???? I started laughing. Santa was very soft-spoken, which I think the girls were a bit put off by. On the cartoons and movies, he's this boisterous and fun-loving guy. This Santa definitely was not. He looked like he really wanted to take a break (it was almost noon, which is his break time we were told), so I think it was hard for the girls to want to talk to him if he didn't seem to want to talk to them.

Overall, I'm glad we went. We've been talking about it, and they'd seen him from a distance before, so I was glad to get it done. :) We did not take or buy a picture. I believe it is robbery, the prices they charge...and they do not allow a picture using your own camera...of course. Oh well...I saved us $24, which I think was the lowest price and only included two 5x7's!

We finished up shopping for our last 2 gifts and came home just in time to eat and get a nap in. We had a fabulous weekend at my parents' house and at Grandma's breakfast. The girls had fun playing with their cousins. And that evening was our couples night, which was really great. It was so cold, but it was also very nice to be without the kids for a few hours. 

This week, my brother Tyler is here with us until we go back to my parents' house tomorrow night to stay til Christmas Eve. We have 3 different kinds of cookies to bake today, a few of which we will keep here for Santa. :)


Despite everything that is happening this week, I really hope I convey a good attitude toward my family. I tend to get crabby and impatient during the holidays, expecting everyone to be on best behavior and not uncontrollably excited to see family and receive gifts. Yes, I forget they are toddlers a lot! :) Most of all, though, I want to make sure we keep Jesus' birth as the main focus. Santa is fun to talk about and gifts are fun to buy, wrap and give, but I want the girls to really focus on the best Gift ever. I know between preschool and Sunday School they've really learned a lot about Mary and Joseph and the birth but I want it to be a focus here, too. God has blessed me so much with such inquisitive girls; I hope I honor Him by addressing their curiosities with His Word and His Son and His Gift of Salvation.


With that, I wish you all a wonderfully blessed Christmas with your families and friends. I hope we can all take at least a moment each day to stop and think of all that went on to bring Jesus into this world, all the details that came together just right to bring us such an Amazing Gift. God's desire is for us to know Him and love Him. What better way than to share the real Christmas story with our loved ones and show them just how much God loves us!


Merry Christmas!

Countdown to Christmas!

I can't believe it's only 8 days until Christmas! I'm so excited! We have so much going on in the next week, but I can't wait to do it all.

Yesterday was Iris and Lily's Preschool Christmas program and party. It was very cute. Iris was the only one of the kids that really sang. Lily kept jingling her bells even after teacher was whispering for her to hold them still. Addy, surprisingly, sat still through the whole thing. It was a cute selection of songs, and they all did a good job. 

Iris' godmother, Jackie (and my future sister-in-law), was able to come to the party and program. Soooo thankful she was there to help chase Addy down during the party. :) Then, Jackie came back to the house and cut all our hair. We are all trimmed up for the next few weeks. One more thing to check off the list!

Last night, my in-laws came over for dinner and to see the girls. They gave the girls sock monkeys. Very cute; they all have a different pattern on them, so that'll help tell them apart. Iris named hers "pinky"; Addy named hers "baby". Lily hasn't named hers yet. I don't think she likes the idea of naming it; she seems very logical and naming a stuffed animal doesn't seem to make sense. That's my girl. :)

For dinner, we had Tagliarini. I forget where I found the recipe but it's healthy and delicious, and it feeds 6 to 8, which was perfect for all of us last night. Here's the recipe:

Tagliarini

1-2 lbs ground beef (i used chicken last night)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped (or 1 heaping tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 TBSP honey
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1/2 lb dry noodles
2 cups shredded cheese

Brown beef (or cook chopped chicken til no longer pink) with pepper, onion, and garlic. Drain liquid. Pour into 9x13 pan and add salt, chili powder and honey. Mix together then add tomatoes and water. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until boiling. Add noodles and sprinkle cheese over all. Bake another 30 minutes or until noodles are tender and cheese is completely melted. 

Muy delicioso! :)

Today, the girls and I will finish up the last 2 gifts we need to buy. And then I will make a batch of cinnamon rolls and some pumpkin cranberry bread to take to Grandma's breakfast tomorrow. Tomorrow night is our evening in Chicago with some of my brothers and cousins. Then Sunday morning, we will go to my parents' church. Sunday evening I have to be at our church at 5pm to rehearse for our Christmas program, during which I will do a reading. Then, we are invited to our small group leader's home for desserts after the program. 


Arthur then works Monday through Wednesday before we head back to my parents' house Wednesday night to stay through Friday and celebrate Christmas with them. Friday night, we will come back this way to my in-laws to celebrate with them. Then we will be home late Christmas Eve, to wake up and spend the day with our girls here at home. Busy week ahead, but I cannot wait to experience it all with my family. :) My girls are so excited about Christmas and seeing everyone. We've been doing the Advent calendar (with chocolate candies, of course), and the girls are so excited that they have gotten a piece of candy every day this month....which is so abnormal for our house! :)


Merry Christmas to all, in case I don't get a moment to post it next week! Have a safe and wonderful Christmas with your families. And I hope we don't lose sight of what the real meaning of Christmas is and take at least a moment to thank God for giving us the best Gift of all!
 

A Quick Morning Post

I have a big headache this morning. I'd like to just sit here all morning and do nothing. Can't do that, though. 

I found, in another Mom's blog, a free ebook called "Just Get 'em Fed". It was very interesting. A mom of 9 wrote it about her struggle to find balance in feeding her family; she included several great recipes at the end, which I was very happy to see. I love new/simple/healthy recipes. Go HERE if you'd like to see her blog and download the book. I saved it to the desktop for quick reference. :) I actually used her recipe for Breakfast Casserole when I made dinner last night. 

Speaking of last night, I think this is where my headache stems from. Our church is renovating and needed folks to help finish the project. So, as a family, we went over to help. The girls played and watched a movie with their friend, while the adults painted. I stood on a ladder and painted around the lights. I didn't mind it at first, even though my husband asked if I should be on a ladder while pregnant. I was fine for the first hour, then my back started to hurt and there was one light that has a faint strobe light thing happening. When you're standing on a ladder just inches from the flashing light, it gets trippy. I started to get a little light-headed, so I slowed down. I was definitely ready to go when we left after 2 1/2 hours there. I don't feel like I got a whole lot down for the church, but this morning my body is saying I did enough! :) Why do all these interesting or helpful things come up when I'm pregnant??? I would be so much more useful (and faster) if I didn't have the body aches from pregnancy. Oh well. I hope they are able to finish the project quickly. I know it's become a huge ordeal and a couple of the folks are there practically every night to work on it. I can't imagine how tiring that must be! They have good hearts, and I know their work is appreciated. 

Today, only Iris has school, so the other two are with me for groceries. I finished all the laundry on Monday! That's was the first time in quite a while that it all got done in one day. Arthur was home in the morning, so I got a late start to everything (it always happens that way when he's home!), but I got all 7 loads done before 10pm. The last 2 loads were dried and folded but not put away, so I made sure to put them away first thing yesterday morning. What a relief that is! 

