Julie B Green

Valentine Slacker

2012-02-14T11:33:00.001-06:00

I have been a serious slacker in the Valentine department this year. We did a few crafts earlier in the month and that was it. I didn't decorate my wreath or my house. I even wrote out Ethan's Valentine cards. His teacher never sent home a list, so he spelled all of the weird names for me and I wrote them for him while he was at basketball practice. Kids have some weird names and even stranger spellings. I did help Ellie make a fab mod podge tissue paper covered box but I didn't even take a picture of it.

I am the homeroom mom for Ellie's class. We are doing quite possibly the lamest craft ever. The kids will put their picture sticker (aka the picture they use if you are a missing kid) on a paper doily and decorate it with glitter. That's it. Some other more enthusiastic mother is bringing cookies for them to decorate. I am the stick in the mud that insisted all the other snacks be healthy. The last thing I want is my kids coming home pumped full of candy and sugar.

Dale and I already celebrated last weekend by going to the ballet and out to dinner with friends so tonight we're having a normal dinner. Regan spent yesterday throwing up and I spent it attempting to get caught up on all of the bodily fluid laundry. My dad visited this last weekend and in the whirlwind of everything that was going on I got all off schedule and now I'm catching up on my routines. The difference between now and say just a year ago is that I'm not stressed out about getting back on track and getting things clean. I cannot begin to express my gratitude towards the FlyLady.

What am I really looking forward to this Valentine's Day? The clearance section at Hobby Lobby. I just want some bad ass decorations at 90% off. Maybe next year I will have the house perfectly decorated and we'll make handmade Valentine's...maybe.

Ten on Ten: February 2012

2012-02-11T14:05:00.000-06:00

Every month I can't believe its the tenth again. Time flies when you've got four kids I guess. While I would have love to have posted these on the tenth, my dad came to town and we've all been catching up. If you haven't linked up with Rebekah before, make sure to join in next month. Go check out A Bit of Sunshine to see the other entries.

8am- Holding Hands

9am- Sick and Sleeping

10am- Finally dressed and dancing silly

11am- Conversing with a Gorilla

12pm- Chick-fil-A Lunch

1pm- Baseball

2pm- Book Sleeping

3pm- Grandpa is here with his Treasure

4pm- Laundry Detergent in the works

5pm- Quiet Slide, its too cold to play.

Homemade Hamburger Helper

2012-02-10T07:56:00.000-06:00

Well you could call it goulash but whatever you call it, its good and its pretty good for you. Especially if you sneak in some veggies. Which of course I do! Here's what you need to make a fast and tasty meal that your kids will eat up.

Julie's Homemade Hamburger Helper- Chili Mac

Ingredients:
One box of Mac and Cheese (I use Annie's Organic Mac and Cheese)
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of chili beans
Sneaky vegetables
Ground Beef, about 1 lb

What to do:

Start by cooking the pasta according to package directions minus 1 minute. When you combine everything later the pasta will finish cooking.
If you haven't pre-cooked and frozen your meat, brown your meat.
Once the pasta and meat are done, combine all ingredients and simmer over Medium low heat for about 5-10 minutes.

There you go! Easy peasy and delicious meal in about 15 minutes. You can even top it with shredded cheese if you like. The kids will never even know that you added those Sneaky Vegetables and they will give it some nice flavor.

Paired with Monterey Jack cheese and Tortilla Chips.

Sneaky Vegetables

2012-02-09T10:48:00.000-06:00

I'm rather lucky in that my kids will eat most anything. They each have their own little dislikes, but they all eat salads and vegetables. So why sneak in more veggies? Why not? If I can add more nutrition and in most cases more taste to my meals without compromising the good thing I've got going I'm all for it.

Lets take onions. You could read more about there nutritional value here. Take my word, they are good for you. For a kid though, they can be a texture issue, or the taste is too intense. So what is a mom to do? Keep reading, we'll do this together.

Lightly chop one onion and one each of red, green and yellow bell peppers. Saute them together with a spoonful of butter, garlic powder, season salt, pepper, all to taste. Place the mixture into a food processor or mixer and puree it. Separate the mixture into an ice cube tray and freeze. Once they are frozen you can pop them out of the ice tray and put them into a ziploc bag. Now you have Sneaky Vegetables, in an easy to use cube form.

