Shamrock Plant

I like plants.  One of the places where I volunteer gave me this Shamrock Plant last week (the sassy red vase was a Wedding Shower gift... still love it, Melinda).  Isn't that shamrock cute... in a plant sort of way???

 This is how she looks at night...

she folds her leaves of three in for a nice sleep.  Smart plant.

Something that makes life easier... Crock Pot on a Timer Edition

Every now and then I post a picture of something that makes life a little easier around here. It's no rocket science, just some things that I've picked up along the way. :)

A few years ago I was at my friends house and noticed her crock pot.  It was really fancy.  It had low heat, high heat, keep warm options AND it had a timer.  I thought that was incredible and would have loved to have had one, but couldn't see a reason to spend the money when my 2 function (3 if you include - OFF) pot worked just fine.  The timer on that crock pot was what really got me excited.  I loved the thought of leaving the house in the morning and having my supper turn itself on and/or off, if needed.  

Last year I was planning a lunch where I needed my crock pot to come on at 3 or 4 or in the morning.  I am not a big fan of getting up in the night so I was trying to figure a way out of that... then I thought of our lamp timer.... you know, the thing you plug into your lamp when your on vacation so it gives the illusion that you are home when you're really not???!!  I got it out to test it with my crock pot and sure enough, it worked.


Here's what it looks like (It's actually plugged in upside down in this outlet.  Go ahead, tilt your head so you can get a good look.)...

All you have to do is set the approximate time on the turn dial in the middle.  Set your blue peg to what time you want your crock pot to turn on and the red one to when you want it to turn off (I didn't set the red one here for the right time because I was going to be home to turn it off).  Then load your crock pot (Crock Pot Enchilada's pictured here)...



And turn the crock pot dial to your desired setting...

Works like a charm!  :)  Give it a try!

Menu Plan - Spring Break Week!

It feels like spring out there!!!  Just in time for spring break week!  :)  We are looking forward to a break from our schedule.  Here's what we'll be eating...

MONDAY
Meatloaf, Green Beans, Grilled Potatoes, Fruit

TUESDAY
Small Group Night - Bring BBQ Meatballs

WEDNESDAY
Chicken Salad on Deli Thins, Chips, Fruit

THURSDAY
Dillon's Salad Bar Night

FRIDAY
Grilled Pizza (with chicken, bacon, tomato & basil)

SATURDAY
Chicken Fried Steak, Roasted Carrots & Potatoes, Fruit

SUNDAY
Angel Chicken with Noodles, Green Beans, Fruit

Five 4 Friday

1. TP Update... In regards to my Facebook status earlier in the week...

Aldi's TP (had to get some in a pinch today) is no substitute for Cottonelle ... but one step up from the Walgreens Big Roll that I grew up with.

After using the same roll for 3 days and still having at least another 3 days left on the roll, I must say I'm quite impressed with its longevity despite the raw buns around here.  Eric would die if he knew I were considering such a change... better get back to Cottonelle for our marriage!  :)

2.  When you think something positive about your spouse, say it!

3.  My favorite water cup right now.

Do you all have a favorite drinking cup???  I switch between this one and a glass green one.

4.  I really want to get Cole potty trained soon.  I need motivation... maybe I should reward myself with a prize for completing such a daunting task.  After all, I should have a few bucks from not buying diapers every couple weeks.  Yep, I think a prize is in order.

5.  It's about time for the great seasonal drawer/closet shift for the kiddos.  Bring it, Spring!

Ease Up Ladies...

I do life with a journal in one hand and a black pen in the other.  My pen of choice right now is one my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas... the green uni JETSREAM 1.0.... doesn't it just sound amazing???

I love to write.

Most of what I write is for myself.  It's how I process through whatever my thoughts and my circumstances may be.  I have stacks of journals that I'm sure someday, after I'm long gone my children will have a desire to flip through... because of that, I find myself scribbling little notes to them along the way.  For instance, this past January I was having an "intense" season of parenting.  Those of you with children know what I'm talking about... I was journaling about it like crazy when I got to thinking that Sadie and Cole might someday read those words... so I quickly penned...

Sadie & Cole
Just in case you are reading this someday, these difficult days of training and raising you are worth it!  I love you both deeply and am so thankful that God has entrusted you to my care for these years.  I'm proud of you.  Love you forever -
Mommy

Recently I journaled on a topic that I've been considering for several years (one I want Sadie to grasp long before she gets where I'm at today), but haven't managed to get from my head and my heart onto paper.  It's something I feel deeply about for women and something I didn't notice until I became a mother, but I know the issue was a reality even in my teen years, just on a different "level."  I'm just going to throw my journal entry on here... it's far from perfect or organized, but it's raw... and I think that's what God sometimes uses the most.

I started noticing something about women shortly after I began staying home with Sadie.  I'm not sure if I was too naive to notice it before or if the season of motherhood thrust me into this realization.  Women are hard on each other.  Really hard.  We should totally be in the same corner with each other, but all too often we are entertaining judgmental thoughts about each other.  It has to stem back to our own insecurities.  We all fight the urge to be better at something than someone else.  We can't stand the competition... and if we can't be better, we get bitter and bad mouth...

On ridiculous issues....
- how their children behave
- how their money is spent
- to cloth diaper or use Pampers
- what foods they feed their families
- how she treats her husband/how her husband treats her
- her appearance - Can you believe she is wearing that???
Etc. Etc. Etc... I could make other lists on women in the career world, for girls in middle school/high school.  It's a real issue for women/girls everywhere you turn.

We've gotta get over ourselves and our own insecurities and onto what Jesus has called us to!  It's high time we find ourselves in the same corner as one another genuinely encouraging, supporting and praying for each other.