Grocery shopping should be interesting. It said it was 1 degree (without wind chill factored in), so we will be super bundled when we go out. I need to bring lots of snacks so I don't run out of energy lifting them in and out of the car!

Arthur has an MRI tonight. Pray for him, please. His hip has been hurting him, especially when he runs, and he is hoping it's just soreness. The doctor did tell him she thought he had weak hips, so he was bummed to hear that. Hopefully the MRI doesn't show anything abnormal and he can just work to strengthen his hip through exercise.  He continues to run, but I know he'd like to have an answer and to not be sore anymore. 

This Sunday is our church's Christmas program in the evening. I get to do a reading! :) I wanted to be part of the Christmas choir, but will illnesses last Sunday evening and all last week, I wasn't able to get out to the practice(s). So, I am happy to do a reading for the service. If you're interested, it's at New Hope Community Church in Palatine from 6pm to 7pm. 

Before Sunday, though, we are so busy. Saturday morning is my Grandparents' Christmas Breakfast. Santa visits there for the great-grandkids, so that'll be fun. :) Then, Saturday evening, we are going to Chicago to walk around and for dinner with 2 of my brothers and their wives as well as my cousin and her husband. That should be fun; we don't get to do anything as couples hardly ever, so it'll be fun to be without our kids for a couple hours. Except, I feel bad my parents will be watching my kids. Not sure if they're watching the other 5 kids, too, but I am hoping they have help if they are!

I felt the baby move for the first time the other night! It was very exciting. I'm 15 1/2 weeks, so I knew it would be soon since I now know the difference between gas and the baby fluttering. :) It was awesome. Every time I feel the first movements when I'm pregnant, I just think about how crazy it would be to think life just happens. There's so much going on in my belly right now, I can't imagine anything other than God as the source of life, the Designer of life's creation. So neat!

Time to get moving! The clean dishes in the dishwasher are calling my name, as well as the dog who is sitting here staring at me to take him out. The shower is calling me, and so are the bags of clothes and toys we are donating to the National Children's Cancer Society. They'll be here some time after 8:30 to pick it all up, so I better get it outside. Busy, busy. Story of my life, but I love it. Keeps me from getting bored, I guess. :)

Yesterday, I called the elderly folks I've been "assigned" to.  I was able to speak with only one. She was so positive. She is in a assisted living home now, but she was very positive and her only prayer request was for patience. Amazing. She has health issues, can't get out for church or even to run her errands, but she just wants me to pray for her patience! Makes me think my complaints about having errands to run seem so wrong. I should be happy I can get out and do things and not have to rely on someone. Independence is a great thing, especially if you've experienced and can no longer. 

Have a great Wednesday!

Weak Week

What a week! The girls are finally all better. 48 hours of no snot, puke or poo....so I think we're in the clear. :) Thankfully, Arthur and I did not get it; it's always so much harder to care for the girls when one or both of us is also sick.

We had a great time with soups this week, though, to help make us feel better. I made a HUGE pot of chicken noodle soup on Thursday, and I just have a little bit left now. I love chicken noodle soup! I also ended up making pork chop soup earlier in the week, instead of pork chops themselves. It turned out pretty good. A little spicy, though, so I'd cut back on the chili powder next time. Overall, very tasty! I found the recipe online and it had a ton of good reviews and no bad ones, so I figured why not try it. Click HERE for the recipe.


Also, today the girls and I will be making some Christmas cookies, once they're up from naps. I think we're doing just 3 kinds (instead of getting carried away, like I always do!). Cutout sugar cookies (of course), Giant Ginger Cookies, and Snickerdoodles. I decided not to do any chocolate this time, just because we always do some form of chocolate in our cookies, and I have a taste for something different. We'll probably give some to our neighbors and my in-laws before eating a bunch ourselves! :)

Right now, I have fruit-filled oatmeal bars in the oven baking. They should be done in just a few minutes and were so easy to make. Hopefully they taste great, too. This was my first time making them, but I wanted a good/sweet/healthy snack for while we're making all the cookies. :)

Fruit-Filled Oatmeal Bars

1 cup flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

Filling:
1 cup applesauce (chunky is best it says)
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of ground cloves

Combine flour, oats, sugar and soda. Cut in butter with pastry blender. Divide in half. Press 1/2 of mixture in 11x7x1 1/2 inch baking pan. In bowl, combine items for filling. Pour filling over mixture in pan. Spread remaining crumb mixture on top of filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack and cut into bars.

It says it makes 25 bars, but I am not sure I'll get 25 out of that size pan. Seems like really small portions. I didn't have chunky applesauce, so I just used regular and added some raisins (1/2 handful) in as well to make up for the apples chunks. :) I also don't have that size pan, so I got out my cookie bar pan from Pampered Chef (I think it's the medium size pan) and used a ruler to help me know to where I should spread the crumb mixture initially. I knew it wasn't going to spread out while it baked, so I think that would be fine. I just pulled mine out of the oven and they are cooling. I smell apple and cinnamon, so I'm really hoping they taste as lovely as they smell!

On another note, I've decided to try and start a moms group. The ones I've found online for my area all cost money or are spread out among moms all over chicagoland or have so many members and children that there are 40+ activities a week. I don't see how I can get to know the moms, unless a couple of us decide to go to all the same events. It just seems like a lot of work.

So, I emailed some mom friends on Facebook today to get their opinion and find out if they're interested. I'd like to start it out of my house, since public places are hard to coordinate or are chaotic because we're chasing our children. Two of my neighbors and I tried to start doing this but we didn't get anything planned on it and it was last minute when we'd decide to call each other. Maybe if we set a date a week in advance, that'd help plan our get-togethers? Who knows. Just an idea. I'm not good at calling people during the week because of the background noise, so if it's other moms face-to-face with me and the children noise is expected, I'd feel more comfortable. So, hopefully it works out. I'm praying it does; I know I can use mom talk during the weekdays. My husband gets tired of me talking about the little things the kids do (that drives me nuts or makes me laugh or just other nonsense!), but I know other moms know what I mean when I say I need to just get it out. I love my kids to death, but I also enjoy venting with other moms or asking for opinions or just sharing experiences.

Those fruit bars are calling me! I know they're not cooled yet, but I really want to go cut one and eat it NOW! :)

The Nate Show

Today I submitted my info for design help from The Nate Show. :) I like watching that show; he has some really great ideas for small spaces. Our dilemma is that we will have 4 kids sharing one room come next Summer. That's going to be tough! We are thinking that the 3 bed bunk bed is the way to go, but I'm not sure. Maybe the bunk bed with a double bed on the bottom and a twin on top? Plus we have to keep the crib in there for the new baby. Ugh! Then, we have all their toys and the kid kitchen. I feel like we're going to have to get rid of some things, which is going to be tough since they're already limited on the number of toys now with the small space.

