Sporadic Gifts

21. soft blanket
22. chocolate covered faces
23. sunlit trees
24. birthdays
25. brothers who kiss each other boo-boos

Sporadic Gifts

Nothing can melt you heart faster then when you look out your window and there is big brother kissing little brother's hand.

We have giant windows at the back of our house that look out into our yard. I can see everything and sometimes hear things too. This is what I overheard yesterday:

Kellan - "I hurt my hand Logan."
Logan - "Well, let me see it."
Kellan - "See, right there. Its bleeding."
Logan - "Here, let me kiss it. (kisses the outstretched hand.) There, all better."
Kellan - "Thanks!"

and Kellan runs off. These are the moments that I really have to stop, thank God and take that mental picture. Unfortunately they are few and far between, but when they happen, they are worth a thousand frustrating moments. This is the genius of our Lord. He places these little gifts sporadically to renew us and remind us what all our toils are for.

5 Years as a Mom

My oldest turned 5 years old Tuesday. I cannot believe I have been a mother for 5 years!  Its been a wonderful journey. I have made many mistakes, cried many tears and suffered many sleepless nights but I know it is still only the beginning. There are many more mistakes to make, tears to cry and nights to toss and turn.  Logan is a happy, sweet, silly and very creative boy. No matter what I have done right or wrong, I have loved him with all my being, that and nothing else, is what matters. 

Thank you, God, for making me a mom, for giving me Logan.

Happy Birthday, Logan!

2012 Goals - April Update

I started this post on May 1. Right on schedule but then life happened and I am really struggling with the format of this post. I copy so I don't have to type so much each time but the bad formatting lingers. I try to make changes but its not working. Can anyone help?

Last month I felt like I accomplished a lot, but then when I looked back I felt that my quality time with family may have suffered. It's such a hard balance each day.  All I know is that God wants me to put Him first, family second and all else after that and I hope next month I can juggle it a bit better. Here is my update:

1. Start and maintain a blog.
2. Eliminate caffeine from my diet. It has definitely been reduced. I do not have a 9 AM chai or coffee everyday anymore. I have switched mainly to caffeine free when I do grab a coffee on the run and caffeinated pop is not even in the house.  I have been feeling better but I am making a lot of Real Food changes to my diet too so who knows.
3. Teach my oldest to tie his shoes.  First few tries have been a bit frustrating.
4. Switch to natural cleaners.  Hope to blog on this soon.
5. Spend $300 less each month. (could be a tall order) I am not sure we have saved $300 exactly, I probably should have better records but we are definitely not spending as much.  I also can tell my buying decisions are changing.
6. Maintain my current weight (at least not gain more). So far so good.
7. Eat more fruit and vegetables each day.  Hope to blog on this soon.
8. Teach my youngest his colors.
9. Go on a weekend trip with just my husband.
10. Reduce the sugar consumed by my family. I feel like I could mark this off. I am definitely happy with how much sugar we get as I feel its more natural. Its mainly homemade except for the occasional Easter treat.  
11. Begin biking again.
12. Finish the first two years of each of my boys scrapbooks.
13. Read, read and read some more. Ongoing but doing great.
14. Expand my garden.
15. Help my husband finish the trim work in the house. We are working on doors right now.
16. Make homemade marshmallows.
17. Incorporate lentils into our diet.
18. Go to Adoration. Need to go again, it was so refreshing.
19. Set up a more regular learning time with my oldest. We are doing so much more than we used to. I try to work with him 3 afternoons a week but its been tricky. Its getting better though.
20. Try brussel sprouts. Loved them!  My family did not.
21. Establish a regular prayer time with my husband. We pray each night together in a coversation style prayer. Its been wonderful for us!
22. Get out of bed when my husband does. Baby steps here.
23. Switch to natural, chemical free sunscreen.
24. Learn to make beans in crockpot and freeze.
25. Learn more about what oils to use in cooking. I pretty much just use coconut and olive right now. Still experimenting on when and how.
26. Journey back to full-fat dairy. I think I am where I want us to be. The boys drink 2%, the little guy and I drink soy and almond.  I don't buy fat free anything when it comes to dairy. I am trying to keep it natural.
27. Find out about Essential oils and try them.
28. Eliminate my chemical hair products.
29. Go paper towel-less.
30. Try to make my own gluten free pizza crust and chicken nuggets. 
31. Plan a more regular faith-building schedule for my children.
32. Teach my oldest to tell time.

You can really tell my list is being affected by all that I am learning about chemicals and processing of products and food. Its been an eye-opening and headache inducing experience but it is good.  I feel so much better about things in our house and how we are eating. We still have a long way to go.  I hope to have some posts this month about my experiences with some of these goals. Hopefully you can see the progress I am making. 

How are your goals going?

Count my Blessings Wednesday

16. Backyard baseball games
17. freshly mowed grass (the smell especially)
18. friends
19. squirells playing tag in our trees
20. free stuff

I can see a glimpse of God's love for me everytime I look at my husband.  Part of that is because its the closest thing I have to His love here on earth but the main reason is that my husband has to be a gift from God.

He is helpful around the house, great with our kids and always has time for his family. He is kind, considerate and rarely says a bad word about anyone. He is so funny and has a good heart. When I met my husband, he was not a Christian. He was raised Catholic but his immediate family had stopped going when he was still in high school. That was a challenge during our dating years, but his values and morals were so strong that I knew someday he would be a Christian. Also he respected my faith and our family's future faith.  I have seen his faith grow everyday and it amazes me.

Right now as I watch him play baseball with our boys in the backyard, my heart overflows and I know God loves me.  Thank you!

I Drank the Kool-Aid

11. the smell of lilacs
12. Birds singing in the morning
13. little boys prayers
14. homemade guacamole
15. little girls in their First Holy Communion dresses (especially my Goddaughters)

I Drank the Kool-Aid

Ok, my husband says "I drank the Kool-Aid". That is how he explains my new pseudo-obsession. I think I might be becoming one of those real food, crunchy, green-loving hippie freaks.

The truth is that once you have a child with a food allergy, or probably any allergy for that matter, the world starts to look different. I think its tough enough having your first child because you realize how unsafe your house is - knives on the counter, furniture with sharp corners, hard floors + high bar stools, etc. But when you have a child with an allergy even the food becomes an enemy. You go to a restaurant and you have to play detective to decide what food is safe for them to eat. You worry about social events - what will be served, will there be options for my child, will a tantrum ensue when I tell him he can't have that, will someone slip him food when my back is turned? I will admit we have declined invitations simply because I wasn't sure how we could safely handle the situation.

Its been over a year now and we feel much more confident to travel, go to a restaurant or attend a social event but that is only because I have done a lot of research and my son is a great communicator. He will point at milk and cheese and can say "That makes me sick." I can't wait till he is old enough to walk in front of me in line and say "Can I have that? Does it have dairy" Then again, it makes me sad that he has to say those things. Shouldn't he have the right to just be a kid and live life without cares and worries? Unfortunately, he can't. And I will admit his allergy is not even that bad. He gets hives and an upset stomach but at this point, we do not have to carry an epipen. Thank you, Lord!

