Snap Shots of January

Here are some pictures from my phone I took the month of January (that I didn't share on Instagram!) 

On New Year's Day we went to CLV and Allie found this little ducky in the toy container.  She fell in love with it, we switched out its old batteries, and now she sleeps with it every night (and usually carries it with her during the day.)

She's so pretty when she sleeps!

I updated both of my chalkboards with designs I saw both on Pinterest.  Kevin saw the first one when he got home from work and said, "You dare so loved?" And I rolled my eyes and said, "You ARE so loved!" And now the chalkboard is forever ruined to me. 

Kevin and I both had headaches and stomach aches one day this month.  As soon and he felt better I felt worse.  He offered to go to the store to grab some groceries and came back with some pretty roses.  They lasted a whole week!

Harry has been doing anything for attention these days.  His favorite thing is when I start to meal prep, he sits in the dishes and bowls.  He always hisses at me when I make him move.  Dern cat!

Kevin gets lots of pictures like this while he's working.  The kids love sending him videos too.

All this cold weather killed my van battery.  Kevin had to work several days in a row, so my dad came over and changed it out for me (in the rain I might add). I made him one of his favorite snacks as a way to say thanks!

We had dinner at Mr. Gatti's with friends. The kids loved watching tv while eating their pizza, then playing games and earning tickets.  Austin loved putting the coin in the machines!  

Twice this month I caught Krissy with a spoonful of peanut butter.  I didn't object because I knew it was a good snack.

Charlie is definitely bigger than Harry!

We went to Rural King (to get the chickens a heated water container) and fell in love with two baby bunnies.  I really don't want anything else to take care of, but I almost threw any hesitation to the wind and said yes.  Thankfully Kevin was with us and said no! Maybe one day! Look at that fuzzy black and white one! #hearteyes

Three musketeers!

It's true Charlie... I love you!

The chickens were not a fan of all the snow we got this month!  The head hen, Sandy, was the only one that braved the snow.  She kept kicking snow off her rock.  The others kept watching from the coop.  They surprisingly had great egg production during all the snow!  We have still been getting 6-8 eggs a day!  We also turned off their heat lamp this month (we were worried about a coop fire) and thought that would make our egg production plummet, but it didn't!  

I made Valentine cookies.  They are a harder cookie with hard icing.  I love them and so do the kids but Kevin hates them.  I shared with 5 different people so I wasn't tempted to eat them all myself.

Charlie sits on my legs every night when the kids go to bed.  I look forward to this way more than I should.  #crazycatladyalert

We've LOVED having Kevin on day shift.  He's been running errands and grocery shopping with us and he noticed Austin was building a tower in our shopping cart.  We both laughed because Hayden use to do this too!

Another perk of day shift is we can go on dates just about any night we want!  Kevin got off of work and we headed out for the evening.  He always requests I wear a hat or something in my hair (which I don't normally do) so I had to take a picture to commemorate!

I bought new leggings that Krissy used as arm warmers!

Hayden and Allie made "snow babies" with our second round of snow.  They wanted to constantly go out and check on them.  Made me laugh.

Because he's so cute...

Krissy wearing Allies shirt and my slippers.

Austin snuck in the cupcakes I made and was pretty proud of himself!

I surprised Kevin with his favorite cookies to share with his bible study group.

When Kevin isn't home to wrestle with the kids, Hayden happily takes over!

One of my best friends was in town and we had a girls night.  She ordered a piña colada at our first stop (Hacienda).  I'd never had one so I tried hers. Yummy!  I'm not much of a drinker but this sure was good!

And yesterday, the last day of the month, I decided to end it with a bang... Or I guess a cut. I gave myself bangs!  I sent this pic to my sis and mom to get a feeler for what they thought.  They both (and my dad) gave me good feedback!  Allie told me, "You're a new woman," and Kevin liked it too!  Krissy and Allie both asked if I'd cut theirs.  :) (which I have no plans to do!)

Goodbye January!  I LOVE the month of February and can't wait to enjoy all the Valentine festivities!

*Light* Chocolate Muffins

I've been on the hunt for some healthy recipes to add to my huge list of not-so-healthy recipes.  And with any new recipe, I keep my expectations low.

Muffins are my favorite breakfast food, hands down, no question about it.  Unfortunately all my favorite muffins recipes are full of oil, butter, and/or sugar.  When I stumbled on this "healthy" chocolate muffin, I was skeptical.  The writer mentioned how her kids gobble them up every time she makes them, so I thought they were worth trying.

The muffins baked beautifully and had a great muffin-like consistency (another thing that's usually lacking with healthy muffins).  My kids tried them first while I was working on getting Hayden ready for school.  Before I had a chance to sit down, plates were clean and the kids were asking for more.  I was thinking, "Could they really be as good as they look?!"  And the answer is yes, yes, yes! I was so impressed with these!  My first bite was sweet and chocolatey!  I loved the gooey chocolate chips scattered with in it!  This is definitely a guilt-free recipe worth keeping and making!  I can also see these being served warm with ice cream and berries for dessert.  YUM!  That's what I may do with the leftovers! :)

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 C greek yogurt (I used Chobani vanilla)

1 C unsweetened applesauce

1/2 C raw honey

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1 3/4 C whole wheat flour

1/3 C cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Drizzle:

3 Tbsp chocolate chips

1 Tbsp coconut oil 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*.

Mix the first 5 ingredients together.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Don't over mix.  Line muffin pans with foil liners (the Reynolds ones are my favorite) and fill cups.  I made 18 muffins with the recipe.  Bake 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. 