I just can't wait for this housing market to bounce back, so we can actually make a profit on this townhouse and get something with at least one more bedroom! We didn't want the housing market to determine when we had our children, but I know too that it's going to be hard to keep a 10x13 room manageable and inclusive of everything we need for the girls and new baby!

I try not to complain because I know we still have it good. We aren't struggling with the mortgage, we have zero credit card debt, and the only debt we do have is the house. God has been good, and we are still trusting Him to provide. I just get all whiny when things are cramped, as they are now becoming. :) But, this is our choice to have 4 kids in the 2 bedroom townhome.....so I refuse to complain. :)

Maybe Nate will see how much design help we need and actually give us a really great idea to create "more" room in there! Who knows? He probably doesn't really answer all the submissions himself, so hopefully we at least get an answer....from anyone over there! lol.

Cold

It is FREEZING out today. Actually, it's below freezing. I haven't stepped outside yet, and I don't plan to.

We had a fantastic time at our friend's annual Christmas party on Saturday night. All of the kids there played so well and behaved great for being up past bedtimes! :) It was a nice evening, with plenty of very good food.

Addy had an explosive diaper yesterday right before we were trying to go to church. I thought maybe she'd had too much chocolate milk with breakfast and too many sweets the night before, so we cleaned her up and went to church. She didn't appear ill at all, and still doesn't. Then, she had another explosive diaper late yesterday afternoon and again this morning. So glad today is our scheduled laundry day! She still isn't whiny or complaining of anything, so I'm not sure what's going on with her. It's always hard when they can't speak in sentences to explain if anything hurts or doesn't feel right. Plus, both Arthur and myself have sensitive stomachs....along with the rest of our families...so, it's very hard to tell what her tummy issue is. She's been on bananas, yogurt, applesauce, and acidophilus, so we'll see how that works out for her in the next 24 hours. She's taking a really good nap right now and slept in this morning, so hopefully her little body is fighting it off. 

But, of all days to have her tummy troubles, today is the best because it's too cold to go anywhere, it's not a preschool day, and I'm already washing clothes, so a few more poopy ones are ok. :)

Other than that, we've been lying low. Church was awesome, as always. Pastor spoke about anger. And one of the verses he referenced (which I always forget the book, chapter and verse for) is one that I absolutely love: "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Such a great verse to bring to mind when I say something hurtful or just plain dumb. What's really in my heart if THAT is what I am choosing to say? 

The girls enjoyed not having anywhere to go today. I let them stay in pajamas til lunchtime (something we NEVER do!), and they played with Moon Dough and watched 2 Barney movies this morning. It's been a busy and fun day so far with them. They're behaving much better today than they were last week, so I'm really hoping my change in attitude and patience is part of that reason. I don't believe that our rough week last week was all because of them. I know it was me, too. But, today, I'm ecstatic that we're doing so well. 

Pork chops for dinner, along with biscuits, some form of potatoes (maybe garlic mashed potatoes), and either salad or carrots. Today is a great soup day, so I may be changing that to a soup with pork in it. We'll see; the day is still young. :)

We had our first big snow this season on Friday night/Saturday morning. The girls wanted to play outside as soon as they got up, so at 8am we were outside playing. Addy recognizes what snow is this year, so she was very excited to go out in it. She did look like a giant pink marshmallow in her snowsuit, though! Then we came in and had hot chocolate and marshmallows.

I was supposed to go to Women's Bible Study Saturday, but after playing with the girls I was exhausted. Turns out no one showed up for Bible Study, so I didn't feel AS bad, but I know I should have gone. I am glad I didn't miss the lesson, though. I am really enjoying the series we're going through, "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George. Really great and inspiring, as well as convicting. 

I hear Lily waking up...she is so loud sometimes! haha. Excited to do some more playing this afternoon....INDOORS!

Good Company

For the past 2 days, my neighbor and I have been trying to get together. The timing was off because either her son was napping or my girls were napping or things came up. So, she surprised me this afternoon and came over before I even texted her that my girls were done with nap! Yay!

We didn't really have anything important to talk about, but we hadn't chatted in a couple weeks. It was so nice to talk to another adult about adult things - anything other than boogers and cartoons, that is. :) She is a Christian and even if we don't get into any deep talk about God, it's always so easy to talk to her. She is a newer mom, so we have that in common in addition to our relationship with God. 

I don't think we covered any big topics, but her company is always a reprieve from the crazy yelling girls. My girls like playing with her little boy....and by playing, I mean getting in his face and taking his paci. LOL. BUT, it keeps them occupied and away from teasing each other! 

Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most. I meant to text her all day and let her know that this afternoon would be perfect for her to come over, but of course I forgot and decided to lie on the couch while my girls napped. So, I'm super happy she just came on by. I think she was here for an hour, but I feel refreshed and a little more energetic. It was like I had a moment of recharging just with a little adult conversation. Thank God! 


I should keep in mind when there's someone I need to call or see, that I should just do it....it might be just the thing they need for a little recharge!

He Knows Best

All the girls are taking a nap today! I cannot believe it. Iris isn't asleep, but she's at least quiet and in the bed. Lily and Addy are asleep, though, which is great! God is good. I just needed to slow down and take a breath, while trying to correct them. Yelling and showing my anger doesn't make them want to do anything. It pays to be patient!

That's all. I just wanted to get this in here before they woke up. ;) I'm actually afraid to do anything for fear they'll awake. LOL. But, I did enjoy some yummy Chocoholic Cake I made last night (thanks to my mom for the recipe). Deelish! 

Here's the recipe:

Cake:

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 box chocolate instant pudding (the 3 ounce size)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

4 eggs

2 cups chocolate chips

Frosting:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 TBSP water

2 TBSP butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate

Mix cake mix, pudding, milk, sour cream and eggs. Beat on high for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into greased and floured bundt (or any tube) pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes (mine was ready at 53 minutes, per my cake tester). Cool 10 minutes in the pan. Turn over onto plate and cool 30 minutes. 

Melt chocolate and butter in saucepan. Add powdered sugar and just enough water to be able to stir with whisk. Stir in vanilla. Pour on slightly cooled cake.

(I was out of baking chocolate and cocoa powder, so I just made it as a vanilla powdered sugar frosting. I used a little less water- like maybe 2 TBSP total - so it wasn't runny.)

So yummy!!

Long Winter

I feel like it's going to be a loooong winter...if the rest of our cold days indoors will be anything like yesterday. Yikes! I don't know where we went wrong, but it was chaos all day.

Iris had school in the morning, which normally gets a good amount of her energy out and makes her ready for nap after lunch. Not yesterday. She was super hyper after they ate, so I decided to let the girls decorate the tree with tinsel and candy canes that I'd bought that morning. I assumed that would take some time and work them up to a good nap. Not so.

Lily and Iris really just didn't want to sleep, which meant Addy wasn't going to sleep either. I threatened Lily with no snack and no more TV this week (they were already on a "no TV" day because of a meltdown the previous day), but nothing seemed to matter. I explained calmly that their colds were not going to go away if their bodies didn't rest. Nothing. 