If I make a soup, chili or homemade hamburger helper I add Sneaky Vegetables to it. Not one kid has noticed. They just eat away. You can do lots of other vegetables like mushrooms, squashes and tomatoes. Its kind of like making baby food! I'm sure someday they will catch me tossing a cube in and when it does I'll just tell them its a tasty cube, that I use to make everything taste yummy.

Buy the veggies when they are on sale...save yourself some green too!

Mom to Mom: Sick Kid Tips

2012-02-08T09:21:00.000-06:00

Jack is on the mend after a night on the couch with Mommy and the humidifier. So today while I have a few minutes to myself I thought I'd share with you my two favorite tips for taking care of sick kids and babies.

The Barfer: At some point you are going to have to deal with vomit. Thankfully I'm not dealing with that kind of sick right now. Most of the time parents give a bowl or a bucket to the kid when they are set up on the couch. Not in this house. I give them a plastic pitcher with a handle on it. The size is just right for them to put their faces in it, there is less splatter (ewww but its part of the job) and the handle makes it less likely to be dropped. Which is like not even having a bowl in the first place, totally done that. It also makes it easier to dump in the toilet.

The Stuffed Up Nose: This one is perfect for that little one that still wants the comfort of Mom or Dad but is too little to put Vicks directly on their skin. Get an old, thin t-shirt and put the Vicks Vapor Rub on your shoulders and collar/chest. Baby gets the benefit of the Vicks while you hold them without putting it on them. It works wonders. I did this with Jack last night!

Now I have to get back to my littles. Jack is on my lap, "talking" on my phone and Regan is lost in Dora land and its time for snack. Maybe the sneaky vegetable post tomorrow?

Shrimp in the Crock Pot or Wok

2012-02-07T12:18:00.001-06:00

Oh my! I really had my doubts about this one. Not only did they turn out really good, but we are going to experiment with the ingredients substituting fish, it was that tasty. Everyone ate them up. I found this recipe on A Year of Slow Cooking and she got it from The Pioneer Woman. So here's my version. Isn't that what cooking is all about? Finding a recipe and making it your own?

Ingredients:

2lbs of raw shrimp (mine were peeled and frozen, thaw before you cook them)
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1-2 T of Tabasco sauce (I used 1)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (PW uses much more and Slow Cooking uses 1 tsp)
3 lemons, juiced
1 T basil (I used the stuff from my spice rack, but by all means use fresh if you can)

What you do:

If you make this in the crock pot- combine everything and cook for about 2 hours, checking every 30 minutes. That's it.

If you make this in your wok- combine everything and cook on low for about 10-15 minutes or until done.

I've made it both ways and both were delicious. There is some major excitement over shrimp night. I served mine over brown rice that had been cooked using some of the shrimp juice. Oh my, it was delicious. I also paired it with green beans and a baguette. This recipe is a keeper.

On a personal note, I have a sick little one this week so posting will be few at best. I will also probably get sick myself, as Jack just coughed in my ear for the second time. He's already coughed in my face at least 3 times I can remember. This weekend I will be performing a one woman show of Tangled because that is his favorite movie and I don't care how many times we watch it if it makes his sick little self happy. If you haven't checked out the FlyLady you should do it. I can sit and watch Tangled all day long guilt free because my house is clean. It's a miracle I tell ya!

What's for Dinner? February Meal Plan

2012-02-04T11:03:00.002-06:00

For some reason I had a hard time creating this months meal plan. There were a few days where I just wasn't sure what to do. It's going to be a busy month with basketball playoffs. So my plan has to be pretty flexible. There are also things like our Valentine date which I scheduled Mac and Cheese, I like to make it easy on the grandparents. I also add sides according to what I have fresh on hand. If we are out of fresh I will go to a frozen or canned back up. The number represents the date of the month.

1-Pork Chops
2-Baked Potatoes
3-Shrimp
4-Roasted Chicken
5-Super Bowl, Party Food
6-Chicken Quesadillas
7-Meat Loaf
8-Potato Soup
9-Pizza
10-Chili
11-Mac and Cheese
12-Leftovers
13-Ham and Beans
14-Homemade Hamburger Helper
15-Pork Chops
16-Sandwiches and Soup
17-Shrimp
18-Spaghetti
19-Pizza
20-Roasted Chicken
21-Breakfast
22-Potato Soup
23-Chicken Quesadillas
24-Leftovers
25-Pizza
26-Pork Chops
27-Mac and Cheese
28--Chili
29-Spaghetti

This month I'll be posting recipes for Crock Pot Shrimp and my Homemade Hamburger Helper. I'll also show you how to add "Sneaky Vegetables" to meals you make. I add them in all the time. So meals like Mac and Cheese, Spaghetti and even Pizza are full of added veggies.

