Whole Diligence

It is Saturday. Soccer games are over. Groceries are put away. The kids are outside with my husband working on a chicken coop. And I am in my kitchen. As you know, I love to cook. Sadly, this is something I do not get indulge in often these days. Meals are hurried and quick in prep time while working through homework with the kids and trying to throw in a load of laundry or clean up from the day or make lunches for tomorrow.

But today, I got to be in my kitchen. I got a few minutes of quiet and cookin’. I made some snacks for the week. I chopped veggies for crockpot chicken pot pie for later this week. And I made a real dinner. Ah, a breath of fresh air. This is the beat I move to… Oh, how I miss you!

My husband and father-in-law drove our big Penski moving truck from Californai to Oklahoma a few weeks ago. I drove our mini-van with the three kids and the dog. Hmmm? Who got the better deal?

It went pretty well for the most part… minus the ridiculously hot temps as we crossed the desert, and the kids not understanding that the ground would be blazing hot… and the MANY potty breaks… and trying to take the dog and the kids potty, particulary when the only potty was inside. But truly we made it. The key to not losing my mind was being to be prepared.

Some tips for your next cross country journey with 3 kids and a dog, or just your next vacation:

-I knew the weather was going to be warm, so I was able to pack each kids prepared outfit in a ziploc labeled “Day 1″ and the child’s name. I also had a ziploc for each kid with pajamas and swimsuit. This worked out great for keeping clothes organized, clean, and ready to go.

-I made snack bags for each day of the trip. I included a fun activity, some new snacks, and water for the day. The kids thought these were fun. This minimized the amount of stopping and chucking theings from the front to the back while I was driving. You have to plan for such things when driving solo.

-I got some new DVDs (thanks Omie) for the trip. We have traveled long distances with minimal DVD watching but with only me to entertain them the DVD player was necessary.

-I put together a backpack for each of them with a few new activities and books, paper and crayons (don’t do crayons if driving where the temps are hot!), wipes for them to clean themselves and their messes, kleenex, and a few other random things.

-I got myself a couple good books on CD, as well as the children.

-Allow for change in schedule, encourage some car naps even for non-nappers especially if you are having later nights.

-Pray! Sing praise songs!

And good luck!

We have moved to Oklahoma, and boy does moving take a lot out of you! Before, during and after. And moving out of state is a lot of work on so many levels. Well, now we are pretty settled, my kids have started back at public school, and I am teaching preschool. Who thought? Anyways all in God’s timing and plan.

I hope to get back to bloggging on a more frequent than it has been basis. I hope to share some new favorite recipes, kitchen, and home tips with all of you.

Hope the summer has treated you well!

Courtney

It was finally a warm day today. My brother, sister-in-law, and niece were coming over for lunch. I thought popsicles would be a fun treat and did not have time to make any… I happened to be at a regular grocery store (opposed to Trader Joe’s or Lassens where I do most shopping). I searched through the popsicles for something that looked like it would actually just be fruit (no extra sugar or high fructose corn syrup). I saw a package that looked like a possibility “All Fruit” “Natural”… I of course checked the label, since I know looks are deceiving. They had sugar and high fructose corn syrup in them. I know that the label “Natural” is a misnomer, but “All Fruit”. How can “they” get away with putting “All Fruit” on their packaging when it couldn’t be farther from the truth?

Lesson: Read labels!!

We had such a delicious dinner tonight. Layered it. Why? Presentation. Encouragement to eat the meal parts together.

Layers of our dinner (bottom to top):

1. Basic Risotto (a bit of parmesan mixed in) from a couple nights ago
2. Onions sauteed with butter and then some leftover red wine from last week. I prepared this portion earlier and then added a bag of spinach, 2 garlic cloves (crushed), and 1 tablespoon chopped/fresh sage 5 minutes before serving.
3. Top Sirloin (BBQed with a dry rub of salt and pepper) and sliced into strips.
4. A thick slice of tomato that I topped with Panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and a small dollop of butter. Broiled on high until the top was toasted light brown. {Note: Found this idea on Pinterest}

Note: My husband and kids all LOVED it!

I love to be inspired – by people, books, a word, the environment… whatever. I also love new ideas that help save me time, money… and just enable a change in some way. For those who you who haven’t found Pinterest check it out. I have been inspired on so many different levels – great DIY projects, great home organization ideas, great recipe inspirations… and SO many UBER creative and UBER cheap things that I can do easily. I have been in search for a coffee table idea – now I know what I want to do, and it will cost me probably less than $50 and very little time… Another idea –  using one of those multiple pair pant holders to store and organize ribbon rolls or using Starbucks Frappuccino cups to hold your kids paint and paintbrushes during a project… The list is endless…

Do you ever just stop? Floored. To revel in God’s creation. Amazed by some sight and realize that seeing this is a gift from God?

The Vita-Mix or a comparable blender works well for making your own apple juice.

{Tip: Use flavorful apples}

In blender, my Vitamix works extremely well:

1 banana
2 heaping spoonfuls of PB
Chocolate of some sort- I used Trader Joe’s Chocolate Moo
Plain yogurt- 4-5 large spoonfuls
Milk- 1-2 cups
Ice- 6-8 cubes

Blend to smooth. Yum!

Please say I am not the only one who is willing to change and adjust and try whatever new system of organization or discipline or sleep management or whatever to figure out what works best? Over and over again until you find the way… anyone?

When my oldest was a baby, it was finding the strategy to get her to sleep through the night. Later, it was the appropriate discipline plan and on and on. Let me note that it seems to be only with my oldest, once it comes around to the other kids I have it mostly figured out, and it really is a form of research to find what works best for them and me.

I have been in search of what works best for our family in accountability and monitoring of chores and daily tasks. I have tried a marble jar, points systems, sticker charts… I usually end up forgetting about them, hence they don’t work for me. I have chore cards that we use in the mornings and have proven to be most effective. It is just the stuff that needs to get done later in the day that seems to slip right past my foggy mommy brain: piano practice, afternoon chores… In an effort to find SOMETHING that works for me, I thought of what I use myself as a management tool for my own TO-DOs and started an actual TO-DO list for my two older children. This is working for the time being- it fits my way of organizing tasks at hand, and I seem to remember!

How it works: I have a different TO-DO list for each child and a different one for each day. Each day is slightly different, for example, on Sundays my son is to help my husband take out trash, and on Thursdays he helps me water the plants. Everyday I have reading and picking up toys on his card. I have been putting stars on the cards when a task is completed. It seems to be working well for me. My kids really are great about doing their chores as long as we remember, so this is working for them as well.

Any other ideas, suggestions for how to do the TO-DO for kids that works for you?