Iris naps in my room alone, but she wasn't any better. I moved Lily into my room and I lied down with the both of them, thinking my presence would make them lie still and rest. Nope! They wanted to hug and lie on me, touch my face, talk and sing to me, etc. I was so frustrated....and TIRED!

Addy finally went to sleep when she was alone in the girls' room. Iris and Lily never did. I laid with them for an hour in my bed before giving up and explaining there'd be no afternoon snack. They cried but soon moved on to playing. 

I think I wanted some crazy response like, "Oh Mom, we're so sorry. We will be good and take a nap." I know - they're only 3 and 4 years old. :) 

By the time Arthur got home, I was done. Iris was sitting on the kitchen rug on a time out, Lily was on another rug on time out, and Addy was (because she napped!) the only pleasant one to be around. Arthur got home and took over the discipline and at dinner I started crying. I was just so wiped out and frustrated. What was I doing wrong? Do other mothers get like this? Do mothers of more than one ever act like this - yelling all day, then crying at the end?? Arthur tried to get the girls to understand that I was crying because my feelings were hurt, and then the girls started crying. That made me cry more. They still didn't get it, but they don't like to see me cry. Iris eventually apologized after dinner, and Lily said "sorry" as I was tucking her in bed. I wanted to cry again. They still didn't get it, and I knew they apologized because the threat of no TV or church movie night or snacks if they don't behave...but what can I expect? I can't really wait around for them to understand my frustration or my hurt. I never really understood my mom's...til now. :) 

Last night I prayed that I would understand patience with preschoolers better. And I prayed that the girls would learn to listen and behave not just because the threat of discipline but because it's the right thing to do; it's what Jesus wants us to do. 

I just want some naps around here for now. I had a moment yesterday where I thought, "what if I can't handle 4 kids? what do I do? There's no going back." That made me cry. I got scared. But really, what can I do? We decided on this (ok, I pushed for it) so I feel like I can't complain or express concern. So, for now I'll pray. God knows I can do it, otherwise He wouldn't have allowed it. I assume these crazy days with 3 kids is just prep for having 4. 

So, when if you think of us, pray for patience and understanding. My patience with the girls, and their understanding of why we have rules. It's going to be a looong next couple of months, but I promise to have a better outlook.

Thanks for listening.

Decking the Halls

I can't believe Thanksgiving is over already! It flew by soooo fast. We had a great time at both extended families' homes. My family, as always, had about 22 people (I think that was the final count) for Thanksgiving lunch. It was awesome. My parents always host, and they had to bring in 2 extra tables and a kids' table, as well as have 3 high chairs. Insane! But, it was so great to have everyone together. It's only about once a year that all the siblings are there, so that was really nice. And one of my little sisters (ok, she's a teenager, not really little anymore) took a great picture of my mom, my sister Mindy (next youngest after me) and me getting food ready. None of us are looking at the camera and had no idea the picture was being taken, but I really like how it turned out with the 3 of us. I miss seeing them regularly. :(

We met our newest nephew Caleb on Thanksgiving as well. He was 5 weeks old. So adorable! And my Grandma rubbed my belly while I was holding Caleb. She said it was to rub "boy" on me, so maybe our new baby will be a boy. :) She's so silly.

Oh, that's right. I haven't announced on here. I'm pregnant again! Baby #4 will be here some time around June 4th. It's becoming pretty cramped in this house, so for baby's sake I hope it's a girl...since he/she will have to share a room with the 3 girls. But, I kind of do hope it's a boy. Poor kid will be living in a pink room surrounded by pink everything....so we'll see how that works out if it's a boy! haha. Unless we miraculously sell our house in the next 6 months and can afford something bigger. Not likely, though. Everything around here is selling for so low, that we wouldn't be able to compete to break even much less make a profit to put down on another house. Craziness. Oh well. That's not stopping us from having our kids now. I like that they're all close together. My siblings are all fairly close and I love it. Growing up there was always someone to play with that had similar interests or was around the same age group (my brother is only 2 1/2 yrs older, and my sister is only 2 yrs younger so imaginary play was great!). The fights were occasional, but it was still fun. My sister and I were almost always the same size, so we shared a lot of things. I'm off track. Oops...

We spent Thanksgiving evening with my in-laws. My mother-in-law is a fantastic cook as well. (It's amazing how I've been blessed with a great cook for a mom and a mom-in-law. It's awesome!) She made Puerto Rican rice to go with dinner. Yum! The girls love all the attention from all of their grandparents, and they were so wiped out by the end of the day!

Only 4 more presents and 2 gift cards to go before I'm finished shopping for Christmas. I finished up shopping for stocking fillers today. Lily was talking about Krabby Patties the other day and joking that she hasn't had one. So, I found some gummy candies called "Krabby Patties" at Target for her stocking. :) Hopefully she'll like them....they looked pretty gross to me!

I also finished up shopping for all the kids of friends. Man, we know waaay too many people! :) It's fun to shop for everyone, but after a while I'm thinking "who else could there possibly be to shop for?!" 

This weekend is our friend's annual Christmas party. It's all friends of my husband from high school and there wives and children. It's always fun. This year, there are 2 additional children...which makes 8 now total. Next year there will be 4 more. It's being taken over by the kids!! But the kids love it and have a fun time playing and eating. 

Two weekends from now is my Grandparents' annual Christmas breakfast. All 20 or so of us cram into my Grandma's house and eat breakfast. The great-grandkids all receive Santa gifts there, which is fun. My Grandma really likes hosting it, but I know it wipes her out. It's so crazy to think how many years she's been having a Christmas breakfast at her house....at least as long as I've been alive! I love Grandpa and Grandma. I wish we lived closer to them, so the girls could visit them more often. Grandma puts up a gigantic Christmas village every year, and my girls love it. 

So much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to this month. I am extremely grateful for my husband and how much he helps me out around the house. He makes my coffee (well, now OUR coffee....I finally converted him!) every morning and helps me with their baths at night. With my tummy getting bigger daily and my back weaker daily, it's a huge help at bathtime. He's been leaving me little notes every couple of days with a short message about how much he loves me, and he now leaves me towel by the shower so it's ready for me when I go to take my shower. :) So cute. He also makes the girls' beds and pushes Lily's trundle bed under for me....which is also great because of tummy/back issues. And he's been very regular with making our bed. He doesn't have to do those things, but he knows how great it feels for me to see it done before I get a chance to do it! He's so wonderful. He also goes out to grab the newspaper off the driveway in the morning so I don't have to go out in the cold. What a sweetheart! I can't say enough great things about him. Actually, I don't say enough. I am usually grouchy when he gets home because I'm busy with dinner and the girls are restless and my back is hurting. I usually just bark something at him and then shut down the rest of the evening. :( I love him so much. I really need to work on my attitude. I've been away from him all day and here I am angry as soon as he sees me in the evening? Crazy.

