Valentine's Day: more to love

I love holidays! 

We grew up changing the color scheme of pillows, towels, accents, pot holders, magnets, candles, and nic-nacs every season. There were crafts, cooking, baking, and other small but wonderful things my mom did to make each holiday special. It might be a fairly impossible reach in the baking department, but I've definitely inherited the love of celebrating. 

Marriage advice: figure out how holidays work between you. I can't get enough, but TJ isn't at all inclined to run around the house screaming 'It's ninety days til Christmas!' or dye the milk green, or do Easter baskets, or have American flag streamers around the house.

However, he married me, so he'll be enthusiastic, watch the movies, eat the food, and when I decorate he comes home and goes to each room to exclaim.

 (Literally. I ask him to go say it so I know he notices and I feel affirmed. It works). 

He enjoys the holidays this way.

However, I also married him, so I don't ask him to decorate, cook, plan or organize; I gladly do it myself and try to keep the glitter and confetti out of his hair. Also literally. Unless I'm feeling vengeful. 

I enjoy the holidays this way.

This year, I have two boys to share this love with! 

Attempted some photos for valentine cards

Not quite.

I ordered other shots, JJ stuck stickers all over Ninja Turtle and Thor valentines, and we mailed out love to the Grandparents. 

Cowabunga! 

(How often is there a valid reason to say that? You can't pass those moments up).

I had grand thoughts of valentine baking, as I was still fresh from multiple victories over the Christmas season. 

Nope. 

Regardless, I was determined to have something for TJ and the boys to do Valentine's day morning. A heart trail seemed a fun way to celebrate with kids (having done a scavenger hunt for TJ our first married Valentines), and armed myself with heart confetti and stickers at the faithful (and cheap) dollar store. 

Did I mention I got up at 5:30 to do this because the little man actually slept?

But that JJ decided to wake up early?

So I unashamedly plopped him in front of a Batman episode to keep him occupied?

cheesy song queued on you-tube. Feelin the love.

Overcoming those obstacles, I sprinkled and stuck a maze of hearts around the house, 

with some small gifts along the way. 

Every holiday they get a Mom Favorite book. This V-day was Ferdinand.

Panera Bread coffee: Happy Daddio, unimpressed son.

Did I also mention we soon realized that the heart stickers wouldn't come off the carpet? 

So we went to Cracker Barrel to recuperate

Cheery Mama who doesn't have to cook
Cheery baby eating pancakes.
Joy comes in all sizes.

My nerds.

We then enjoyed the afternoon with Buppa and Gigi. Wrestling, hugs, and eating Valentine's Day cards. Who could ask for a better day? 

                                                               

Every year we have more to love 

How-to with tomato sauce

I'm something of a sauce snob. I think it was inherited from my Dad, who would cheerfully critique each and every pizza we ate. Now I do the same thing, and it's carried into my 

love for a good red sauce. 

This recipe is an essential base for so many meals! Once I finish this, I can make chili, lasagna, soup, nachos, tacos, whatever.

 

Ideally, I would boil down tomatoes or use what I've canned, but that's run out already.

Next summer my goal is to can enough to last us through the year, but alas, I am relegated to other means for now. Canning priorities go to what is most used by our family and then what is most expensive when bought throughout the year. I found an affordable sauce that has only what is needed: tomatoes, lemon juice, salt. done. 

Ingredients for a no-fail red sauce:

1 lb (or more) of ground meat

1 can of tomato sauce

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 green pepper, onion, carrot all diced

spices: garlic, oregano, chili powder, black pepper, thyme

I'm browning sausage gotten from my friendly milk man as opposed to ground beef or turkey today. 

Yum. 

Meanwhile, chop onions and pepper; add those to meat and set carrot aside 

Adobo and I are inseparable when it comes to red sauces. A generous shake will do. 

Add the rest of the spices to the tomatoes heating in the sauce pan. After the meat has been thoroughly browned and drained, add to tomatoes and stir with a wooden spoon. 

*Note: the carrots are only on hand to add sweetness if needed. Some people might add brown sugar, or lemon juice, but I prefer a bit of diced carrot to offset any bitter taste the tomatoes might present. 

Simmer, and then keep on low from 2 hours to overnight. The longer it's there the better it tastes, in my experience! I usually keep everything covered unless I want to cook the liquid down so it's a thicker sauce.  Just make sure the stove is warm enough to actually cook, or the meat will spoil. Regrettably, also in my experience. 

When done, freeze in bags, can in your handy dandy pressure canner, or set aside for the next meal. 

Add a big glass of raw milk to a helping of spaghetti and salad with my boys 

Healthy, as well as a proven finger food for those unafraid of hosing children down.

Enjoy! 