So that brings me to why I wrote this post. For two years, I have had to worry about what I ate and my child. It has begun a slow process of why? Why are children getting more allergies? Why is it so common now? Why was it that 4 years ago I only knew one person with an allergy and now I know over 10 (that is not counting people I have met through the allergy itself, just people I happen to be social with). Why is their more autism, ADHD and behavioral problems? WHY??

As you start to read up on allergies you come across a lot of articles that try to point to the answers. There are many philosophies out there but they all seem to intersect in certain places, especially around food. This is not going to be a political post. I will just encourage you to read for yourself. (I am currently reading The Unhealthy Truth which is eye-opening and also a bit stress-inducing but good. I also would encourage you to check out Kitchen Stewardship and Kelly the Kitchen Kop. These at least tell you about one side of the information and link you to some great research.) But for myself, I do feel that there is probably a connection in our over industrialized, over processed society of convenience. Scientists are always creating something easier and faster to clean or eat. Is this really a good thing? I don't think so.

I also have a strong faith and that side of me likes to think that just because we can make it, doesn't mean its something God wants for us. He doesn't want war either but we create that and violence and weapons and drugs...ok, I will stop there. Just because we can create foods in a lab doesn't mean that is what God wants us to eat. I have this same mentality for meat. I personally think God wants us to be omnivores as long as we take care of His creation which means not cloning and adding hormones and junk to animals and treating them well.

For two years I have been thinking more about this and making little changes here and there but after a series of events the last few weeks, I have been reading a lot more. And analyzing and over processing all this in my mind. For awhile it was starting to take too big of a role in my life, in fact. Thankfully, God help me to see this and I am trying to back-up a bit. I am taking baby steps and only changing things as I can with A LOT OF PRAYER! If I wanted to make all the changes quickly I would be spending A LOT of money and time obsessing. I don't think God wants that either. I think He wants me to do the best I can. So hopefully I will start to blog a little about my changes, attempts and maybe recipes. Some of them even fit into my 2012 goals and some will become part of the goals. Here is what I am doing far;

- trying to rid my house of plastics! I replaced the family's water bottles to glass and stainless steel. The boys have been upgraded to drinking out of water glasses and eating off our regular plates instead of kids plastic dishes. I always tried to avoid cooking in plastic so that was easy. I am saving glass jars and bottles for freezing and storage use as well. I have stuff I need to buy but that will come in time.

- cooking with more coconut oil and getting rid of canola and vegetable oil.

- slowly replacing cleaners and hygiene items with "green" stuff as they run out.

- buying organic produce, especially if they fall on the "dirty dozen" list.

- cooking with more beans and lentils and less gluten.

I feel like I have been doing more but that is what I can come up with right now. I would like to tackle one thing each week and then hopefully share what happened. Hopefully I can help others a little bit with trial and error. Currently I am testing a green dishwasher gel by BioKleen. The jury is still out.

This will be an adventure, especially considering my very picky preschooler and skeptical husband. When I asked my husband what he thought of all this, his reply was "I think you drank the Kool-aid". I can see his skepticism as he had an aunt who severely restricted her diet many years ago. She also refused to see a medical doctor and it affected her health. I think there is a balance to this. It will definitely be very, tiny steps but I think it will be worth it in the long run. Even if the long run is 10 years from now.

I am not sure if this makes me one of those Real Food people or green or crunchy. I just think I am someone trying to do my best for the family God asked me to take care of.

Mother of a School Aged Child?

6. Brothers sharing a tractor ride.
7. Rhubarb crisp
8. Welcome home pictures
9. Clean bathtubs
10. New, white shiny doors

Mother of a School Aged Child?

So I am entering a new phase of my life and I am unprepared for it.  Motherhood of a school aged child.  Really? When did I get here? Now I realize I am still a mother of a preschooler but we have had to think so much about kindergarten lately that I feel like the former. 

Tonight we had a conference for Logan's preschool. Granted it was only 15 minutes long and you basically look at colorings but it was still stressful.  I can only imagine what they will be like from now on.  My oldest is a May baby. He is also a May boy which I feel is different than a May girl.  I have really struggled with if he is ready for kindergarten or not.  Of course the best advice I heard is to do what feels right.  I am praying but I will admit, I am not good at waiting for answers. I begin to worry right away. Something I need to pray more about. 

I have heard that its always better to hold them back, no one ever regrets it. But then the school says he is ready and they said they never recommend holding back a May baby unless its necessary.  They reminded me that it could be a big deal when he is older and developing sooner than the other kids. My mom thinks its just me not wanting my baby to go to school. (I don't think so but you never know what your inner conscious is doing sometimes).

Its just hard to hear that your child is behind in a certain area or struggles with something.  Of course, they said he is bright, creative and sweet but I immediately focused on the negatives. Then started the deprocating self-talk. Its my fault. I don't help him enough. I need to work with him more. He gets this from me.  By the time we left, I was very downhearted. 

So as we drove away, I prayed.  I did not feel immediate relief but after a few distractions, I realized how silly I was being.  I mean its not like he wasn't performing. He can write his name and spell the name of everyone in our family.  He is already adding and subtracting. I couldn't do that at age 4. Plus, I was being one of those moms that I did not want to be. Overly critical and overly involved. I have always said what mattered most for me was my children's faith and values. They can be janitors for all I care as long as they love God and others.  So what was I worrying about? 

I have a feeling this is what I will have to look forward to next year. A lot of ups and downs as I get stressed one minute and then remember the big picture the next.  We do have him signed up for kindergarten. I will continue to pray. I will continue to take advice and I hope in August, we will be doing what is right. Either way. 

Giving Thanks

I have been MIA in the blogosphere. Well that is not true, just my posting is MIA. I have probably been a little too busy in the others' blogs. I think I am struggling with if blogging is a good idea for me. I don't really have a true purpose for the blog yet. I mainly just want to share my trials and successes each day as a Christian, mom, wife and woman each day. I read a lot of blogs of people who seem to have all the answers. I wanted to blog as a person still looking, trying, failing and sometimes succeeding each day. Anyway, I am going to give it another try.

My big worry is that I don't want blogging to also take me away what is truly important to me - God and my family. I have been trying to seek the balance. I have read two great books lately - One Thousand Gifts and A Mother's Rule of Life. Each have really been teaching me about priorities and how I can truly spend each day worshipping, loving and thanking God each day while serving my family and the world. Its a tough thing to do. At least I feel like it is. Especially when you feel pulled to do so much like volunteering, cleaning and just figuring out all the stuff that is supposed to be "best" for the child (more on that later this week).

So one thing I am going to try to do is when I have nothing else to write, I am at least going to list my thanksgiving. Its sort of like trying to create my one thousand gifts list. Here is my start from this weekend:

1. Sun shining on new rainfall.
2. Brothers holding hands.
3. Elderly couple walking hand in hand.
4. Little boys who have lots of kisses and hugs for their mama.
5. A single red rose.

I hope you saw lots of the little gifts the Lord gives us each day. Remember to tell Him, Thank You!