Well, this is long enough. The girls aren't napping today. Two days in a row now. Can't wait for their whining in about 2 hours because they're exhausted! :) I love being a mom, I really do. But days like this when we can't go out and run out the energy and I didn't get a chance to really rest makes for long afternoons for all! 

Book Review: Really Woolly Bible Stories by DaySpring

I received a complimentary copy of Really Woolly Bible Stories from BookSneeze to read and review. I have 3 young girls, and we absolutely loved this book! We are always looking for short but meaningful Bible story books to read before bed, and we found Really Woolly to be just that!
The stories are laid out in rhymes, which definitely keep my preschoolers' attention. The stories are also kept short and sweet, covering the important facts of the stories but not dragging out to the point of losing the little ones' focus. My youngest (18 months old) liked the pictures. I enjoyed reading several each night, and we quickly finished and re-read the book several times.
Really Woolly Bible Stories is a great evening/bedtime read for parents with preschoolers, and it explains the in-depth Bible stories in language that young ones can understand and follow along. Loved it!

Boooooo!

And the title does not mean a fun Halloween "boo!". It means, I am not liking the things that have happened in just the past 30 minutes. 

I finally decided to shower and get the girls dressed. I noticed Addy felt a little warm, so I took her temperature....100.9. Ugh! We have the Halloween birthday party at 3 today! I was excited to go and see friends we don't see very often throughout the year. I am hoping the fever is just from her two shots she got yesterday - flu and DTaP, but I don't remember either of those giving her a fever in the past. 

And now that I'm thinking about it, she did wake up twice in the middle of the night tossing and turning and crying. Maybe that was the fever starting and I just now noticed it. :( Poor kid. Gave her a little Tylenol (even though I know it's not that high, thought we'd nip it now, if possible). 

And I don't want to miss church tomorrow - I like our 5th Sunday Fellowships. Plus, I'm doing the announcements in the service tomorrow, have to drop off a few things to people at church, and overall just really enjoy church. 

Maybe I'm a bit worked up about a semi-low-grade fever, but I really hope it goes away....for her comfort's sake and our fun weekend's sake. :)

Slothfulness of Saturday

It's almost 8 AM and I'm still in my pajamas. Wow! It's been a long time since that happened. Feels good. :) It seems like we always have something to do on Saturday mornings (and every other day of the week, for that matter), so I am loving that we don't have anything to do until this afternoon and can just lounge around.

Last weekend's pumpkin carving was so fun! There were 6 adults carving, and Iris and Lily "helping". Iris loved taking out the pumpkin guts, but Lily touched one seed and didn't want to have anything to do with it! It took forever, but they all turned out great. I'll post the pictures of them soon.

This week, we've been working on Operation: Christmas Child. An organization called Samaritan's Purse does this thing every year where they fill shoeboxes with toiletries and toys for kids in countries that never receive gifts. This year, our church is joining in. We're hoping for 75 filled boxes from our church, so please pray that people will get involved. It's not really an expensive charity. You get the box for free and you can fill it with dollar items. We went to  Target and found crayons, activity and coloring books, letter/number/color books, toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, and combs all for under $1.00 each. Our family's goal is 15 boxes. We figured we are so willing to spend a ton on each other and our families for Christmas, why not be willing to spend more than just one box worth on kids that really need simple hygiene items? I plan to go out again today and grab a few more things (probably toys, since we've got most of the hygiene products covered) to top off the boxes. I think it's an awesome project for families to do together, and I'm so thankful for the folks at our church that found it and suggested it. I know we're all capable of way more than 75 boxes, but I know how hard it is sometimes to get motivated to give to someone you don't know. But what an exciting ministry! 

Our church is also working on Family Friday Movie Nights. Starting next Friday, November 5, our church is hosting FREE movie nights for anyone interested. They'll be showing Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks movies, so they're all family-friendly. We really don't know the folks in our immediate community, so I think this is a great way to get to know more people and find out how they think we can help out in the community and just provide some free entertainment for families....especially since going to the movies costs a bundle these days!

Another awesome venture our church is looking into is a food pantry/soup kitchen. I guess they're working with the town on that one, but I'm hoping it works out because that would be such a great opportunity to really show God's love to those who are needing the most. Arthur and I definitely want to be involved in that ministry, whenever it's ready. 

The girls' pumpkin party at preschool was fun.  They had a lot of fun playing the games and getting to wear their Halloween costumes. Today, they get to wear them again for a birthday party and then again tomorrow for Trick or Treating. I really feel like we got our money's worth with them this year. :)


Tomorrow is our church's 5th Sunday Fellowship (happens in every month where there's a 5th Sunday; we meet for breakfast and fellowship instead of breaking up for Sunday School classes). I am making a new recipe for a Breakfast Pudding Cake. It sounds really good, based on the ingredients, so I'm hoping it turns out really great tasting, too! Here's the recipe:

Breakfast Pudding Coffee Cake

1 (18½-ounce) Box Duncan Hines Butter Golden Cake Mix

1 (3½-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding (can use instant regular vanilla)

4 eggs

1/2 C. oil

1/2 C. water

2 t. vanilla

1/2 C. white sugar

1/2 C. brown sugar

2 T. cinnamon

1/2 C. chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 8- or 9-inch square cake pans with nonstick spray, or grease them with butter. (You can use disposable foil pans if desired.)

Mix the cake mix, pudding, eggs, oil, water and vanilla until smooth. In a small zipper-top bag, combine the sugars, cinnamon and nuts.

Sprinkle the bottoms of pans with about half of the sugar mix. Add the batter, then add the rest of the sugar mix to the batter and swirl it through the batter with a knife. Bake for 22 minutes.

Enjoy your weekend and have a safe and happy Halloween!

 

Mama's Chili, sort of

I LOVE anything my mom cooks...and bakes. Seriously. BEST COOK/BAKER EVER!

Anyway, tomorrow I'm making chili for our pumpkin carving day. I called her today to get her chili recipe because only she makes it the best! Of course, she told me it's not her recipe but that of another mom at my old school. Oh well. I pretend it's hers. :) Thought I'd share it on here. Nothing fancy, nothing different. Just a simple meat and beans chili. My favorite. I don't like change when it comes to chili. I'm a beef and beans chili kind of girl, no weird flavors or spices or ingredients. 

So, here it is!

1 lb ground beef
2-3 tsp chili powder (more or less depending on your taste)
1 tsp sugar
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, minced
15 oz can of tomato sauce with tomato bits in it (OR plain tomato sauce and a can of diced tomatoes!)
1/2 cup water
1 clove garlic, crushed
Pinch of cumin (again, more or less to your preference)
1 can any red beans (I use kidney)

1. Brown meat and drain.
2. Add chili powder, sugar, onion, and green pepper to meat and simmer til veggies are soft.
3. Add everything else except the beans and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add the beans and simmer for at least 30 more minutes.

Serve with cheese. YUM! Or try serving with a scoop of sour cream and then the cheese on top. Oo-la-la! Oh, and of course, have lots of oyster crackers on hand! Enjoy!