Triple Berry Mini Pies

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

These taste just as scrumptious as they look and they are super easy to make too! I got a little pocket maker from my mother. To be honest, at first I thought it was going to be a bunch of crap, but I love that little thing now! There are some similar ones out there, empanada makers and such, this one is pretty similar. My mother got hers at the fair. Who knew right?

Triple Berry Mini Pies:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of frozen berries, thawed
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 package of ready to roll pie crusts
1 tablespoon of melted butter plus 2 teaspoons of sugar, for brushing on crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Combine berries, sugar, flour and lemon juice.
Place small amount of mixture into dough and press closed in pocket maker. If you don't have a pocket maker, use a lid or something round to cut out circles from the dough and then fill and press closed.
Repeat process until all dough is used.
Place on baking sheet and use a knife to make slits in the top of each one.
Bake for 8 minutes and then brush with butter/sugar mixture.
Continue baking for 2 to 4 minutes until golden brown.
Let cool slightly and remove from baking sheet. You will need a spatula to remove them, they tend to leak out berry juice. You can either use parchment paper, or just run your pan under warm water after baking and it will come up rather easily with just the water.

They will be gone faster than you can get them on the plate. You will have lots of leftover berry juice. If you add vanilla yogurt to it and place it in popsicle molds you will have another yummy treat!

Epsom Salt Vanilla Mint Hand Scrub

2012-02-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Did you try some of the Brown Sugar Epsom Salt Body Scrub I made? Well here is another recipe to keep in the kitchen to make your hands extra soft and smooth. The ingredients are simple, it smells good and most importantly it works!

What you need:
Heaping 1/4 cup of Epsom Salt
1/8 cup of Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh mint (finely chopped if fresh, mine was dried)

Mix your ingredients together and enjoy. I like to use mine after I'm done doing the dishes. I like to rub it all over my hands and massage each palm and fingers, then rinse well in warm water. It takes about 2 minutes total but its a great way to sneak in some pampering and do something nice for yourself. The great thing about the olive oil is that it doesn't leave an oily residue like the Brown Sugar Scrub which works fine on your body but you don't really want on your hands. My hands work hard crafting, baking and cleaning which can leave them looking not so elegant. This restores them and helps me look fabulous, even if its just a trip to Target.

Three Cheese Breakfast Melt

2012-01-31T07:31:00.000-06:00

Martha Stewart is on my DVR list. I usually watch her in the afternoons when Jack wakes up from his nap but is still sleepy so he uses me as a human pillow. Its kind of our thing now. He hears the opening music and turns his head over and goes back to sleep. Last week we had breakfast for dinner on the menu and they happened to make a Murray's Breakfast Melt. It looked so yummy and I had all of the ingredients except the fontina cheese. So we made them my way for dinner and I got rave reviews. "Mom these are so good!' and "Dad better get here fast or we're eating his!" Some meals are meant to just be enjoyed regardless of their caloric content, this is one of them.

Julie's Three Cheese Breakfast Melt:

Ingredients:
English Muffins- 1 per melt
Eggs- 1 per melt
American Cheese- 2 slices per melt
Mozarella and Monterey Jack cheeses enough to sprinkle some on each melt
Bacon- 1 slice per melt

Recipe:
Start by frying your bacon and turn your broiler on low.
While the bacon is frying separate the English muffins and lay them out on a baking sheet (I lined mine with foil.)
When your bacon is done, set it on a paper towel to drain. Use a brush to "butter" the muffins with bacon grease. Put them in the broiler and carefully watch them brown, should take about 1-2 minutes. While they are browning start your eggs.
Start them like you would an over medium fried egg, but before you flip them (almost all of the egg white should be cooked) use a fork to break the yolk. Once you flip them sprinkle mozarella on top of the egg and turn the heat off. They will continue to cook on the bottom and the cheese will melt.
When the muffins are lightly toasted add a slice of American cheese to each side of the English muffin. Let them melt (takes just a minute) and then pull them out. Immediately place 1 piece of bacon, broken in half and placed in an X formation on one side of the muffin, sprinkle with monterey jack cheese.
Place the egg on top of the bacon/cheese and top with the other half of your muffin. Stand back and enjoy your masterpiece.