While muffins are cooling, mix the chocolate chips and coconut oil together and microwave.  Drizzle on top of muffins!  Enjoy friends! 

Source: http://ifoodreal.com/clean-eating-chocolate-muffins/

Hayden's Day Out

Back in December, I came up with gift ideas for the kids for several people.  I was beginning to realize we were going to end up with a house full of new gifts and it was a bit overwhelming!  So, when my mom asked for gift ideas for the kids, I decided to do something different.  I picked out 4 different places for her to get gift cards.  Hayden - Vertical Escape (rock climbing), Allie - Swonder (ice skating), Krissy - Sky Zone (indoor trampoline), & Austin - Chuck E Cheese.  I planned for Kevin and I to take each kiddo out for some "only child" time 😀  The kids were excited to get the gift cards, it doesn't add any more stuff to our house, and the kids will love the time out with us - talk about a win/win/win!

Hayden got to spend his gift card first!  We went yesterday after school.  None of us had ever been to this place, so we were all looking forward to it!  We watched our beginner video, got our shoes and harness on, and off we went!

We know for next time, we should wear clothes that are more light weight/workout clothes - not jeans!  The three of us stuck out like a sore thumb, but everyone was very nice and helpful and not judgemental at all.  It was a little weird being all the way at the top, and letting go.  They actually tell you to just let your hands go and pretend like you're sitting down, but keep your legs straight. You know the rope will catch you, but it's a mind over matter thing when you're that high up!  Hayden preferred to climb up then climb down.  He wasn't trusting the ropes.  But he had a great time and can't wait to go back!

Kevin's parents had given Hayden a gift card to Dairy Queen for his straight A report card this last semester.  He decided he wanted DQ for dinner so we headed there after rock climbing!

Once we ate we got ice cream.  I was freezing, so I put my hood on.  I was still cold so Kevin gave me his jacket.  Both boys were laughing at me and Hayden decided I needed his jacket too.  Once they took their goofy picture I gave Hayden his jacket back!  

We had a great night and I can't wait for our next three times out with the other kids!

Sausage/Potato/Pepper Hash

I've got another healthy and delicious recipe to share with you.  And the best part - it's simple and comes together so quickly!

I found the recipe on Pinterest and the recipe can be found at http://www.thetwobiteclub.com/2014/05/kielbasa-pepper-onion-and-potato-hash.html?m=1

Ingredients:

• 1 (14 ounce) package turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 sweet onion, chopped (I used my pampered chef chopper to get tiny pieces)
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. In a heavy bottomed skillet (I use my cast iron), heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the potatoes to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Fry until golden brown and cooked through, around 10 minutes, stirring a few times to ensure even browning.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. In a separate skillet (another cast iron skillet), brown the sliced kielbasa for around 5 minutes in 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat.  Remove the kielbasa from the pan and set aside. Add the peppers and onions to the skillet and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook for 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.  
3. Add the cooked potatoes and kielbasa to the skillet with the onions and peppers and mix everything together.  Serve nice and hot!

Another huge hit with my family!  Three of the four kids were eating the bell peppers and no one even noticed the onion in it!  Kevin said we should eat this meal on the regular and couldn't believe it was considered a healthy meal.  I loved it too! Hope you enjoy!

Giveaway!

Last month I participated in an online bible study as we read through the New York Times Bestselling book Unglued.  It's written by one of my favorite authors, Lysa Terkeurst.

Kevin had bought me a couple books at the end of 2014 and this book happened to be one of them.  I misplaced it and when it came time to start the online bible study last month, I couldn't find my book - so I went and bought a new one.  Yesterday I found the brand new, long lost book, and instead of putting it in my donate bag, I wanted to share it with one of you!  

I highlighted my way through the book and took away several great points!! I hope one of you can enjoy it too!  To enter, just leave me a comment.  I'll leave the giveaway open for a week, and I'll send the winner the book in the mail!  

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

We've been eating lots of soup at our house to stay warm!  One recipe I made last week called for bay leaf and after having no luck locating it at Walmart or Schnucks, Kevin ended up at Fresh Market.  He found them and bought me two packs... or about 20 leaves.  (Sidenote: bay leaf is with the spices, not the fresh produce, and I'm sure every store has it; you just have to know where to look!). And well, most of my recipes call for one or two leaves... So I'm trying to use them up!

This chicken noodle was the best I've ever made.  It was full of flavor, and I didn't even notice the onion and celery once it was all cooked.  Don't be afraid to try new things!  Between bites, Kevin kept giving me lots of positive feedback saying: "This is amazing!", "What's in this to make it have so much flavor?", "Don't even try another chicken noodle soup!  This is the best!", "I hope you wrote down what you put in it!"... And he went back for seconds.  The kids liked it too!  I added little soup crackers to their bowls.