If I ruled the world...

I would set up policemen in subdivisions to just ticket everyone that doesn't slow down to the posted speed limit. It is extremely annoying that no one seems to drive the 15 mph posted speed limit in our subdivision. I know 15 mph is very slow, BUT we have no sidewalks and a lot of kids on the block, so it's only right that the speed limit be lower than the regular 25 in a subdivision. Plus, we have a lot of curves and the road is a dead end. I don't understand why people go so fast! I pull into the subdivision going 15 mph and the person behind is always on my butt! I want to stop the car and go back and explain to them why I'm going slow. AND, there is a speed bump on the first curve, the second curve, and towards the end of the block! I would hate to go over those too fast!

Maybe some of the fast drivers don't have children, so kids running around isn't their first thought when pulling onto our block. I know for a FACT, though, that some of the fast drivers have kids....sometimes in the car with them! I just don't get it, and there are never any policemen on our block that would see how bad the speeding is. Just frustrating, and I wanted to vent.

Tomorrow is pumpkin carving for us! Yippee!! My brother and new sister-in-law are coming up to join in! I am making chili, the PERFECT fall dinner...in my opinion. Today, I need to go buy the pumpkins, since we didn't get any when we went to the pumpkin farm earlier this month. And I need to buy the girls more undershirts. They are so active, their tummies hang out often....need to get those covered up so they don't get too cold!

And, lastly, my first week as an NCP scanner went well. I actually remembered to scan all my purchases, and my husband has been extremely helpful by texting me his gas purchases. :) Hopefully I'll rack up some points quickly and get some cool rewards!

The Pain of Pride

The message on Sunday was about pride, and I expected to know everything that Pastor was going to say, as I've heard a number of messages about pride before. I usually go into the service ready to learn something, ready for God to show me something to work on. I figured that this Sunday I wouldn't learn much because I knew everything there was to know about pride already. Ha! There was my pride, having me think I knew it all. And boy was I wrong!

Pastor spoke about the characteristics of pride and one of the points was that pride is appearance-driven. I associated "appearance-driven" with those people that have that look of being better than everyone. I hadn't considered other "looks". One of my biggest faults is that I always try to maintain a certain appearance. No, I am not talking about a fashionable appearance or any physical appearance. My appearance that I desperately try to maintain is Super Mom. I have absolutely no idea if I've mastered the look or not, but for some reason I strive very hard to appear to have it all together - to the point of insanity some days.

I'm sure I've said this in a past post or two, but my mother is an amazing woman. No, really. She is the BEST mother ever. As a child, there was never a day where she did not fix us dinner on a weekday or not have all our clothes laundered and put away every week. She constantly baked homemade snacks and cakes and made applesauce and froze fresh veggies and kept a clean house and took care of the pool and drove us everywhere we needed to go - there were 8 of us, remember. So, you get the point. AMAZING! She never took a day off, unless she was having a baby; as soon as she came home, though, she was back at it. Even when she was sick, I can remember she'd throw up then get her purse and get us in the car to go to school. It was almost robotic how well she kept her home.

I have attempted to mimic my mom. I have no clue how she did it and stayed sane with 8 children. My subconscious (until recently) goal was to do exactly what she did. Other women were in awe of my mom. I would get compliments from my friends' moms about her baked goods or the time she donated to everything at school. I wanted what she had - everyone's respect.

I was a nerd in high school. A popular nerd, that is. I was in volleyball, a cheerleader, a class officer, Valedictorian, and pretty well-liked by most of the kids. Once I was out of high school, I was kind of bottom rung. I hated it. I wanted that spotlight again, when everyone wanted my help with their homework or wanted me to be involved in their project or just looked up to me. Not so. I had a brief moment of popularity in Mortuary School, mostly because I was smart and was dating the most popular guy (yes, my now husband). We were a pretty odd couple, but everyone loved him and I took really good notes, so I got a decent amount of attention.

Then, I got married and started having kids. No one really wanted to know about me or cared that I was Valedictorian 10 years ago. They want to see my children and tell me how cute they are. I loved hearing that I have beautiful girls (of course I am in agreement with that!). I just wanted someone to ask me how I was or what I was up to or ask me for help with something. I started reading about cooking and baking and home organization and other nerdy mom topics. :) I learned a lot and quickly applied them all at once. I have a super clean home, a well-organized closet and garage, a marker board schedule for each day of the week, synchronized calendars, foods frozen for every meal of the day, and a grocery shopping plan to die for! But, no one really cares. And why should they? They have their own lives and their own schedules.

So, I'm sitting in the service Sunday morning and I start thinking about how I always want to appear to be some great Mom. How I want people to remark about how organized and clean my house is or how well I've mastered grocery shopping and saving money. It's dumb. Do those things matter for eternity? No. Why am I so obsessed with my appearance? Pride. I am proud that I have done something for me and that I have something great to show off, rather than remember that GOD gave me these abilities and that HE has helped me find a rhythm that works for our family to be efficient.

It might not seem like any great breakthrough to others, but for me this was huge! I couldn't believe how selfish I'd been, totally ignoring how God had provided and worked in me. How nothing is possible without Him. I really broke down. And then I confessed it to my husband later. He had no idea I felt that way, and he still doesn't see me as prideful but I know I was/am. God revealed a lot to me about myself, and I'm so thankful. I feel so much better in just 2 days, not worrying about how I appear to people. I am working on my obsessions as far as how my house looks :), but I'll get there. I know God gave me these skills and abilities for a reason, and it's not just to have a clean house and organized garage. I am still trying to figure out what I can do with them, maybe help other moms? I don't know. I am not sure how I'd do that, but I really like helping other people, so hopefully God shows me soon what I can do with my talents. Are they talents? Cleaning and organizing = talents? I don't know. I just know that I am sorry I ever let pride in my way and allowed it to keep me from growing. It didn't help my relationship with God, my husband or my children. And I'm so glad God has shown me how to spot pride, so I can get rid of it quicker next time. :)

It's so strange that other moms out there are worried about their children overcoming illnesses or worry about providing food or being safe. And I worry about whether or not people think my house is clean or think I am great at saving money on groceries. So silly and trivial.

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

NCP, btw. lol.

I am on the waiting list, no more! You are reading the blog of an official National Consumer Panelist. Yes, I AM that dorky. :) I heard a while back that they were taking applications, so I signed up and registered and whatnot, thinking I'd never get it. But, yesterday I received my official purchases scanner and handbook. Whoo-hoo! I've never felt this important.

So, basically, what I do is scan all my purchases' barcodes each week and then their scanner transmits (through our internet) all that info and they just keep track. Kind of like an ongoing survey of different American homes and what they buy. It kind of seems like it will get time-consuming and possibly old after a while, but if I am consistent there are reward points I earn each week and can trade in for prizes. Since it's still new and I haven't actually scanned anything yet, I am super excited!