2012 Goals - March Update

I am running late on this post but let's check in:

1. Start and maintain a blog.
2. Eliminate caffeine from my diet. I think I am going to try again. I am trying to drink less caffeinated pop when I even do drink pop, which is rare. Its the 9 AM latte or chai that gets me.
3. Teach my oldest to tie his shoes.
4. Switch to natural cleaners. I pretty much feel like this one is accomplished. I am still figuring out my system but there is very few chemical cleaners left in this house. Mainly just dish soap and detergent. Those are the next to go. I mainly use Norwex products but also love vinegar and baking soda.
5. Spend $300 less each month. (could be a tall order) Still plugging away at this.
6. Maintain my current weight (at least not gain more). So far so good.
7. Eat more fruit and vegetables each day.
8. Teach my youngest his colors. I have to give credit to my husband as I think he reinforces this in the tub but I also work with him in simple ways by always referring to the color of things. He knows green, red, blue and purple.
9. Go on a weekend trip with just my husband.
10. Reduce the sugar consumed by my family. Have eliminated pop from the house and trying to not bring in any outside junk food. I will never eliminate baked goods. We all need some treats.
11. Begin biking again.
12. Finish the first two years of each of my boys scrapbooks. I have a few more pages in the book but it took a backseat during Lent.
13. Read, read and read some more. Doing good here.
14. Expand my garden.
15. Help my husband finish the trim work in the house.
16. Make homemade marshmallows.
17. Incorporate lentils into our diet.
18. Go to adoration.
19. Set up a more regular learning time with my oldest. We are doing so much more than we used to. I try to work with him 3 afternoons a week but its been tricky. Its getting better though.
20. Try brussel sprouts.
21. Establish a regular prayer time with my husband. We pray each night together in a coversation style prayer. Its been wonderful for us!
22. Get out of bed when my husband does.
23. Switch to natural, chemical free sunscreen.
24. Learn to make beans in crockpot and freeze.
25. Learn more about what oils to use in cooking.
26. Journey back to fat full dairy.

Ok, so I added some a knocked a few off my list. I went to adoration for the first time and it was wonderful. Just to sit and pray with my Savior is a special place. It was the best quiet time I have had in a long time.
Jason and I are also doing regular prayer time at night. We start with a Lenten passage and then we pray afterward. Its a conversational style prayer that we go back and forth but again, its helping us grow together. Plus it has improved my bedtime prayers.
I have pretty much rid the house of all chemical cleaners thanks to Norwex and the internet. I am using recipes online for when I want a good cleaner. Otherwise, Norwex enviro cloths really do the trick with just water. Amazing!
I hope you are all doing just as well. April is already going so fast!
PS Sorry for the bad formatting. I can't figure this html stuff out sometimes!

Tiny Cross to Bear

I don't think I have posted about this before but I have a picky eater in my house. No really, a severely picky eater. As in, I-sometimes-worry-about-his-health-picky. Its my oldest and it is honestly one of the crosses I pray about daily. I feel silly just admitting that as a cross when there are people who pick up the cross of abuse, hunger, poverty, torture and disease each day but right now, that is the cross I have to bear. Its the one that looms over me every day. I know that I am blessed with such a small one but I will admit, some days it looks 100 stories high. I work every day to put it in perspective, with God's grace of course. Some days, I can reduce it to a small annoyance, other days, I let it weigh on me.

I am bringing this up as it ties into something that I have been thinking about a lot lately - healthy eating and how I can be serving my family by being a better steward in the kitchen.

I have always thought of myself as a healthy eater. I had a poor self image in high school from a problem with my weight, which led me to learn more about what I should and shouldn't put in my body during college. This led to a desire to make it a career and I majored in Health Promotions (If I were more science-minded I would have preferred to be a dietician). So when I had children, I decided I would be one of those who regulated sugar in my house, ate more fresh produce and all whole grains. We would even eat seafood weekly. Then reality hit. Trying to take care of a newborn and go to work left little for food planning. Plus, I now realize that my idea of healthy eating was just a fraction of what I could, and maybe should be doing. So out came the formula, baby food and easy processed snacks. I also had a hard time knowing what my new precious baby could eat. I know some of you may think, duh, anything. But the naive mom I was worried that seafood would make him sick and he could not chew meat and that we could never serve carrots for breakfast.

So even though we did always have a veggie for lunch and dinner and I served mainly whole grains in my house, my child became accustomed to sugary yogurt and applesauce and eggo waffles (although I tried to buy the ones with more whole grains). Looking back it was a half-hearted attempt. Plus I was feeding my child as I would have fed myself and as someone always watching my weight, I shied from high fat. Something so healthy for a child.

Ok, fast forward almost 5 years. Today I have a child who lives on about 20 foods. To this day, I am not sure if his pickiness is something I let happen or if its something in his personality. I think its a combination but only God knows. The reason why I get so frustrated with myself though is that I wish I had never introduced some of the 20 food he loves as now we are stuck eating that in my house all the time. Now that I really want to make true healthy changes, I am bound by trying to decide if I let my 5 year old starve or be a good steward of the kitchen. See my dillemma?

Wait, I am sure some of you are thinking, just force him. But that is where the "extreme" part comes in. We have tried to force, we have tried coaxing, bribing, using creative shapes, colors and names. Nothing has worked. My child has gone 24 hours and ate nothing on many occasions. When we really dug our heels in and would not let him leave the table till he tried his foods, we found we were putting him to bed nightly with no meal at all or we were cleaning up puke on the kitchen floor. Some may say, you should keep trying but we started to notice his pickness got worse. He stopped eating spaghetti, chicken and pork chops that were our family staples. He swore off meat all together except chicken nuggets. This went on for a few months till my husband and I realized, we were all miserable and Logan was eating less foods instead of more and we did not see things changing. He is stubborn! So now you see what we are dealing with.

After talking to his doctor, we decided to feed him some of the foods he liked but also never making any special exceptions for him. Basically he was given what I served. I tried to always have 2 things on the table he would like so we knew he would not starve but then if he wanted more, it had to be something on the table.

My second has a dairy allergy which has thrown an entirely new wrench in the mix, especially since some of Logan's staples are cottage cheese, milk and yogurt. But Kellan's allergy has made me explore the food world more and each day, I am more aware of what's going in their mouths and where it came from. I want to start going more organic, less processed and more fresh. The hard part is Logan. For example, he will eat veggies, but only green beans and peas out of can. I have read the news on canned items and if I could, I would try to abolish it from my house. But I have to decide, would it be better to serve Logan no veggies whatsoever except the occasional broccoli or is it good that he is at least eating something green? I honestly don't have an answer for this but in thinking about yearly goals (which I still need to post a review on), I have been truly trying to figure this out. I do cook more fresh veggies including fresh peas and green beans each week, those nights Logan prefers to eat other foods instead. So I am not seeing him suddenly start to take an interest in other foods but I am introducing them to the rest of the family. Its one very small step for the tiny cross I bear.

Count My Blessings

Its getting really hard to do this on Wednesday. No clue why but I just don't get to the computer as much on Wednesdays.

1. I am so thankful that spring, or at least a taste of it, has arrived! I have been spring cleaning and now with the beautiful weather, well, it just makes everything feel so fresh and new. Seriously, my whole being is just saying, "Ahhhhhh".

2. I am blessed with a open husband. As in, he is open to my ideas and to listen to me. We are having some parenting issues and I have been trying new tactics. Together we are learning how to parent together through open and honest communication. I am so glad I have a team to do this with!