By golly these are good. Definitely a once every month or two kind of dinner, or breakfast. I'm sure there are some low cal options to this, like turkey bacon, less cheese, no bacon fat but I'll just eat this sparingly and enjoy every bite. Pair it with some fresh fruit and don't feel guilty!

New Look

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

No you're not lost, I changed my blog template. I needed something fresh and new and I love it. I began working on my posts for this week and realized I had an insane amount of food related posts. This might make readers think that all I do is eat. I wish that were the case, it takes a lot of restraint not to. My husband and kids on the other hand are given a ridiculous amount of new food to try. I blame Pinterest. I will go on there to look for something non food related and almost always come out with a new recipe. It's a good thing that amid all of the scrumptious looking food is some chick with abs of steel telling me I shouldn't quit and how its my fault if I don't work out. Point taken hot chick. So today I'll show you the really awesome stuff I got when I "went to get my haircut," a trip that should have been an hour long, but took two because I was ALONE (squeals of delight, yes I mentally shouted that while typing) and I refuse to torture myself (or my kids) by bringing my children with me to my favorite Main St. shops.

The vintage horse fabric is for Jack's birthday, which isn't until June but I know it will be horse related. There is much more than what you see pictured and while I'm not exactly sure what I'll make with it, I can't wait to hear him squeal with delight. Jack loves 3 things, horses, cars and trains. The vintage "Mrs" tea towel will be something, I'm just not sure what yet. Then my favorite fabric shop was having an open house and I got 3 fat quarters of cute fabric (on sale!) for a DIY for the next chance I get to sit at the sewing machine. I really should go out for a haircut more often!

Easy Fabric Scrap Bunting

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

I love buntings and wanted to make one just because. So I pulled a bunch of fabric scraps and cut them into strips, varying in width and length. I sewed them onto some vintage seam binding making sure to leave enough on each end to use as a tie. I decided to add some letters to it and put it in the mudroom as a welcome banner. I think it would probably be cuter with fabric letters, but I love the versatility that the reusable vinyl letters have. If I want to change the greeting I can!

Come on in!

How to turn a Cloth Napkin into a Throw Pillow

2012-01-24T11:54:00.001-06:00

I love finding sweet little vintage things and turning them into something I get to see everyday. I spied this little cloth napkin and while I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it when I got it, I couldn't pass it up. It was only a dollar so I wasn't breaking the bank either.

I didn't want to lose any of the details along the edges, so I just folded it in half right sides up and stitched along the sides. When it came to the flower details on the front I carefully and slowly stitched around them. I left a little hole for stuffing and once stuffed I hand sewed the rest. Total time was maybe 15 minutes. It always takes longer to stuff than it does to sew!

I love how it turned out.

See the stitches above the leafs? I couldn't sew through them.

Banana Pecan Pancakes Recipe

2012-01-23T13:25:00.001-06:00

Oh so decadent. Add some maple syrup and I guarantee you'll be in heaven with these. One of the meals we have at least once a month is breakfast for dinner. It's kind of like a free-be for my oldest who is not too fond of vegetables, although I've started sneaking in pureed vegetables into everything (shhh don't tell him). I normally make pancakes or banana pancakes but since the holidays are over I found that I had bought an excessive amount of pecans and dropped some in the batter this time. It was one of my best ideas ever! The kids were done eating and asking for seconds by the time I sat down with my plate.

The recipe:

1 cup of flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
1 cup of milk
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1-2 very ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup or more chopped pecans

Combine ingredients until all are incorporated, be careful not to over mix. Cook on hot griddle and enjoy.

Here they are pre-syrup. I knew once I put the syrup on I wasn't going to pause to take a pic.

Still working on a good recipe for a home made hair conditioning treatment. I'm sure it would be funny to see me with all of the goo on my hair so when I make a really good recipe, worth sharing, I'll post some good pictures of my hair covered in goo. It has been fun trying them out. Regan has given me some really amused looks, especially when I put mayonnaise in my hair. She ewwwed that recipe. I'm trying out a new one this week. We shall see. While I really enjoyed being unplugged last week, it feels good to be back.