It's time we dealt with our junk... lay it down in it's entirety at the feet of Jesus.
It's time we found contentment in who God made us to be... in our own uniqueness.
It's time for our measuring stick to only be measuring ourselves.

Galatians 5:26 says - We will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse.  We have far more interesting things to do with our lives.  Each of us is an original.

We are robbing ourselves of some of the deepest relationships that God wants to give us because of our rotten, judgmental attitudes toward one another.  It's time to let it go and really live.

Got it memorized - onto the next... Galatians 5:26

I have really been struggling with memorizing the March 1st verse I chose... even in it's shortness.  Finally I made some motions for it this morning (I am such an early childhood teacher)... usually if I can get motions for the first couple words, I'm golden.  Here it is from memory....

Job 42:2
I know that you can do all things, no plan of yours can be thwarted.  :) (emphasis mine)

I'm going to be working on Galatians 5:26 for the next couple weeks.  Normally I memorize from NIV... no particular reason other than that's what I'm used to, but I'm going to memorize this from The Message.  I really like the wording and I'll probably refer back to this verse in a future post.  Galatians 5:26 says...

We will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse.  We have far more interesting things to do with our lives.  Each of us in an original.

Menu Plan - My Kitchen's a Mess

I may try to keep up on my Menu Plan, but I sure don't have it all together!  This is what happens when you ignore your dishes for nearly 24 hours.

Dishes, anyone???

I don't want to ever paint a picture around here that everything is perfect.  Far.from.it!  :)  We have messes that we are constantly after - toy messes - kitchen messes - table messes - relationship messes.  Life is always about picking up (get it... picking up... heehee:) where you are, living in grace, adjusting life and moving ahead.

Speaking of grace... do you know that I managed to go a whole week without a menu plan.  I'm not sure what we ate - we didn't eat out but a couple times - and we all seemed to live!  Miracles never cease.  With that being said, here's this week's menu (I'm gonna try to do better.... really.).

MONDAY
Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup, Corn Bread, Fruit

TUESDAY
Small Group - I'm making Bean & Cheese Quesadillas

WEDNESDAY
Tacos, Chips with Guac, Fruit

THURSDAY
Tomato Bisque Soup, Grilled Cheese on Homemade Bread, Fruit

FRIDAY
Grilled Pizza, Fruit

SATURDAY
Pasta Salad with Chicken

SUNDAY
Slow Cooker Enchiladas, Chips with Salsa

I did manage to plan my menu for the next couple weeks so I can do my BIG grocery shopping on Tuesday.  I haven't managed to plan two weeks at a time since before Christmas and I think I need to get back in that habit.  I seem to do better keeping to the grocery budget when I do big shopping twice a month instead of weekly.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!  And if you have a mess to deal with... take it moment by moment!  :)  Jesus bless you!

Where's Waldo... or Sadie

Sadie loves stuffed animals.  Every now and then I go through and ask her to pick a couple of them that could go to a new kiddo... this is painful for her.  She has names for most of them and attachments to them... there are a few that I seem to be attached to also.  Weird how we get attached to things like that even as adults (or maybe I have more issues than I thought).

Usually these critters are stored in her baby cradle, but a couple days this week she insisted on lining them up on her bed after making it.  :)  She wanted me to take a picture of them... and of course, it wouldn't complete without her in the mix!

Where's Sadie?

Emotion Results & Reflections

Thought it would be fun to share the colors Sadie and I chose for the emotions from this post. 

Here are my colors (you may need to click on the picture to read the emotion).... I colored them when she wasn't near me so that she wouldn't be swayed by what I chose.

Kristen's colors.

Sadie and I only had a couple colors that matched, but many of the shades were similar.  Here are her colors...

Sadie's colors.

This was a good exercise for us... the scared, sad and nervous colors gave us a chance to talk a little bit about school.  We talked about how it's normal to feel that way when you are away from mommy and daddy sometimes, and reinforced that she is safe and we will be back to get her!

I like how she colored happy, sleepy and peaceful all the same color... that made sense to me.  :)

My favorite quote as she was painting peaceful blue... "I feel peaceful right now."  Paintbrush in hand.  One on one time with momma... peace.  :)

Job 42:2

Could someone please tell me how March happened???  I am dumbfounded.  Tomorrow is my husband's 32nd Birthday and I am not nearly as prepared as I should be!  Must get myself together!

Since I'm realizing that it is March, I better post what I'm working to memorize right now.

I thought I was going to be working on Ephesians 3:20, but I think I'm going to memorize Job 42:2, instead.  Pastor Andy shared this verse this past weekend as we kicked off our series on the Trinity, specifically focusing on God the Father.  The point was that God is omnipotent, or all powerful.  Job 42:2 reads...

I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

I love knowing that on my best and worst of days I can trust the heart of God.  He sees.  He knows.  He can.

Do your pants hang low???

This is what happens when your buns aren't big enough for your britches...

One would think he would at least try to pull them up every now and then, BUT he doesn't seem to care... why pull up your pants when you can be playing outside???

Dirt and stuff...

Today is the first day in 2011 that I have dirt under my fingernails... and it won't be the last!!!  I am so excited!!!

I spent the afternoon digging in the dirt and cleaning off mulch looking to see what kind of perennials we have inherited.  I found some green hiding under there!!! One of my 30 B4 30 goals was to plant perennials at our new house, but I'm not sure that I will need to plant much, if any.  The woman who lived here before did a lot of landscaping and I'm excited to see what grows in the next few months.

Last fall (before we moved) I made a list of vegetables I wanted to grow this year and a plan for a sunflower hut for the kids to play in... doesn't that sound wonderfully fun???  Earlier in the week I drew my picture of where everything would go.  I also checked my compost for the first time since fall... it's ready!  I'm ready.  Bring it spring.