Well, I did it again!! I said I would keep up with the blog, and I let it slack off! But, I will have to say this summer has been insane. With weddings, family reunions, play groups, family issues, lots of things that were planned but fell through at the last minute, yeah I have been busy. OH, and one very important detail....... we are pregnant again!!!!!! We are expecting baby Webster #3, due March 30th! And with that news said, it is most likely the reason why I am just so darn tired! But, I am totally happy, we both are!
So, a few weeks ago Jordan lost his job, but I have to say I think it was God's work and not a total bummer! He was getting paid barely enough to pay the mortgage and the car and nothing else. We were taking out of savings and that really sucks to have to do, just to pay bills. So, he lost his job but because it wasn't a firing, it was being laid off, his boss ( or former) felt really terrible that happened to him. So he made a call and got Jordan an interview with another landscaper. On Jordan's birthday, he went in for the interview and landed the job, the only downfall was it was a .50/hour pay cut... BUT.. in 30 days its a 2.50 pay RAISE! Which is huge! Plus he also now has a side job that he could do after he gets done working or even on Saturday or Sunday taking down party tents and such. So when we were barely making it by, God provided us with an out and a better income. Coincidentally, it was the same week he tithed...hmm.
He also starts school here in a few weeks, which stinks because we wont see him two days out of the week, but its a sacrifice we all have to make.
So, even when things look terrible and you want to freak out because you don't know whats going to happen, you just have to imagine God saying... "I got this."
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
New Day, New Adventures
Well, today marks the last day of Caleb in public school! He officially graduated from kindergarten today! He ran off the bus and I about cried! My heart is so full to know he accomplished so much this year! He was marked down, by his teacher, that he was above grade level for reading! He is such a talented and wonderful little boy and I am happy he is home now!
Now, tomorrow I have to get a paper written out stating that we have the intent to homeschool him this following school year. I have all his curriculum ready, and although we aren't technically unschooling him, we are going to fill In with learning from hands on experiences with some subjects.
With all this said, I am so proud of Caleb and all that he has accomplished, I can't wait to get started on 1st grade!
Now, tomorrow I have to get a paper written out stating that we have the intent to homeschool him this following school year. I have all his curriculum ready, and although we aren't technically unschooling him, we are going to fill In with learning from hands on experiences with some subjects.
With all this said, I am so proud of Caleb and all that he has accomplished, I can't wait to get started on 1st grade!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Spring and summer gardening
Over the past several weeks, I have been going non stop. Really, there isn't a moment where I have time to sit down for more than a second. Jordan finished this semester a few days ago and started a job today! He has really great hours as well. I am really looking forward to having him home before 4!
Also, my chickens have become sort of a puzzle to me. After the winter broke, they started laying eggs. I was getting around 3-5 a day, which is great for us. But for the past couple weeks, I haven't gotten anything. It has been a total stand still. I have been adding whey to their water for extra protein, giving them soured milk curds for a healthy snack, they get their layer feed, and also free range time in an enclosed moveable tractor. I don't get it!
Anyways, I have at least gotten ahead on our garden. Since we are taking part at the Mccracken Farms CSA this year, I am only going to do a small farm that we get the real expensive groceries from. I am mainly sticking to tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, strawberries, peas, garlic, watermelon, and a few other things like zucchini and yellow squash that aren't really expensive but we use so much of it that it's worth planting. I also have raspberries that are wild that grow huge berries and there have always been an abundance of them as well, usually about 3 gallons worth. I am thinking about going and getting some pepper plants, those are the only thing I didn't do this year, I'm just running out of room!
I have also been "thrift" shopping for flowers this spring and have had some huge scores with that! I went to lowes and went back on the clearance rack and found salvia plants $1, dianthus for $1, lobelia $1, lavendar $1, and a hanging
basket of strawberries for $5. I was thinking about going to the garden factory and pricing out how much some more flowers would be for the front! We are also waiting on someone to come with a stump grinder and grind down our stumps so I can finally put in dirt and mulch and a dwarf evergreen tree!
Well, it's 830 and savannah is still sleeping, the house needs a good cleanup and the chickens need feeding, so that is my que to leave! Have a nice day!
Also, my chickens have become sort of a puzzle to me. After the winter broke, they started laying eggs. I was getting around 3-5 a day, which is great for us. But for the past couple weeks, I haven't gotten anything. It has been a total stand still. I have been adding whey to their water for extra protein, giving them soured milk curds for a healthy snack, they get their layer feed, and also free range time in an enclosed moveable tractor. I don't get it!
Anyways, I have at least gotten ahead on our garden. Since we are taking part at the Mccracken Farms CSA this year, I am only going to do a small farm that we get the real expensive groceries from. I am mainly sticking to tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, strawberries, peas, garlic, watermelon, and a few other things like zucchini and yellow squash that aren't really expensive but we use so much of it that it's worth planting. I also have raspberries that are wild that grow huge berries and there have always been an abundance of them as well, usually about 3 gallons worth. I am thinking about going and getting some pepper plants, those are the only thing I didn't do this year, I'm just running out of room!