Infused water: nutritious and delicous

Sometimes people share how overwhelmed they are about eating healthy

or adding essential oils into their diet. 

To be realistic: it's a mindset and you have to practice. You will reach the point where it's 'easy'.

To be encouraging: Try this out.

Look up infused water for yourself; I did a bit of research, and with how inexpensive it is to incorporate into a menu, health benefits, and trying to wean Jesse away from juice until I start making my own from scratch, I was game. We've tried several kinds, but today I'm using some leftovers and trying it out with an essential oil. 

Ingredients:

Water pitcher-ideally glass, but hey. 

1 Kiwi

Small handful of berries, aka what I have left in the bag today

1-3 drops of Doterra's Slim n Sassy oil blend

Peel and chop the kiwi into a few pieces, then toss them and the berries into the pitcher

Add the drops of essential oils 

Tip: Put the oils in before the water. Otherwise you'll get a mouthful of annoyance.

 Trust my failures.

Add the ice next, then fill with water 

Leave at least an hour before drinking

If you were wondering, those other colors are my re-usable ice cubes. 

Must be a mom.  

Enjoy the taste of your success! 

Cinnamon Mango Overnight Oatmeal

We're back!

Getting ready for another weeks worth of meals for my manly man

I'm so happy he likes this mason jar oatmeal, I'm trying another. Also because we used up most of our frozen fruit so I'm being creative here. 

Ingredients per Jar: 

1/3 Cup rolled oats

1/4 cup whole milk yogurt (we use raw, here to make Crock-pot yogurt)

1/3 cup milk (raw again)

1 mango

cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground flaxseed

1/2 tsp Chia seeds

Dry ingredients in first.

Why isn't there a measurement for cinnamon? 

Because you're a cook. Sometimes you gotta feel it out, ya'll.

Besides, you don't want to know how much cinnamon I go through. 

Enough to make it worthwhile to buy the essential oil next month.

By the by, it's cheaper to grind your own flax seed, no comparison. Also it's fun. 

I keep a small container ground up in the fridge for times like this. 

Add yogurt and milk, then shake (do I really have to add that the tops are on at this point?).

Add fruit and shake once more.

Use within two or three days.

So good.

Know Thyself: One Woman's Household Cleaning

My husband just started online college.

Wahhoooo!!! 

He's going for Business Administration, and I'm so proud of his bravery in diving back into formal schooling.

His first class is Psychology; I had already taken that my second year of college so it's been fun to hear him talk about his reading. I can appreciate some aspects of the topic, but what I've really enjoyed is the personality profiling; particularly that of birth order and how it may influence a person in a myriad of ways. 

The Birth Order Book  by Kevin Leman has been a fun read for me time and again. It's so interesting that you could discern where someone is in their family order based on their temperament, attitude, or other traits. It's also been helpful in 'getting to know' myself as a firstborn.

Example: I enjoy order, cleanliness, and am that person that notices when the trashcans are full or a frame is crooked. If I see something out of place, I'm more likely to put it back, even if it's not my house. I can be bossy and overwhelming, yet do well with our budgeting and love to decorate, plan trips, and enjoy holding all the small details in my brain so someone else doesn't have to. I tend to swing between the two extremes of the firstborn: wanting to pleasing people, or running over them.  

These are just a few traits that were highlighted in the book, which was helpful, not so I could sit in understanding and let my faults be faults, but to improve and be tempered. We are supposed to be striving to be like Christ, so go-go sanctification! Which comes in all sorts of surprising forms. 

Ahem.

When Travis and I first married, we both worked. We eventually learned that I couldn't do all the cooking, cleaning, budgeting, and other housework without breaking down in frustration. I needed help, but also an adjustment in priorities. Add another year, and I started to stay home with our own firstborn, with more adjusting all over the place! 

To keep my perfectionist-leaning self away from discouragement and fatigue, I ended up making a schedule for our chores so I would still accomplish what was needed, while making time for the people that are important. Otherwise I would clean the house every day, or not at all.

If this resonates with you, or you're looking for ideas, here's my routine: 

Monday: Bathroom and laundry. 

Laundry is done all day all day, and folded when the boys are snoozing. Add a drop of lemon into the washer. Smells lovely (Interested in buying essential oils? Go here).

Bathroom: Damp rags with Doterra Lemon, Eucalyptus, or Melaleuca are awesome for toilet, sink and tub. We use old Gerber diapers--absorbent enough for cleaning, but not for our boys!
Also-a drop of eucalyptus in the toilet bowl after it's cleaned helps the rooms smell nice and absorbs everything else for a little while. 

Tuesday: Dusting and Vaccuum

Again, Damp rag with lemon (my favorite, apparently) or Onguard over window and door frames, shelves, headboards, whatever.

Ah.