Yesterday, my husband was off so we took the girls for a walk at the forest preserve. The trees are really starting to change color, so it was very pretty to walk through. Iris didn't feel like running for very long ("i have no energy"), but Lily was like a marathoner. She kept running and running and running....almost a whole mile of running for her! That's pretty good for a 3 year old! Addy just rode in the stroller and loved every minute of it. I really like being able to do things outdoors when it's not too hot and the girls get all sweaty and tired real quick and when it's not too cold ("mom, my hands are freezing off!"). Fall is such a great time to do this! Then, we came back and had Chicken Lemon Rice soup for dinner with my in-laws and some homemade applesauce. Oh yeah, applesauce...

Thursday, we did apple picking with the girls' preschool class. Brought home 3 plastic shopping bags full of apples! Needless to say, it was applesauce making time! This was my first attempt to make it myself, so I called an expert - my mother. :) Mine turned out really tasty. I was impressed. I still have about 15 apples left, that I'll make 2 apple pies with.....just not today. I'm tired from the apple peeling and cutting, the nature walk, and the soup making. Lots of time on my feet the past few days.

Today is low-key, except for a fun Halloween portrait party put on by my good friend Erika of Just Peachy Photography. The girls are excited they get to wear their Halloween costumes before Halloween, and I'm excited to hopefully get some of their energy out. Should be a fun time!

All in all, it was a super great week. I am excited to see the pictures Iris and Lily took this past week at school. I dolled them up big time in pretty dresses and hairbows, so I have some high expectations for how they turned out. They're both pretty photogenic, so it should be really cute!

Tomorrow is church and, hopefully, a really long nap for everyone before we start the weekly routine again. Next weekend is pumpkin carving, the weekend after that is birthday party and Halloween. The fun never stops around here! :)

Book Review: Good Morning, Lord by Sheila Walsh

I received a copy of this book to review by BookSneeze. I enjoy the other books of Sheila Walsh, but I was slightly disappointed with this devotional. While the content of the book was excellent and really refreshing, I was hoping for slightly longer devotionals for each day.
Each day is given a verse, a paragraph or so to read, and then questions to answer personally. This is the style I prefer, but I was hoping for just a bit more to think about or a few more questions to answer.
This is an excellent book for women looking to have a brief devotional, maybe amidst a busy schedule. But, if you are looking for more in-depth and perhaps longer reading each day, I would say this is not quite the book for you.
Again, Sheila Walsh is a great writer, and I enjoy her style of writing. The content of the book was great, and she really shows a great way to grow spiritually and things to consider in a new light.

Thoughts

I am watching Hell's Kitchen right now....yikes! And I thought it was loud here when it was time to cook dinner! :) I could never do what those contestants do; I'd be in tears every time.

Tonight, I made Tagliarini for dinner. I found the recipe in yet another book I read in the past week. Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family is the title; Steve and Annette Economides are the authors. Very interesting book with a decent amount of great-sounding recipes. Not too many that I can't narrow down ones I like! Dinner turned out well, and I made enough for lunch tomorrow. I only needed one pound of ground beef, but I had frozen 2 pounds together, so I browned the other pound that we can use tomorrow night for dinner....and that cuts down my cooking time for tomorrow's dinner! Yay! I think I'm finally finding ways to be efficient in the kitchen! :) Whatever I can do to make it less like Hell's Kitchen over here! Haha.
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New thought:
My cousin's daughter, that has AML, was able to be discharged from the hospital yesterday! So amazing! She had a rough couple of weeks following chemo, but she has recovered enough to be able to go home for a while. My understanding is that she is home for a little while then goes back for her next round of chemo. I've been looking at the updated photos and her color is so much better and she looks so much healthier. What a little fighter, for being just 6 months old now. God does amazing things. I don't know what her future holds or what the next round of chemo and treatment is all about, but praise God for what He's shown through this so far! He has never let things out of His control and I really hope that someone has seen this little girl and really discovered just how great God is!

There is a benefit for her on November 14. If anyone is interested, it's in NW Indiana and costs $10 a person. They are selling tickets now; food is included and there will also be an auction of donated goods. My wonderful friend Amy, who makes candles (Amy's Accents), has helped me out with getting some candles together to give to the benefit. I hear there are going to be a TON of donated goods to raise money for Miranda. The money is going to help pay her medical bills. If you're interested in donating money, please go to Miracle for Miranda on Facebook and check out where to send donations!
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Speaking of giving, if you haven't heard of or seen the blog/website/facebook page for Awaka Children's Foundation, you need to! My inspiring friend Kathryn is a part of this incredible foundation that is working to help children and adults in Uganda get the basic necessities - clothing, food, shelter. She has an adopted son, Deken, from Uganda and is working to bring home a little girl, Faith, in the next few months! She and her family are an amazing testimony of patience and faith and trust in God, with their adoptions as well as their pursuit to help all of the Ugandans. It is just indescribable how motivated she is to see that these people get the simplest of things. My family has decided to include Awaka in our montly giving. We aren't able to give as much as we'd like to, but to think that I can sit here in my house with my warm clothes and a full stomach really makes me consider how blessed I am. Of course, my human nature wishes I had more space in my house so my girls didn't all have to share a room or a bigger kitchen or whatever. But, I don't NEED any of those things. Some of these Ugandan people struggle to find shelter when it rains or clothes or shoes or food to just function each day. So, go HERE and read all about this foundation and ways you can help. If you aren't able to help financially, maybe you could commit to praying for them? Or maybe you know someone who is looking for a great charity to give to? This would be the perfect one. :) Of course, I'm slightly bias.
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My middle child turned 3 yesterday. How the time flies! So crazy to think it was already 3 years ago that my husband had the flu and I was starting to get sick, too......and then I went into labor. :) What a crazy night! What a wonderful outcome! She is such a beautiful girl, and she (I think) looks the most like me....so, of course, I think that's awesome! Haha. She started preschool earlier this month, and she has really just exploded with talking. She, like her big sister, likes to sing to herself and LOVES to do imaginary play. She could sit and "mix" and "bake" with my bowls and spatulas and pans for hours! Almost every day, she asks me, "Can I have a bowl and a spoon to mix?" But, if I give her one then I have to give the other 2 girls a bowl and spoon as well....and then I'm running out of mixing bowls and spatulas for the actual baking I need to do! Oh well. If she's asking for that and not cartoons, then I guess we're doing ok. I've been limiting their TV time much more now, too. Towards the end of July, I got pretty lax with turning off the TV when I should have and would just let them watch so I could get things done. But, since school started and we're back in our routine, they go with about 2 hours of TV each day (which includes movies, too)! I don't know what's recommended or normal for preschoolers, but for us that's great! It's only on now when I want to make dinner and occasionally just before school, when I need to get in the shower. And they haven't asked for their cartoons much recently during the other times of the day, so I'm ecstatic!

In conclusion, God is good. There's no way around that. He really is. I'm ending with that. God is good.