3. We are blessed with a big, fenced in backyard that our boys can play safely in. What a great oasis on days like this.

4. Lately, I have felt very blessed to have two healthy boys! Little miracles to watch grow and learn each day.

5. I am blessed with being a stay-at-home mom. I have had a major influence on my children, for better or for worse, but the Lord trusted them to me and each day I am able to do the best job I can. And I am never alone.

May you count the blessings in your life each day. Even when you are stressed, tired, frustrated or lonely. Remember, if God is for us, who could be against us!

Lenten Check-in

I know, I have been VERY absent when it comes to blogging. I also know this is a blogging no-no. Honestly, since Lent has started I just haven't spent much time on the computer. I am not making it much of a priority and that has led to my absenteeism. So I apologize.

I also would like to say that if I posted as often as I wrote posts in my head, well you would have at least one a day. I think about posting all the time, I just don't get it done. I wish you could plug some mechanism into your brain that would write down your thoughts for you as you did your daily tasks. Then I would get a lot of blogging done. Oh wait, let me think that through. No, I do not wish for that at all.

Anyway, we are halfway through Lent. Can you believe it? Lent is such a great time for spiritual reflection and growth. I know we should be reflecting on the passion of Christ all year long but I still appreciate that the Church sets time aside to truly remind us to do it.

I have been reading A Mother's Rule of Life by Holly Pierlot and its been terrific. She has really helped me improve my prayer life throughout my day and make sure that I am prioritizing God about all else. Its a daily challenge, especially with two very sick kids but each day I am working toward that balance.

I am loving my fast from TV. Again, its not like I watched that much to begin with but now that first hour and the last hours of the day are much more productive. Only drawbacks is that I seem to be out of the loop, especially on the weather. I am getting better at checking the computer though. The other is that sometimes I miss out on good cuddle time with my hubby. He still watches TV and sometimes I just want to cuddle up next to him after the boys go to bed but can't. Although, I have noticed that he is turning the TV off more often and is choosing to read a book instead. I know I am sounding vain, but I think my Lenten promise is helping us both.

The one we are doing miserably on is trying to devote Sunday to family time. We just have things that keep getting in the way (or at least we let them). One weekend, we had to drive to my parents for a family meeting and last weekend we had free tickets to a comedy show and left the boys with a sitter. I know we could have turned them down but honestly, a cheap date night? How could we pass that up. I am hoping we will do better the last few Sundays as we have no more plans going on. Yay!

How are you doing this Lenten season? Are you ready for Easter and our Savior's Resurrection? Now is the time to check-in.

Well, I hear the boys stirring in their beds. Have a great week!

7 Quick Takes Friday

For once, I am really going to try to keep these quick!

1. My niece's team lost on Thursday. It was so sad. I am such a sympathetic cryer so I was blubbering. Especially when she hugged her daddy (my brother). Anyway, they played their best and that is all that counts. They made it to the top 4 teams in the state and that is something to be proud of.

2. Never get super glue on your fingers. Its a very annoying feeling. I am starting to wonder when the glue will come off...

3. Also never run errands between 4-6 PM when you are hungry and then come home to a complicated recipe that you haven't fully read and try to cook it while your hungry children swarm around you.

4. I was having a really bad day on Thursday with my children and finally I closed myself in my bedroom and turned to my daily prayer book. The reading was from Matthew 7 which tells us "ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you..." Wow, talk about timely. I was down and out and I ran into my room to seek guidance and comfort. Here I was reminded that the Lord is just waiting for me to ask. The prayer also started with "Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me." God is good!

5. Kellan has pink eye this week. Poor guy, its the second time he has had it. He is such a trooper with the drops though. Please pray he will feel better soon.

6. I made my mother-in-law cry this week. It was her birthday on Tuesday and I mailed her photos of the boys holding signs that read "Happy Birthday Nana. We Miss you!" I was so happy I made her something that she really appreciated. It is so tough having them so far away in Arizona, that I love to do things to bring us closer to them.

7. On Tuesday, while we were at my niece's ballgame, Logan's lips were really chapped. He ate some popcorn which really irritated the skin so we applied some chapstick. About 20 minutes later, Logan turns to me,

"Mama my lips feel better!"

me: "Oh really buddy, that is good."

Logan: "Ya, Jesus healed them!"

Gotta love it!

Happy birthday to my biggest brother, LeRoy!

Have a great weekend!

2012 Goals - February Update

Ok, I got an extra day this month but still not sure I did great on the goals. Let's check in:

1. Start and maintain a blog.
2. Eliminate caffeine from my diet. So not going well.
3. Teach my oldest to tie his shoes.
4. Switch to natural cleaners. I have eliminated windes and pledge and use e-cloths instead. This month I also eliminated toilet cleaner for baking soda and vinegar. Its seems to work great. I went to a Norwex party and will hopefully be taking the chemicals out of the kitchen next.
5. Spend $300 less each month. (could be a tall order) We
   switched to a cash-only system. We have saved a bit the last two months but not as much as I would have liked. Some unforseen expenses have come up such as needing a new printer but I will continue to work hard!
6. Maintain my current weight (at least not gain more). So far so good.
7. Eat more fruit and vegetables each day.
8. Teach my youngest his colors. I have to give credit to my husband as I think he reinforces this in the tub but I also work with him in simple ways by always referring to the color of things. He knows green, red, blue and purple.
9. Go on a weekend trip with just my husband.
10. Reduce the sugar consumed by my family. Have eliminated pop from the house and trying to not bring in any outside junk food. I will never eliminate baked goods. We all need some treats.
11. Begin biking again.
12. Finish the first two years of each of my boys scrapbooks. I have a scrapbook date set for March and I have worked on a few pages in my spare time. Each page completed gets me closer to the goal.
13. Read, read and read some more. Hopefully Lent will help this with having no tv as a distraction.
14. Expand my garden.
15. Help my husband finish the trim work in the house.
16. Make homemade marshmallows.
17. Incorporate lentils into our diet.
18. Go to adoration.
19. Set up a more regular learning time with my oldest. We are doing so much more than we used to. I try to work with him 3 afternoons a week but its been tricky. Its getting better though.
20. Try brussel sprouts.
21. Establish a regular prayer time with my husband.
22. Get out of bed whem my husband does.

I added two more goals in red. I don't think I completed any tasks in Feb but I did work on a few. There are a couple that I am getting ready to get rid of like the one on caffeine. I read that one cup of coffee or one pop a day was not bad for your health so now I seem to justify my morning chai.

I hope you are doing great on your resolutions or goals!

Count My Blessings Wednesday

Wow, where did the week go? I blinked and it was a week later. I have to admit a lot has been going on which is why I have been so absent. They have all been great blessings so lets add them up!

1. We started the season of lent which is just a great time to stop being of this world and really trying to dive deeper with Christ. My resolutions have been great at really focusing me on what is important - God first and family second. I love the no tv thing. There are moments I wish I could just unwind on the couch but instead I either serve my family by getting things done in the house or I turn to God in prayer or study. I hope I will be able to lessen my tv time even more after Lent ends. Last year, I reduced all daily tv but now I hope to lessen even the evening stuff. So refreshing!