It might not look it, but I know it's nicer.
Anyone notice the Doctor Who Vault book there?
I have a wonderful husband.
Yes I do.

This sucker is the bane of my dusting existence. I do everything else, but this baby gets done once a month, because it exhausts me just looking at it.

I also wash my Splat mats (found here  on Amazon), which I have under the boys high chairs

I love them.

Vacuuming: also known as the one day a week where I put everything back into it's proper place, then vacuum. This way I'm not tempted to constantly pick up, and I can sort through once a week: anything too small? broken? outgrown? etc. Act now, instead of a huge job later. 

Diffuse something delicious smelling after. How about lemon?

Waiting on Mommy to finish 

Wednesday: Kitchen 

Clean out fridge, sort food and wipe surfaces. Again, warm rag with lemon. I love lemon. I think I'll do a post on how many ways I use it each day. Yum.

Make weekly menu and shopping list. I find doing this the day before is helpful. No rushing.

Sweep and mop floor

Thursday: Market, bill-paying, and errands

oof.

Friday: Surfaces

Anything I missed: windows with sticky fingerprints, tv monitors, mirrors

countertops, stove drip pans, quick wipe up of bathroom for the weekend with Travis home so I can pretend I keep it clean all week (he is not fooled, nor does he care. I am blessed).

Saturday: Family time and cooking for the week

brothers sharing pizza picnic on the floor 

Sunday: Rest. 

Church, naps, pack up TJ's meals for his work. Enjoy the day. 

Diffuse something relaxing.

Maybe lavender?

Ha. Fooled you.

Tips for sanity: 

Be aware that with company, it's good to do a quick pick up from one end of the house to the other with a basket, and wipe down the bathroom and kitchen table. They won't notice anything.

Be empowered with the knowledge that planning your day isn't obsessive; find what works for you and you will have more time for enjoyable pursuits.

Like spaghetti with a yogurt chaser.

Be a parent and learn patience: teach your children to help with chores. It helps with perfectionism and criticism. At two, it is reasonable to expect Jesse to help me transfer laundry, unload the dishwasher together, throw out his own trash, and wipe down the counter after we cook together.

Be flexible. Today I did the bathrooms and finished the laundry because we all decided to be insane yesterday. Two weeks ago, I was sick and stuff wasn't done. We went out as a family one day. 

Let life happen.

Family Ingredients

As I was cleaning up this week, it struck me how many things we have to be thankful for. We didn't have a lot of money when we found out we were expecting Jesse over two years ago, but we've been given much and have been able to provide for our boys well. We've also shared the experience of realizing that even the things we thought useful weren't so essential on the practical side of events. Out of all the furniture, clothes, toys, gadgets, and watnots given and found, here are some of what I consider key ingredients to our home environment.

First: Babies. Essential to us. Love them. 

A playpen. This was moderately helpful with one baby, but essential with two and unloading the groceries by myself. He may not be happy about it, but for those times I need a few moments, he's safe.

Splat mats. Major carpet savers! My mom found them on Amazon here  and I use them under the high chairs. Also can double as a craft tarp. They're easy to sweep off, and wiped down once a week when it's vacuum day.

Safe hygiene and fun bath times!

We are still on the set of Burts Bees baby stuff we received for Jesse's baby shower, and I'm glad we have a safe wash for them. We use Burts Bees or Green, found here through NeoLife.
I found those colored Bath Dropz via Amazon. Best stocking-stuffer I could have found!
*note to self: you cannot get away with simply 'rinsing' your shower clean if you use the coloring. Foiled.

Collapsible dryer rack. 

Good for diapers, artwork, damp stray socks stuffed inside the sheets, etc. 

Something to build...

This will last about two minutes more before it's destroyed.

A trampoline. exercise, play, dance, or as a friend has for her own children: working off anger and poor attitudes.

A reading corner all their own with three kinds of books: Easy, Classic, and Challenging.

A sense of humor and flexibility.
Key. 

A place for imagination

Kitchen tools that they can use that are
 A. difficult to be impaled with
B. easy to wash over and over
C. will not cause you to yell something creative when stepped on.

Speaking of, a place where healthy habits are taught

and healthy foods are eaten 

One or two shelves you don't mess with

(except on Tuesday vacuum days)

Crafts 

we have a mid-morning 'Chair-time' where the boys are contained and Mommy can 

do a few dishes, prep a crock pot meal, or go do her hair in peace. Hah. 

I could keep going. 

There are so many things that are fun and useful, but the most important? 

A family. 

Whatever that looks like.

A family that loves the Lord, each other, and knows that no matter what stuff they have, it's nothing compared to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. 

If we have nothing else to give our kids, I know we can keep giving them a 

daily sharing, teaching, modeling, and loving dose of that.