Unplugged

2012-01-17T07:42:00.000-06:00

I'm unplugging for a few days and since I really like you I wanted you to know. I need a break from my computer. I need a few uninterrupted days without any electronics and social media. Although I might hop on Pinterest for a few minutes with no regret. So see you Friday or maybe Monday. And because I think they are adorable, here are the littles checking out our first snow.

Easy Baked Potatoes from the CrockPot

2012-01-13T08:04:00.000-06:00

Seriously one of the easiest dinners I've ever made. Before I got organized I would never make baked potatoes because I just didn't have my self together enough and I was throwing dinners together at the last minute with what I had on hand. I usually had plenty to choose from, but if it required more than 20 or so minutes it wasn't going to happen. It also really stressed my husband out that I didn't know what we were having in the morning, his mom would set out what they were having in the mornings and so it was what he was accustomed to. Whereas my mom worked a lot of overtime and I made a lot of meals for myself as I got older, just throwing them together at the last minute. While my husband has never cared what we ate for dinner, this process really caused us to talk about how our childhood influenced our expectations for everyday life. Hmm maybe a little deep for a post about Baked Potatoes? Well life is pretty deep!

Recipe adapted from Stephanie O'Dea's "A Year of Slow Cooking"

You need enough potatoes for your family, but you don't want to stack them on top of each other, which was about 7 for my Crock Pot.
Wash and take out any bad spots.
Stab your potato with a knife, but don't stab yourself because no one wants to eat bloody potatoes.
Dry thoroughly- Stephanie explained that if you don't there will be rust.
Wrap in foil and place in the Crockpot.
Bake them on Low for 10 hours or High for 6 hours. Mine were done after 9 hours on Low and I just moved my setting to warm.

They turned out perfect. I used leftover chili, cheese and cooked up some bacon for toppings. I paired it with green beans, grapes and a Baguette.

It really is the little things, or I've lost my mind

2012-01-12T10:21:00.002-06:00

I got excited over getting a stain out of my husband's shirt. After my initial "Yes!" and internal high five I gave myself an "oh my goodness what has happened to you" dirty look. I got all excited about shining my sink and mopping my floor last night. Who is this person? I'm either finding happiness in the little things or I have truly lost mind. I'm not sure which it is yet.

I'm also a potty training ninja and after several dry nights I can finally say that Regan is officially potty trained. Three down and one to go. I think I can have Jack done by the end of the year. He already tells me when he poops and will go sit on the toilet and then put some toilet paper in and flush. 2012 is the year to be diaper free!

And because I think this may be the cutest pictures ever here are my filthy kids. They got into the fire pit and covered themselves in dirt and ashes while I went to the bathroom, seriously they did this in 30 seconds. We don't have a lot of fires out there, but my husband dumps the ashes from the fireplace into the pit. On the plus side they did get an early bath and went to bed early that night. I'm sure my former self would have freaked out, but they are only kids once. Oh and because my washing machine was empty and my laundry caught up I just tossed everything in the wash, thanks FlyLady! An empty washer, another little thing or pure insanity. We did have a talk about not doing it again though because once was enough!

January 2012 Ten on Ten

2012-01-11T09:27:00.000-06:00

I fully intended on posting my Ten on Ten on the tenth, but instead we took the older kids to a skating party and by the time we got home and got everyone in bed there was no way I was plopping down at the computer! By the way, you should totally go couple skate with your husband, its fun and makes you feel like you're 15 again.

7am Best thing to wake up to.

8am Crock Pot Baked Potatoes, dinner prepped and they were really good

9am-I put Tangled on, he loves Maximus and I think he's crushing on Rapunzel

10am- Made some new play dough

11am- Still play doughing and I made a Pascal

12pm- A good book before nap. Gosh I love those Classic Golden Books

1pm- My partner in dish crime. Love looking at this while I do dishes.

2pm- Coffee time?

3pm-Awake and making music. They love this Kitty Piano

4pm- Fresh baked bread for dinner, oh gosh its yummy!

Check out other Ten on Ten posts at A Bit of Sunshine. And if you didn't do it this month get on board in February. My goal is to do it every month this year!

The Best Chicken Enchiladas

2012-01-09T10:37:00.000-06:00

My family ate these up. I'm talking the kids hovered around the pan of cheese sauce and licked it clean before the enchiladas were done baking. The recipe is fairly straightforward and the ingredients are simple. I found the recipe on Pinterest and its from a cute little blog Joyful Momma's Kitchen. This recipe is a keeper.