2. Jason completed his retreat. I meant to ask for prayer support but well, I forgot a lot of things last week. He LOVED it and I can already see that he is truly trying to grow deeper in his faith. PRAISE GOD! I am not sure what more I can say than God is good!

3. While Jason was at the retreat, the boys and I spent time with my parents. Again, I helped my mom around her house and the boys got to play outside. My dad made the mistake of taking the boys into the hog barns in the only coats I had with me. STINKY! But they loved it. So I suppose the memories were worth a few stinky coats.

4. My niece made it to state basketball. We got to watch two of her sub state games last week and watched her first state game yesterday. THEY WON! So we get to watch them again tomorrow. I really hope they win. What an experience making it to the finals would be. I never pray for them to win but to do their best so please help me ask the good Lord for strength, speed, wisdom and most of all, safety! Go Wolves!

5. I have completed one week of my 40 bags, 40 days and it feels so good. I actually do not have quite as much to give away as last year but still, to be cleaned and organized is heavenly. I just feel so much more peace in my house and I hope my family does to.

How is your lent going?

God bless!

Crockpot Freezer Experience

I mentioned in my Friday Quick Takes that I was going to try some crockpot freezer meals. I chose this method because I love crockpot cooking and while I have no desire to do the freezer meals for an entire month, I do like the idea of having a few meals in my freezer so that I don't have to spend time cooking every day. I do a weekly meal plan on Thursdays and then shop for the week every Friday. I include the week's events and there is always a day or two where we will be in a rush so a quick meal would be nice. I love to cook though so I could never do freezer meals for an entire month. So this option was very enticing to me.

I decided to follow this cooking day. To make it easy, I followed her plan exactly. I used her grocery list (which is missing teriyaki sauce and garlic) and used the same recipes. I even prepared the balsamic pot roast for a meal that weekend.

I started on Saturday afternoon and probably spent about 2 -3 hours doing all the work including preparing the roast for Sunday. Overall I was happy with how it went but have yet to eat any of the meals I actually froze. That will be the real test. I am also not sure I could just take any crockpot recipe I have and use this method. Like I said, I will not decide how much I like this idea till after I try the meals.

Lucky for me, Jason kept the boys occupied so I could do this with minimal distractions. As you can see from the picture my kitchen was in chaos! I used my food chopper to do the onions and I actually browned the meat in the microwave with my pampered chef microcooker. I didn't have hamburger so I used ground turkey. I also used baby carrots so there was less cutting and peeling. Finally I am using the Ore Ida frozen potatoes. Not sure that was a good idea but I read there were lots of problems with the potatoes freezing.

Everything was actually going great till right up to the end. The grocery list failed to include teriyaki sauce and I had none on hand. The recipe said to add 1/2 cup sauce to the bag and then also another 1/4 cup the day you cooked it. I was not sure if it was necessary to freeze some of the sauce since they split it up. So I checked my fridge and I had an open bottle of Island Soyaki sauce from Trader Joes. Its a combination of Teriyaki and Soy Sauce. I decided it had to be close enough. So then the next problem arose when I realized I only had a half cup instead of the whole cup it called for. Oh well, each bag was going to have half what it called for and I would just add more the day I cooked it. Well, I quickly dumped in the sauce and then a second later realized I had dumped a 1/4 cup of soyaki sauce NOT into the Teriyaki chicken bag but into the BBQ chicken. Ugh!

Seriously?! Here I had spent hours on these meals and I just ruined 2 of them. It was seriously disheartening but of course, I was trying to keep it in perspective. Thankfully my great husband, said, its ok. Haven't you heard of Teriyaki BBQ? Um, no but we will find out when I pull the bag out. Also, we will find out if its necessary to freeze the meals with the sauce included. Now we just have to wait....

By the way, the Balsamic Pot Roast was really good. I would just suggest not trying them with carrots. They really soaked up the vinegar and became very bitter.

Other than my little mishap, I think the trial went well. I will report back in a month.

7 Quick Takes Friday

Happy Friday! Hope this post finds you well and joyful!

1. Quick update that the Asian Pork and Mushrooms that I tried from SkinnyTaste was also fantastic. I accidentally laid out a beef roast instead but it was still great.

2. I am going to try some freezer crockpot meals this weekend. It will be my first experience with bulk freezer cooking. Wish me luck and thanks Amanda for the idea.

3. We are heading to my niece's basketball game tonight. She starts as a junior and her team is in the playoffs. I am not trying to brag but she is a great athlete. She also ran state track her freshman and sophomore years. I just love telling people because we are not an athletic family. I am not sure where she gets it from.

4. My husband and I are in a couples spiritual study and we started a new session called the Great Marriage Experience. Last night we had to take an assessment regarding several areas of our marriage. It was a great survey to take and it was nice to hear how we really are in agreement of most aspects of our marriage and both actively working to improve it. I think its something every married couple should do every 8-10 years or so.

5. I have been scrapbooking again. I finally got my scrapbook corner organized, so now I can take 10 minutes here or there to work on a page. Hopefully I will accomplish a lot more this year.

6. I am very much looking forward to the weekend!

7. I had to really stretch my brain to come up with 7 things!

Ha ha! Hope you have a great weekend! Go to Conversion Diary for more quick takes.

Lenten Resolutions

I am not sure if resolutions is the right word, maybe goals or promises. Anyway, I wanted to share what I am hoping my family and I will do this lenten season to draw closer to God and to remind us of what Christ did for us. I am usually an advocate of keeping these between God and you but its also nice to share ideas and have some accountability here on earth.

1. Last year I did the 40 bags, 40 days challenge. I loved it! What a great way to give my service to the Lord, simplify my house and reduce the stuff in our house. I also think its a blessing to my family to present them with a clean home that is less cluttered and more peaceful. I urge you to do this challenge with me.

2. I am giving up TV. I don't watch much now but I think 40 days of less noise in my life will bring me more peace and give me more time working on my relationship with Christ. Is it bad that I do have exceptions? - family movie night and my workout time. I am going to try to read while I workout but sometimes it hurts my eyes too much. I will try to watch stuff that is more uplifting though.

3. As a family we are going to truly make Sunday a day for rest and family. We are not going to allow tv that day and Jason and I are going to focus on doing more as a family.

I also hope to attend church on Wednesdays and to spend more quiet time with the Lord.

I hope you all have a blessed Lenten season as well.

New Favorite Cooking Blog

I don't think I mentioned this Web site yet but I am in love with Skinny Taste. In the last week, I have made four of her recipes and they were each fantastic. I have made her pumpkin banana bread several times and it barely lasts a few days around here. We also tried the shrimp quesadillas. This was Jason's review: "These are really great. I mean it. I am not just saying that, these are really good!"

We used her method of searing scallops for our Valentine dinner and they were fantastic. Now it was my turn to say to Jason, "These are so good. Like scallops at a restaurant." some chewing, "No, better than a restaurant, these are so good!" Later on the couch, "Did I tell you how great the scallops were?" It was a simple way to sear them but I have to give her the credit.

The next night we had her turkey meatloaf. It was moist, flavorful and you would never believe it was turkey. So good.

Tomorrow we try the asian pork and mushrooms in the crockpot. I am sure it will be great.