I have also been "thrift" shopping for flowers this spring and have had some huge scores with that! I went to lowes and went back on the clearance rack and found salvia plants $1, dianthus for $1, lobelia $1, lavendar $1, and a hanging
basket of strawberries for $5. I was thinking about going to the garden factory and pricing out how much some more flowers would be for the front! We are also waiting on someone to come with a stump grinder and grind down our stumps so I can finally put in dirt and mulch and a dwarf evergreen tree!
Well, it's 830 and savannah is still sleeping, the house needs a good cleanup and the chickens need feeding, so that is my que to leave! Have a nice day!
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Almond Peanut butter bites
Well, this recipe is a variation of the recipe I have linked to my meal planning post this week. I really love these little snacks, they are super tasty and healthy!! Right now, almond butter is out of our price range but all natural peanut butter is not, and thank you Trader Joes for making it affordable!
I use the same quantity of ingredients as the almond butter bites in the other recipe, I just sub the almond butter for peanut butter. I realize that peanut butter isn't paleo, but hey, we all can't be perfect.
 |
| Almond Peanut Butter Bites |
1 cup almond meal or flour (i used almond meal)
1/2 cup peanut butter, warmed
1/3 cup honey
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, cranberries, or raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
In a saucepan, or microwave, combine all of the coconut oil, honey and peanut butter. Warm those ingredients until melted and smooth. Add in vanilla. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the almond meal, coconut flakes, flax, and chocolate chips, and mix. Add in wet ingredients into dry and mix until all incorporated.
Refrigerate for 1 hour or until well chilled. Roll into balls and serve. I put mine in wax paper and into a container and put back into the fridge for the night and we had them the next afternoon for a snack. This recipe made about 20 balls and all were gone in a few hours. Enjoy!
1/2 cup peanut butter, warmed
1/3 cup honey
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, cranberries, or raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
In a saucepan, or microwave, combine all of the coconut oil, honey and peanut butter. Warm those ingredients until melted and smooth. Add in vanilla. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the almond meal, coconut flakes, flax, and chocolate chips, and mix. Add in wet ingredients into dry and mix until all incorporated.
Refrigerate for 1 hour or until well chilled. Roll into balls and serve. I put mine in wax paper and into a container and put back into the fridge for the night and we had them the next afternoon for a snack. This recipe made about 20 balls and all were gone in a few hours. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Orange and vinegar all purpose cleaner
I love my all purpose cleaner.....BUT, sometimes the smell of tea tree gets a but redundant and I just need something new and fresh! I have done some research and found a new recipe for an all purpose cleaner! Well we all know just how great vinegar is for cleaning, but yuck.. I hate the smell of vinegar!!! So, to get the same cleaning effect without the smell of vinegar, add orange peels! In a large mason jar, add your orange peels, I usually use the peels from between 5-8 oranges. Depends on the size of the oranges, just use what you think works for you. Completely cover the orange peels with good ol' white vinegar and close the jar. Every couple days, you should shake the jar just to make sure that you incorporate all the oils that come out of the peels. In about two weeks time you will have a very citrusy-yummy-sweet all purpose cleaner! Just strain the peels out of the jar and the vinegar into a spray bottle, then enjoy!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Meal Planning
Hey everyone! It has been a few weeks since I have posted anything, and if I have any followers at all, sorry about that! It has been a very hectic house lately! And on top of double duty of chores and potty training x2, one of our chickens isnt doing so well the last few days and I have been closely monitoring her condition and trying to figure out what is going on. Today she was doing much better but still not 100%.
Well, with all that said, last week was my first week of meal planning and meal budgeting. So far it has gone really well. We are day 5 into week 1 and only have gotten off track one day. I just finished working on week two and I thought I should share with you what our meal plan was. Now, we have been on the Paleo diet, the first two months was pretty strict, then we slowly started to introduce some carbs back in due to finances. I hate saying that we had to because of money, but seriously coconut flour , coconut flakes, and almond meal adds up!! You can tell that most of our meals are Paleo and we only are diverting from the diet only a few meals in the week. I will attach the recipes I have found from other blogs to my post so that you can get some of the awesome healthy goodness as well!
Sunday
Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal with raisins Baked Oatmeal (but replace sugar with honey or maple syrup)
Snack: Hard Boiled eggs and carrot sticks
Lunch: Garden salad with avocado and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Snack: Almond Snack Bites Almond Snack Bites
Dinner: Grilled chicken with sautéed peppers, mushrooms and onions
Monday
Breakfast: Fried eggs with a fruit salad
Snack: almond snack bites
Lunch: Sliced apple and cheddar cheese with a hard boiled egg
Snack: greek yogurt with maple syrup and paleo granola Paleo Granola
Dinner: Paleo Orange Chicken over quinoa Paleo Orange Chicken
Tuesday
Breakfast: overnight oatmeal in a jar with fruit and chia seeds Overnight Oats Mason Jars
Lunch: Quiche and fresh fruit Paleo Quiche
Snack: hummus and veggies
Dinner: Omelette burger with homemade fries Omelette Burger
Well, with all that said, last week was my first week of meal planning and meal budgeting. So far it has gone really well. We are day 5 into week 1 and only have gotten off track one day. I just finished working on week two and I thought I should share with you what our meal plan was. Now, we have been on the Paleo diet, the first two months was pretty strict, then we slowly started to introduce some carbs back in due to finances. I hate saying that we had to because of money, but seriously coconut flour , coconut flakes, and almond meal adds up!! You can tell that most of our meals are Paleo and we only are diverting from the diet only a few meals in the week. I will attach the recipes I have found from other blogs to my post so that you can get some of the awesome healthy goodness as well!