The Recipe:

10 Soft Taco Shells
2 cups of cooked and shredded chicken (I used the leftovers from a Roasted Chicken)
2 cups of shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used up to 2 1/2)
3 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp. Flour
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 cup of Sour Cream
1 4oz can of Diced Green Chiles

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Mix the chicken with 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Roll the mixture up in the tortillas and place in the pan. In a sauce pan, melt the butter and stir in the flour cooking 1 minute. Add the broth and whisk until smooth and heating until it is thick and bubbly, about 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat off and stir in the sour cream and chiles. If you have a picky eater that will freak out about the green things in the sauce puree them in a food processor first. Pour mixture over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 22 minutes and then under the broiler for 3 watchful minutes to brown the cheese.

They have just the right amount of kick to not be too spicy for the kids but just enough for a more mature palate. Next time I think I will make the sauce first and then add a bit to the chicken and cheese mixture inside the tortillas and maybe add a bit of cheddar cheese on top. The kids can't wait to make it again!

Tip: Use a utensil to hold the tortillas in place as you roll and put them in the dish. Otherwise they tend to come unrolled and give you grumpy face wrinkles.

"Hurry up Ellie my mouth is open!" Oh and Regan is dressed for a picture.

Oh cheesy goodness. Not low-cal tonight!

Five Easy Things to do to Lose Weight

2012-01-06T13:40:00.002-06:00

I still have about 25-30lbs left to lose before I hit my goal weight but I've lost over that amount in the last year. I bet you are wondering how I did that. So here are 5 things that have helped me get this far. I'm sure you've heard them before, but I am proof that they work! If I can do it you can do it!

Drink water. I hate drinking water. I've tried drink mixes and things but that never did it. What finally worked was putting it on my to do list dry erase board on the refrigerator. Every morning I write out 5 things I need to do and then I write in "Drink Your Water." Every time I drink a glass I erase one. It not only makes me feel good that I'm doing something great for my body, it also feels good to mark something off of my list. I also drink a small glass every time I go to the bathroom. You've washed your hands and you are right there, just down a cup.

Stop finishing the kids leftovers and make your plate how you would make theirs. If you have kids you know how hard it can be to "waste" that little bit (or a lot) of food that they might leave. Quit doing it! It is just causing body waste that you will have to work off later. If its big enough, wrap it up and give it to them later. Usually I give the little leftovers to my dog. I know some people will say its not okay to feed dogs table food, but I've seen her eat poop so I think she'll be okay. I also make my portions as though I was making the plate for my toddler. It gives me wiggle room for later. If I eat a cookie or have a snack its okay because I never have a huge meal.

Sweep and run the vacuum everyday. If I don't sweep and mop my floors and vacuum every day I can feel such a difference in my activity level. It's an added bonus of walking. It may not feel like you are doing a whole lot, but you are taking extra steps and its something you can do when you have little ones. You can add some squats or lunges in while you're doing it if you feel so inclined. I tell myself that my chores are my workout. Because I can turn any chore into a workout. Oh and your house will thank you for it as well.

Eat Chocolate. I don't believe in denying myself or extreme dieting. I eat chocolate and dessert. Do I sometimes have to do a little extra working out? Yes. It's worth it. Food is good. Once a month I would probably steal chocolate from the hands of my children and growl if they attempted to get it back.

Do crunches while you watch T.V. Once the kids are all in bed I love to surf the DVR for my favorite shows that are not always kid appropriate. Instead of just being a couch potato I lay in the floor and do crunches and leg lifts. Of course it doesn't happen every night, but I'd say 4 out of 7. Its like a bonus workout.

That's it. If its gross outside and I can't go for a walk or run, or I just didn't get to it that day, I can always turn on some good music and have a dance party with the kids. I quit beating myself up about missing a workout, I quit defining what working out was (even 5 minutes is better than 0) and I've put my health and happiness first. Less stress less weight? I think so.

Crock Pot Rice Recipe

2012-01-05T09:35:00.000-06:00

Go ahead and judge me, I can cook and bake all sorts of things but I am a horrible rice cooker. I even, oh my I can't believe I'm admitting this, have a rice cooker and I can't make rice in it. I tried twice, it was awful. Really it is my husbands and for some reason it just doesn't like me. So when I was at Stephanie O'Dea reading her 365 Slow Cooker recipes and came across rice I thought "I can totally do this." So I did and it turned out pretty good. I printed out the recipe when I was meal planning so all I had to do was go to the back of my House Journal and start cooking.