Best of all she follows weight watchers. Granted, I do not do weight watchers and I am not a big fan of diet plans but at least weight watchers tries to get their followers to eat more fiber, more vegetables and less simple carbs which is how I like to eat. So the recipes really fit into my cooking philosophies. Happy cooking!

Count My Blessings Wednesday

1. I am reflecting on what a blessing Sunday is. Today I heard a wonderful talk reminding us why going to Church on Sunday is not for God but for us. A way to start a new week by going to the cross and laying down our burdens and strifes so we can head into the week light and refresh. I just sat there thinking, ahhhhhhh. I am ready to go to church right now.

2. I love Valentine's day and I was blessed with a great day. My honey made me breakfast and supper (very yummy scallops) and we went out to lunch. I didn't have to cook much and I spent most of the day playing with my kids and showering them with love.

3. I am blessed with two healthy boys that are full of spit and fire but they also give the best cuddles and make me laugh each day. They each received a dollar from their grandparents as a valentine. Logan could not decide if he wanted to use it to buy a plane ticket to Arizona to see those grandparents or put it in the collection box at church. It filled my heart with warmth. Aren't my little supereheros adorable?

4. The day care at my church is such a blessing. Kellan and Logan love going there and the two ladies who take care of my children are angels here on earth.

5. I am so grateful for my ipad. Typically I shun new technology but was enticed by it last fall. My husband wanted to knock my socks off for my birthday so he surprised me with one. I love that I can set it up in the kitchen and follow a recipe while listening to music from it. And less paper waste!

6. Just an extra bonus blessing: I am working out of my rut with the help of my awesome husband. Tonight he helped me get back on my cleaning track by watching the boys and having them help him with some chores. I love sitting in a nice clean living room and waking up to a clean kitchen.

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. I am trying to figure out if it is just my child or if its because he is the oldest, but he cannot seem to entertain himself. I shouldn't make such a sweeping statement as he has his moments but more often than not Logan, my oldest, is asking me to do this or that with him. Even if he is playing by himself, then he wants me to sit and watch. I know I probably sound like a neglectful mom but I am not. I really try to make sure I spend time with my children daily and Logan gets his very own "mama time" every afternoon while Kellan sleeps. We usually play games, do workbooks and make crafts. Like today, we just got done doing a bunch of stuff and now he is having a hard time while I try to do this post. Maybe its the computer competing for attention. :)
   
2. If you have preschoolers, I highly recommend this blog for great worksheets and learning activities. We have been having a ball with Valentine's Day packet.
   
3. I am not sure what is going on with me but I am rebelling against myself. For the last two weeks I can't seem to follow my usual routine or stay in any of my habits. I must be in a stay-at-home mom rut.
   
4. I have spent every extra minute this week researching a new printer. Ugh, I finally ordered one on Amazon. After so many hours, I finally just ordered one really fast. Like ripping off a band-aid. I decided if I waited any longer I would just spend more hours comparing and contrasting. I pray its the perfect one so that I don't have to do that again.
   
5. If anyone has any great recipes that are freezer-friendly and kid approved, I would love to have them. I have a friend whose husband is leaving for 10 weeks for Afghanistan and she stays home with 3 little boys (the youngest is only 7 weeks). I would love to bring her some freezer meals but I have never really found that great recipe to use (I cannot make lasagna to save my life).
   
6. I loved this article this week.
7. As you can tell my life was a little boring this week so I sort of stretched to come up with 7. It must be the rut-thing.
   

Have a great and blessed weekend. Visit Conversion Diary for more quick takes.

Count My Blessings Wednesday

1. I am just so happy and blessed that I have a husband that does bath time. What a great bonding experience and well, it gives me the chance to actually do this post on a Wednesday as it should be.
2. I am doing an Acts study at church with Jeff Cavins. He grew up Catholic, became an evangelical minister and then decided to return to the Catholic church. I am blessed that he chose that life path, as God willed, or else I would not be getting this history lesson from the Bible. I think the Catholic church benefits from those who seek wisdom in other Christian churches and brings their learnings back home to Catholicism. The history and richness of Catholicism combined with the fresh air of protestants is a great combination.
3. My friend Michelle gave us a toy vacuum yesterday. Today my boys could not wait for me to vacuum so they could "help".
4. I already shared this but my prayers were answered this weekend when my husband decided to sign up for a parish retreat for men. Please pray God will work in his heart that weekend - Feb 25 & 26.
5. I am sorry for all those that think alcohol is the devil but I am grateful for wine. I do believe its sinful to indulge too much but even Jesus turned water into wine so it can't be all that bad. Somedays its just nice to unwind with a glass and a good snuggle with my honey. Chocolate is good too. :)

This is the rose that my sweet hubby, Jason, left in my V-day mailbox last week. It is still beautiful!

Answer to Prayer!

6 years ago, I participated in a wonderful retreat at my church. It was an amazing experience for me and jumpstarted my faith again. Since then I have been praying that my husband would also participate in the weekend. He has told me for years that he would never do that as its just out of his comfort zone. He is very shy and does not like to go to social events at church without me. I have not pushed it but have prayed for a change of heart. This weekend, Jason signed up for the retreat! Wow! I truly cannot believe it and I know it was all God.

They had been talking about the upcoming retreat at church for a few weeks but I didn't say a word about it. A few of the guys he knows at church encouraged him to sign-up and I was surprised that he did not tell them no right away. I was even more surprised when out of the blue, at the dinner table, he said "maybe I should sign up for the retreat so people will stop asking me about it." Well, I doubled my prayers after that and Sunday morning he signed up. Now my prayers are that God will work in his heart. Jason is a believer but I just want to see him deepen his faith and grow closer in his own relationship. This will be a wonderful thing for him and our family. Thank you, God!

Quick Takes on Saturday

I must be off a day this week. We actually had a great week full of lots of things that were out of our normal routine hence the late posts. Lets see if I can sum it up in 7 quick takes.

1. On Thursday, the boys and I went to my parents' house. They get so excited about going to grandma and grandpa's because well, they live on a farm and what little boy could resist that. This trip did not disappoint. We went to the local corner station for some good fried pork tenderloin sandwiches (mama's big treat) and met my brother for lunch. LeRoy is a farmer too and he had driven his tractor with the bale fork to the restaurant. So he took the boys on a ride and they helped him move round hay bales. They even got to visit the coop which Logan has been begging to do. LeRoy also has a new horse that we got to feed and pet. On top of all that, Grandpa took the boys on another tractor ride. The boys were pretty tuckered out by the time we drove home that night.
   
   
2. I wanted to do something special for Valentine's day so I found these really cute mailboxes at Target for a $1. I decorated one for each member of the family and surprised them with it on Feb 1. The idea is that we will put secret notes or treats in the mailboxes to tell another how much we love or appreciate them as we wait for Valentine's Day. I know its such a commercial holiday but just like we have holidays to remind us to give thanks or what wonderful things our Savior did for us, here is a holiday to remind us to tell those around us how much we love them. So far its been a big hit. Logan begs to make little cards for everyone and sneak them in. The boys get so excited to see if their flag is up. Even Jason surprised me the other day with a note and a rose in my mailbox. It has really been fun!
   