Sunday
Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal with raisins Baked Oatmeal (but replace sugar with honey or maple syrup)
Snack: Hard Boiled eggs and carrot sticks
Lunch: Garden salad with avocado and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Snack: Almond Snack Bites Almond Snack Bites
Dinner: Grilled chicken with sautéed peppers, mushrooms and onions
Monday
Breakfast: Fried eggs with a fruit salad
Snack: almond snack bites
Lunch: Sliced apple and cheddar cheese with a hard boiled egg
Snack: greek yogurt with maple syrup and paleo granola Paleo Granola
Dinner: Paleo Orange Chicken over quinoa Paleo Orange Chicken
Tuesday
Breakfast: overnight oatmeal in a jar with fruit and chia seeds Overnight Oats Mason Jars
Lunch: Quiche and fresh fruit Paleo Quiche
Snack: hummus and veggies
Dinner: Omelette burger with homemade fries Omelette Burger
Wednesday
Breakfast: Quiche (again I will post the link) Paleo Quiche
Snack: dried fruit (apples, bananas, and pineapple) and almonds
Lunch: Quinoa mac and cheese’ Quinoa Mac and Cheese
Snack: avocado with almonds and goat cheese
Dinner: Chicken Kabobs with garden salad
Thursday
Snack: dried fruit (apples, bananas, and pineapple) and almonds
Lunch: Quinoa mac and cheese’ Quinoa Mac and Cheese
Snack: avocado with almonds and goat cheese
Dinner: Chicken Kabobs with garden salad
Thursday
Breakfast: greek yogurt with granola
Snack: fruit smoothie
Lunch: Spicy buffalo meatballs made with ground chicken and celery Buffalo Meatballs
snack: left over kabobs
Dinner: Pulled pork bbq on sourdough rolls with baked beans Overnight Crockpot Pulled Pork
Friday
Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal
Snack: Peanut butter and Chocolate smoothie (1 avocado, 1 banana, 1/2 cup PB, 2 cups chocolate almond milk, 1 cup ice cubes, 2 tbls honey, 1 handful of fresh kale or spinach)
Lunch: Apple with cheddar cheese slices and hard boiled eggs
Snack: almond bites
Dinner: Meatloaf and veggies
Saturday
Breakfast: Fresh fruit salad and hard boiled eggs
Snack: Carrot, celery and pepper sticks with hummus
Lunch: Left over meatloaf
Snack: Apple and cheese
Dinner: Chicken and quinoa soup Chicken Soup
Snack: fruit smoothie
Lunch: Spicy buffalo meatballs made with ground chicken and celery Buffalo Meatballs
snack: left over kabobs
Dinner: Pulled pork bbq on sourdough rolls with baked beans Overnight Crockpot Pulled Pork
Friday
Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal
Snack: Peanut butter and Chocolate smoothie (1 avocado, 1 banana, 1/2 cup PB, 2 cups chocolate almond milk, 1 cup ice cubes, 2 tbls honey, 1 handful of fresh kale or spinach)
Lunch: Apple with cheddar cheese slices and hard boiled eggs
Snack: almond bites
Dinner: Meatloaf and veggies
Saturday
Breakfast: Fresh fruit salad and hard boiled eggs
Snack: Carrot, celery and pepper sticks with hummus
Lunch: Left over meatloaf
Snack: Apple and cheese
Dinner: Chicken and quinoa soup Chicken Soup
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Salt dough/play dough
Tomorrow is playgroup, and I was asked to bring a project for the younger kids to do while the older kids did something different. Immediately, salt dough came to mind. Salt dough is cheap, it's easy, it's non toxic, and it doesn't limit their imagination! So here is my recipe for making salt dough!
1 cup salt
1 cup water
2 cups all purpose flour
Food coloring (optional)
Place salt, water, and flour in a bowl and stir until well incorporated. Should be a thick dough like consistency, but who hasn't played with play dough at some point in their life and knows what it looks and feels like, am I right?!
I separated the dough into several small balls and places in ziploc bags, then added food coloring to bags. I was really trying to keep my hands as clean as possible, and quickly found out that the kneading color into the dough inside the bags won't work. So, with your hands, work in all the coloring to your hearts desire!
I then added it back into the ziplocs for storage. Hope the kids have fun with it tomorrow, or I might if they don't!
1 cup salt
1 cup water
2 cups all purpose flour
Food coloring (optional)
Place salt, water, and flour in a bowl and stir until well incorporated. Should be a thick dough like consistency, but who hasn't played with play dough at some point in their life and knows what it looks and feels like, am I right?!
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