Making the Most of My Time

I've always been fairly good at multi-tasking. When I worked outside the home, I did a great job in insurance claims. I'm not exaggerating, I'm just reiterating what my manager and boss told me. I managed phone calls, typing in claim information, recording statements, and handling paper files all at the same time. Those skills, I believe, helped me once I became a mother. Granted, I was able to ease into being a stay at home Mom. I had to go back to work after having Iris, but I still did my job well and got it all done so I could leave and pick her up from daycare on time. After having Lily, I stayed home. Managing two children, the housework, the cooking, and running all the errands can be overwhelming. Then we added a THIRD child to the mix. :) Things were a bit frustrating for the first few weeks, but I was able to quickly return back to my multi-tasking skills from my job and apply them to my children. I treated them as 3 claims. Iris was always the most critical "claim" - she is very attention driven and needs her questions answered ASAp. Lily is a little more laid back - doesn't require too much one on one attention but when she is wanting to cuddle, you better drop everything and hold her! Addison is still my little baby, so she is clingy and whiny and teething....which exaggerates it all.

Just like files at work, my kids have similar needs that I can accomplish in one task for all 3 of them. I can cook and feed 3 at once, giving myself a few minutes to run and do something else around the house. I can bathe them all at once, and I can put them all to bed together. But, like claimants, they have individual needs that need individual attention. And as poor as it might sound to compare them to files, it makes me able to fulfill their daily needs and still have all my hair! :)

Today, I applied my multi-tasking to another area: cooking. I've been reading up on freezer cooking and though I don't necessarily NEED to cook ahead for a bunch of meals, since I'm home every day, it is a good option to have for the uh-oh days or my just-in-case days. For dinner, I'm making a chicken and rice dish. I doubled the amount of chicken to boil, which will leave me with enough chicken for another meal or two that I can freeze. By boiling the chicken, I have also created broth/stock that I can freeze as well and make soup with at a later time. I make twice the amount of rice we'll eat tonight - that too will go in the freezer. So, I'm thinking maybe chicken rice soup later in the week? hehe.

I found a great basic baking mix in the book Frozen Assets by Deborah Taylor-Hough that I used a portion of to make 2 dozen wheat pancakes today and froze them as well. We are out of the boxes of toaster/microwave pancakes, so that helped out a lot. I would like to make the waffles as well to freeze, but first I have to find a friend with a waffle iron! I don't think buying one for the random one day that I feel like planning ahead and making a ton is really worth the money right now.

It's been a productive day, I'm pleased to say. The TV stayed off for most of the day, which thrills me. Thankfully, we had to go to basic cable, which doesn't offer any kid shows after 12pm, so the girls have had to be imaginative for most of the afternoon. They did their own pretend baking session while I did my real one. :) And now I hear Iris pretending to be the baby upstairs while Lily mothers her. Can't wait to see what the mess up there looks like! Regardless, I can relax with cooking at least one night this coming week. Hip, hip, HOORAY!

Rainy Day Lazy Day

We have been so incredibly busy lately. I have started up again with my cleaning frenzies and have successfully maintained a daily and weekly schedules to keep the house as clean as can be without losing my mind. :)

Iris and Lily started preschool. This is Iris' second year and Lily's first. The classes are small, so the teacher combined them. Iris gets a one on one day with teacher on Wednesdays, which I am super excited about. She tends to be distracted and talkative, so I think that day will help with the focusing. Lily loves when she wakes up and I say "it's a school day"; she gets so excited to get dressed and ready to go. Let's hope she carries on that enthusiasm into high school!

Addy and I have been enjoying our Mom and Addy time on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She is extremely cuddly and clingy, so she is just soaking up all the attention she can get those days! And I really don't mind giving it to her, since she hasn't had the chance to get personal time with me since birth. :)

I am still struggling internally with balancing everything that I feel I should do as a mother - cook, clean, play, take care of kids and husband. I know I WANT to do all those things...I think I just try to cram in too much of those things at one time instead of setting aside the time to do them throughout the day and not all at 5 pm before hubby walks in the door! I am currently re-reading Sidetracked Home Executives by Pam Young and Peggy Jones. I read it once last year and really loved it, so I checked it out from the library again to kind of center myself on what's important day-to-day and what I can let go and not clean or do so that I can have the quality and not so much the quantity. Those ladies have hilarious stories that really make me feel better and not feel like such a failure; they definitely had much worse habits at one time and I take it as a confidence boost. :) I am also reading Can I Freeze It? by Susie Theodorou. It's a great book for produce and meats to freeze and how to freeze them; plus, it has yummy recipes for homemade sauces and dishes to freeze. I made the Basic Tomato Sauce this week with a bunch of cherry tomatoes my mom had from her garden. I didn't have the 8 lbs of tomatoes the recipe called for, but I have probably 3 lbs and it yielded exactly 2 cups of sauce that I froze and am excited to have on hand the next time we do a pasta dish. There are some fish/seafood recipes in there that I probably won't use. I am not too keen on preparing and freezing seafood. I just buy the seafood pre-cooked and frozen. Raw seafood scares me. :) That's why I'd never try sushi.

And from my previous posts, you can probably tell I've done a lot of reading lately. Some were children's books and some not, but overall I enjoyed all of them and look forward to receiving my next book from them. I get them from BookSneeze, a great site to receive books from Thomas Nelson Books to read and review on a blog and a customer site. You get to keep the books you review and choose the categories from which you receive the books!

So, today the sky is dark and it's raining. I have exactly 26 minutes to get the girls to the library for the Preschool Storytime I promised I'd take them to. And I'm hoping to get a few more food books to look at. Tonight is family movie night. We will be enjoying Marmaduke on our inflatable mattress and with popcorn! I really cherish these times, even if the movie seems less than exciting for my husband and I. :)

Book Review: One Hand, Two Hands by Max Lucado

One Hand, Two Hands by Max Lucado is an extremely cute book for young children. It gives a simple description of different ways kids can help others and help make a difference. The length of the book is just right. I know for my young children, any longer and I think they would have lost interest. But I know it wasn't so short that they forgot the book either. I especially enjoyed the last pages where it asked for kids to think of ways that they can help. The illustration was very well done and eye-catching for my 3 year old. She enjoyed each page and liked to go through and talk about what was going on in the pictures.
Overall, I think the book was very well done and accomplished getting my preschool-aged kids to really think and talk about ways that they can help others.

Book Review: Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

I have always enjoyed the writing style of Max Lucado. I think most people do. However, Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference is (in my opinion) his best book yet. It is not your typical call to action for Christians. He uses every day situations, everyday news headlines, and a deep love for Jesus to show us how we can reach the world.
Max Lucado is obviously well-versed in the numbers regarding poverty and hunger and homelessness. He doesn't stop there, though. He doesn't just quote some statistics and ask what we're going to do about it. He uses instances in his own life where he had the choice to make a difference in the simplest of ways, and he lets us know when he acted on them. Max Lucado has made helping others as real as I have ever seen/read it.
I cannot think of one instance in this book when I was thinking something other than "wow!". Great motivation, great inspiration, great conviction...all from a book!