   
3. There is always a day where your kids just get bored with about every toy they have. For those situations, I keep the cheapest and simplest toy at hand - balloons. Seriously! I keep a sack of balloons in the cupboard and when the boys are bored or under afoot too much, I just blow up a few balloons. Problem solved, at least for an hour or two.
   
   
4. I try to make a new recipe each week and this week I decided to give tilapia another try. We decided we still do not like it.
   
   
5. Its been snowing all day today. I swear its the first real snow we got all winter. It is creating the most beautiful winter wonderland out there. It makes me just want to stare out the window all day.
   
   
6. A good friend of mine watched the boys Friday night so we could go on a date. We saw the new Twilight movie at the cheap seats and went to one of our favorite local restaurants, The Flying Mango. It was a wonderful night! If you don't do a fairly regular date night with your significant other, even if its just in the house after the kids go to bed, start planning one now!
   
   
7. While I was home with my family two amazing thoughts came to me. The first is that my brother LeRoy is a great person and he is made out of that old fashioned stuff we were raised on. He is the oldest of four children and ten years older than me. He lives very close to my parents and has been farming with my dad since he was 18. He is the one in our family who keeps up with all the relatives we have (and we have a lot!) and attends all the funerals and weddings and visits people in the hospital or nursing home. I feel bad that I don't stay in touch with family. Especially my great aunts and uncles. I grew up with only one grandma who passed away when I was 18 but she still has some living siblings. They are so much like her and if I would just spend more time with them, it would probably be like being closer to her. Plus, life is based on family. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for all my family who went before me. So why don't we give them more of our time?
   
   My mom hurt her knee a few weeks ago and has not been able to move around well since. She has to use a cane and is probably going to have surgery in a few weeks. When I decided to come down with the boys she asked if I could do a few things around the house for her; mainly just dust and vacuum. In the afternoon, she had a hair appointment and was gone for a few hours so I started to clean. I will admit, at first, I didn't want to but as I started, I couldn't stop. It felt so good to help her. She has done so much for me and it was so nice to repay her a little. I didn't tell her what I all did, and I really should keep it to myself and be humble, but I cleaned the heck out of that house. Wiping down all the appliances and cupboards, vacuuming windowsills and dusting doorways, wiping the walls and cleaning up cobwebs. It just felt good and in the end she was so grateful even though she probably didn't even know half of what I all did. There truly is something to giving back.

Count My Blessings Wednesday...on Thursday

Whoops, yesterday got away from me. I think it was because it was such a beautiful day and because I was trying to get a lot done as I will be visiting my parents tomorrow.

1. Its been a nice winter and this week especially has been wonderfully warm. The boys have been to the park 3 times and today, while at Grandma and Grandpa's, I am sure they will get plenty more sunshine. (I try not to think what all this warm weather in winter means.)

2. I am blessed with grandparents that just love to see and play with my boys. Logan and Kellan adore the farm! They ride tractors, feed pigs, help grandpa with the combine and just get to play on one huge yard. Logan is all set to be a farmer some day. Makes Grandpa so proud.

3. I am so thankful that Jason does not have to work late each day. He is usually home between 4:30 and 5. He doesn't travel for his job so I have a husband who is truly with me each day. I know so many friends that their husbands will be gone for a week at a time or that they don't get home till their children are in bed. They make it work, bless their hearts, but its not the life for me. I am happy with the one I have (until it changes of course).

4. On Monday I actually had a maid service come in and clean my house. Oh wow! She did a fantastic job. On a whim this summer, I bought a groupon for the service and then I treasured it for almost 6 months. The other day I looked and it was going to expire on Feb 2. I am so glad I did not miss that one. My house was sparkling but unfortunately with two boys it only lasts for a few brief moments. Oh well, I still got a little break this week.

5. Logan has been extremely feisty this week. He is testing all the boundaries and has had no coping mechanisms. I am not sure where the blessing is in all this but there is one. He was done with naps but due to this new phase he is in, we have established quiet time again. I guess I am blessed with having a little more quiet time in the afternoons. I desperately need it after the exhausting mornings.

Hope you are all having a blessed week too!

2012 Goals - An Update

Its the last day of the month so I was thinking it was time to do a review of where I am at with some of my goals:

1. Start and maintain a blog.
2. Eliminate caffeine from my diet.
3. Teach my oldest to tie his shoes.
4. Switch to natural cleaners. I have started to use e-cloths instead of windex or pledge but plan to switch my toilet cleaner next.
5. Spend $300 less each month. (could be a tall order) We
   switched to a cash-only system and so far so good. We are still within budget for the month at least.
6. Maintain my current weight (at least not gain more). So far so good.
7. Eat more fruit and vegetables each day.
8. Teach my youngest his colors.
9. Go on a weekend trip with just my husband.
10. Reduce the sugar consumed by my family. Have eliminated pop from the house and trying to not bring in any outside junk food. I will never eliminate baked goods. We all need some treats.
11. Begin biking again.
12. Finish the first two years of each of my boys scrapbooks.
13. Read, read and read some more.
14. Expand my garden.
15. Help my husband finish the trim work in the house.
16. Make homemade marshmallows.
17. Incorporate lentils into our diet.
18. Go to adoration.
19. Set up a more regular learning time with my oldest. Did buy a few resources to help with this.
20. Try brussel sprouts.

As you can see, I was able to mark two things off. I tried a great new recipe for brussel sprouts and loved them. The boys were unimpressed and Jason, well, he said they were better than what he had growing up. I think the secret is to shred them instead of eating them whole. I also tried red cabbage and chard. Again, I loved them but all my boys did not. Thankfully Jason is one who likes most of my cooking but decided the "cooked roughage" was just too much for him. Its too bad as those are some of the healthiest veggies we can eat. I get an organic produce delivery every other week so I will just make these foods when they are in the produce pack. I will not go out of my way to buy them if I have to eat them all by my lonesome.

The cash only system is going well. I bought an app for my I-pad that allows me to create a grocery list with prices so I can track how much I am spending before I even go into the store. Also, it makes me much more cognizant of what I am going to throw in the cart. We also created a rule that we cannot charge to the credit card without telling the other first. Again, this has helped because it makes me think about a purchase first. I love Groupon and so before I buy one, I wait till Jason comes home and most of the time I have talked myself out of it by then.

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Joy. What a simple thing that can do so much good. Why do we not take more time to be joyful, share joy and encourage joy? I have been reading about the subject in two different books (Between Heaven and Mirth by James Martin, SJ and Small Steps for Catholic Mothers) and had never really thought about the impact of my joyfulness on both my spiritual life and that of others. Just the simple act of always having a smile on my face. One day I was encouraged to try to smile all day. It was actually hard which I decided was very sad. It should not be that difficult. What in me was making it that tough? Since then I have tried to look at each situation as how it could go differently if I smiled. We are talking simple things like discipling a child, paying for groceries at the store, waiting at the stoplight. Just having others see you as joyful makes them wonder, why? And what a witness it is for them to find out its God. WOW!

2. I was joyful about something simple today. A new favorite yogurt - AE's almond creme greek yogurt. I am going to freeze it next time and eat it for dessert. It is sort of healthy for me, right?. Hey, its gotta be better than Cold Stone Creamery. Hmmm...wonder if I could smash some cookie dough into it. Wait, wasn't I talking about healthy?