Ingredients:

3 fresh chicken breast, trimmed

5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

4 stalks of celery, chopped

4 cloves of garlic

3 Tbsp olive oil 

10 cups chicken broth (10 C water + 10 chicken bullion cubes)

1 cup water

3/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp sage

1/4 tsp celery seed

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste (10 cranks from a pepper mill, a sprinkle of salt - or more or less to taste.)

---------------------------------------

2 C uncooked egg noodles

1/4 fresh parsley, chopped

1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

*Crackers for serving 

In a large soup pan, add carrots, onion, celery, garlic, and chicken.  I chopped my onion and celery pretty well so I didn't have big chunks in the soup.  Drizzle olive oil on top of ingredients.  

Next add the chicken broth, water, thyme, sage, celery seed, bay leaves salt and pepper.  Turn the heat up to medium high and cover the soup pot.  Let cook for approx 45 mins stirring occasionally.  After the chicken is cooked, take out and cut into bite sized pieces.  Once cut, add back to the soup pot along with the fresh parsley, and lemon juice.  Remove bay leaves before serving. (You don't want to ever eat those in case you didn't know that.) 

Serve with soup crackers and enjoy!

Weekly Recap

We had an uneventful week getting back into the swing of things since Christmas break.  It's also been a welcomed change with Kevin working day shift.  We love having him home in the evenings and him awake and present with us all day on his days off! 

We spent New Years Day at Christmas Lake with my mom's side of the family.  They usually have their holiday get-together then because that was my Grandpa's birthday.  My kids love being there, so it was a great way to celebrate the new year, see family, and eat good food!

I made so many new recipes this week!  I've been menu planning successfully for the last month and it's allowed me to plan balanced, healthy meals!  This week I tried green beans and peas mixed in a couple of my meals.  Verdict: the green beans were rubbery and squishy and Kevin said it was just that type, so I'll have to try the regular kind.  For the peas, they were mixed in a veggie dish and I couldn't really taste them! 

And I made two new guilt-free cookie recipes!  My kids and I loved them!

I took down all our Christmas decorations this week!  The house always feels so bare, and I contemplated going ahead and putting up Valentines decorations, but decided I'd wait one more week and spend some time cleaning the house.  (I'm having such a hard time getting the house cleaned and organized since Christmas! Anyone else having that problem?)  However, I did decide to update my chalk boards!

We closed in our new mortgage loan on Wednesday.  We refinanced through ETFCU and got a 15 year loan with a rate of 2.99! Our old loan was 30 yrs with a 4.5 rate so we were so excited to make the switch!  We also switched our primary checking account to their bank and I spent many hours on the phone updating our automatic payments to different places!

We have another uneventful week planned for the coming week and those are always my favorite ☺️

2016

I saw this image on my Instagram feed and thought it was the perfect way to make some New Years goals!

2016

this is the year

I Purpose To...

Embrace:  imperfect progress!  I just finished my book "Unglued" by Lysa Terkeurst and the books talks a lot about imperfect progress.  I'm one that tends to get discouraged when things aren't "perfect" but I'm learning perfect isn't attainable and imperfect progress + grace is a much better/healthier reality!

Engage:  intentionally.  Rejoin my women's group, set up play dates, go on dates and double dates.  I need to engage with people intentionally and not be full of excuses. 

Be: a better friend. Text more frequently, plan visits whenever possible, & have more breakfast and lunch dates.

Believe:  everyday is a new, fresh start.  This means not carrying the weight of yesterday with me.  Whether that's with healthy eating, keeping the house clean, or disciplining the kids.  I love the new year and the refreshment it brings, but I can have the same attitude everyday!  Woohoo!

Break:  the negative self talk.  This is something I really struggle with.  But I'm aware and have gotten better about it.  I try to redirect my thoughts with biblical truth.

Daily:  spend time with the Lord - reading my bible, watching old sermons, listening to Focus On The Family... It all helps keep life in focus.

Do:  more... reading, blogging, picture taking, crafting, budgeting, and menu planning - and only because I enjoy all those things (or the results of those things - like budgeting and menu planning!)

Let Go:  of people pleasing. Anyone else do this?  I say yes to people when I want to say no.  I don't speak up when I should.  So it's time to speak up, let go, be honest and move on. 

Learn:  to quilt. I need to start small but I don't have a habit of doing anything small. I love going all out. But I think that's why this has been on my yearly goal list for a couple years and I haven't been able to cross it off! 

Live:  in faith not fear.  We have an exciting year ahead of us (vacation, Allie starting school just to name a couple) and I don't want to let fear hold me back from experiencing the best!

Give:  up screen time for more face time... Especially while the kids are awake!  Just about everyone I know is guilty of spending too much time with their noses in their phones. And I'm no exception.  I want to be better about not keeping my phone attached to my hip all day, everyday, especially when interacting with family and friends.

Grow:  a savings account. We have plans to open a Christmas club account just to get the ball rolling on saving weekly.  A couple weeks ago we made some changes to our primary banking branch and we are refinancing our house.  I'm hoping these changes will be positive for our finances!