3. I am already in a slump when it comes to my 2012 goals when it comes to eating more healthy. Not dieting but trying to fit in more fish, fruits and veggies. I am bored with lunch and breakfast and am really trying to find some new inspirations. I did find one this morning. I made an egg white, spinach, sundried tomato breakfast sandwhich with turkey on whole wheat. Oh and with dill. (How can I come up with a short name for all that?) Seriously, it was good and it had to be good for me with the veggies, protein and whole grains.

4. Who needs snow? This week my boys and I had an indoor snowball fight and snowflake storm. Logan thought it was the best invention ever. We get to stay inside and be toasty warm but still throw snowballs (crumpled up paper balls) and we even used laundry baskets as our snow forts. For the snowstorm, we cut up paper snowflakes and laid them in Logan's blankie and then tossed them in the air. They fall down ever so softly. To make it educational, I wrote numbers from 10-20 and had Logan identify them as we placed them back in the blanket. So much fun!

5. Hot water. Yes, its back and I have taken 2 very long showers to make up for it. Maybe a bubble bath is in order.

6. I am a nerd. I am addicted to Ken Burns documentaries. I watched The War in December and am watching The West right now and have Prohibition on my shelf. I cannot believe what I did not listen to in school. Or maybe I am just old and have forgotten it all.

7. I have entered the world of couponing but I would not define what I do as extreme, maybe just enhanced. Today I was excited to buy a 12 pack of play-doh for $8 when its usually $15. Its the simple things that make you smile. (At least until I see the mess they will make with all the play-doh).

Check out Conversion Diary for more quick takes.

Count My Blessings Wednesday

Wednesday can be a tough day of the week. Its half way to the weekend but you still have half a week left. So I am going to start counting my blessings on hump day to remind myself how good I have it and to give me the jumpstart I need to look forward to Friday!

1. I have a husband that comes home for lunch almost every day. You would not believe how much that means to me and brings me light (and a break) to the middle of each day.

2. Water. Our water heater went out this week and we spent 2 days (still counting) without hot water. I am just so thankful that we have water right now even if it is ice cold.

3. My children go to bed between 7:30 and 8. This does mean that they are up early in the morning (6 am) but those quiet hours between their bedtime and mine are so precious. I relax, read, get caught up on the computer and most of all, spend time with my husband.

4. My church. Catholic churches can really differ when it comes to activity. I am blessed to have one that has Bible studies, couples' groups, speakers and so much more that help my family and I grow in our relationship with God.

5. Blogs. I have blogs that I read for recipes, parenting advice, spiritual inspiration and activities for my kids. I am not sure what I did before blogs.

...without grumbling or questioning

Phillipians. A beautiful book with a great verse on doing without grumbling or complaining. That little nugget hit the spot today. I was overtired (my own doing) and everything seemed to go wrong. Also, my two precious boys were in their own fesity moods (probably because I was tired and grumpy) so needless to say by about 2:oo, I was exhausted physically, emotionally and spirtually. I am working on an Acts study at my church that referenced Phillipians. I came across Phil 2: 14-15.

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.

This is a slightly different translation than my Bible but it just really reminded me that my sufferings are so small and to truly do everything for God. Because if you are working for God with joy in your heart, what is their to complain about?

Being the light of Christ

Just wanted to share something that really inspired me today. I absolutely LOVE the prayer book, Small Steps for Catholic Moms by Danielle Bean and Elizabeth Foss. These faith-filled women cover 12 important areas for moms over 12 months and each day they break it down into think (a quote or verse), pray and act (a suggestion on how to put that prayer into action). Today the prayer seemed to sum up how I have been feeling. I am trying to be a better example to my children and a witness to others of Christ's love simply through my actions and how I treat others. This simple prayer summed it up nicely:

"I know the Good News, Lord, but help me to really know it. I want to feel it in my bones and exude it from every pore in my body. Fill my heart and soul with such overflowing joy that it reveals itself to everyone I meet."

Looking back at 2011

So I have been trying to think of more things to add to my goals list and I am up to 20. Thinking of all my goals for 2012 has helped me realize all that I accomplished in 2011. Thanks to the good Lord, I made a lot of positive changes last year. The biggest and best is that my relationship with my Savior grew and flourished. I joined the Acts study at my church and have learned so much about the birth of the Church. Its been inspiring and really helps me to understand my Catholic faith better. I also have a more regular prayer life and I try to spend at least 15-20 minutes each day enhancing my faith in some way. I have read some terrific books this year but I think I will save that for another post.

I started a regular workout schedule that I am pleased to say, I have kept up for a whole year. I usually only get about 30 minutes but its better than nothing. I mainly run on the eliptical and watch shows or movies I don't usually get to see. Its a great incentive.

Most of my accomplishments focus around doing things more regularly. Eating better, playing with my kids, cleaning, cuddling with my husband. Before last year I was trying to do everything perfectly. Now I know its better to do a little bit of a lot things then perfecting them all. I have a lot I want to do but I can't get it all done in one day. In the new year, I will still be bringing that one to God.

Here is a list of other things I accomplished in 2012:

1. Implemented a cleaning schedule.
2. Created a weekly meal plan that is coordinated with my grocery list.
3. Started using coupons more effectively.
4. Created a budget but still trying to stay within it.
5. Started using NFP with my husband (about time, huh?).
6. Became a blog addict. (Not sure if that is really a good thing or not).
7. Planted my first garden and actually ate food from it.
8. Started date night with my husband.
9. Tried to live by the thought that less is more.
10. Cooked a lot of great, healthy recipes.

I am sure I am forgetting some but so many of us dwell on what we want to change for the new year that we can get caught in the negatives. Its smart to take time to look back and see what God has done in your life or helped you accomplish. Its probably more than you think!

2012 Goals

Splash!!! I did it. I finally made the big jump into the blog world!

This ambition of mine has been stuck in neutral for over a year now. I have just been a big chicken about that whole thing. I worried that I wouldn't be any good at it and that no one would read my blog. I feared that it would be one more thing I started and didn't finish. But as I was thinking about what I wanted to accomplish in the new year, I thought why not blog about what I want to do. What a better way to stay accountable and to track my successes and failures. I love to write but I don't think its my best skill but who cares. No one will probably read it but again who cares, at least I will have tried. And isn't it more for me anyway? So here is my first post - my to-do list for 2012. (I am working on a better title.) I want to accomplish a lot more but I needed to create the post before I dragged my feet any longer. Its a start.

1. Start and maintain a blog.
2. Eliminate caffeine from my diet.
3. Teach my oldest to tie his shoes.
4. Switch to natural cleaners.
5. Spend $300 less each month. (could be a tall order)
6. Maintain my current weight (at least not gain more).
7. Eat more fruit and vegetables each day.
8. Teach my youngest his colors.
9. Go on a weekend trip with just my husband.
10. Reduce the sugar consumed by my family.
11. Begin biking again.
12. Finish the first two years of each of my boys scrapbooks.
13. Read, read and read some more.
14. Expand my garden.
15. Help my husband finish the trim work in the house.
16. Make homemade marshmallows.
17. Incorporate lentils into our diet.
18. Go to adoration.
19. Set up a more regular learning time with my oldest.
20. Try brussel sprouts.