Here is the recipe from her 365 days posts:

Rub one tablespoon of butter around the bottom and sides of the crockpot

Add 1 cup of rice

2 cups of water

Pinch of salt

Cook on high for 2-3 hours checking every 45 minutes. Stephanie's was done after 2 hrs and 15 minutes. Mine was done after 2 hours. I could tell after the second checking that it didn't need another complete 45 minutes. I also modified it by adding a chicken bullion cube at the first 45 minute check because we were having chicken and I wanted it to be extra yummy. I also used short grain brown rice.

It got mmmm's and every one ate it. Jack shoveled it in his mouth, which always makes a mother proud. I made a roasted, butterflied chicken, salad and a baguette. It was a yummy meal. Definitely keeping crock pot rice on the menu.

What's for Dinner? January Meal Plan

2012-01-04T10:17:00.000-06:00

This month I am being rather ambitious and not only meal planning for dinner, but breakfast and lunch also. I've also been spending time on Pinterest looking up recipes to add in because I really don't want it to be boring. One of my New Year's resolutions is to not shop at Wal-Mart. I know, I know, Sam's Club is a part of the Wal-Mart corporation, but really they are not the same. So I will be shopping at Target from now on. I have one of those RedCard's so I get 5% off, bonus. Target also has online coupons that can be combined with Manufacturer coupons, double bonus. I'm not turning into an extreme couponer, but I am totally fine with saving money on the things I already purchase. Besides if I am already meal planning and writing out a shopping list I might as well check to see if I have any coupons I can use.

Breakfast:

Cereal
Cream of Wheat
Oatmeal
Toast and Eggs
Pancakes
Yogurt and Granola
Add fruit to any and all of these

Lunch:

Leftovers (this is the main way I use my leftovers)
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Soup
Sandwiches
Add fruit and veggies to any/all meals

Dinner:

Pizza with the Grandparents
Ham and Beans with Cornbread
Burgers and Homemade Baked Potato Fries*
Roasted Chicken and Crock Pot Rice*
Chicken Enchiladas*
Breakfast for Dinner
Homemade Pizza
Crock Pot Chili
Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches and Soup
Crock Pot Baked Potatoes*
Fish Sticks and Salad
Toss it in Goulash*
Mac and Cheese
Crock Pot Chicken*
Crock Pot Potato Soup*
Homemade Pizza
Crock Pot Lasagna*
Leftovers!
Crock Pot Barbecued Shrimp*
Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches and Soup
Roasted Chicken and Crock Pot Rice
Chicken Enchiladas
Crock Pot Ham and Beans
Crock Pot Baked Potatoes
Spaghetti and Salad
Breakfast for Dinner
Hamburger Helper
Crock Pot Potato Soup
Mac and Cheese
Crock Pot Chili
Homemade Pizza

See all of those pretty little *'s? Those are new recipes that I will share with you! I've been totally inspired by Stephanie O'Dea and her 365 days of Crock Pot Recipes. There are tons of recipes and I'm trying quite a few of hers this month. She is completely brilliant.

This month look for the above recipes, how I make shopping with four kids a learning experience, homemade hair conditioning treatment and later in the month some room remodels. We are so lucky to have the BEST parents ever, who made us, that's right made us, a head board for our bed. It is so beautiful and its inspired me to make our bedroom not a catch all, but an oasis. Just a few more touches and I'll be there.

Room with a View

2012-01-03T10:38:00.000-06:00

If you are like me you spend more time in the kitchen than you'd probably like. My kitchen window, above my sink, has a view of our fence. Not exactly what I would like it to be. So when I change out my wreath I change out my window display to give myself a room with a view. It makes such a difference to do this little thing just for me. It also makes doing dishes and shining my sink not such a chore.

The fence, what a view! Now I only see the things that make me happy!

Epsom salt, red bird and branches. In the other jar I have coffee beans and a candle. When the candle melts into the coffee beans it looks really neat. Also a place to put my jewelry.

Epsom salt on pine cones to look like snow. Epsom salt in a jar with a candle.

Same wreath from Christmas, minus the ornaments.

I added Epsom salt snow to the pine cones and the ribbon has snow flakes on it. Simplicity!

Decorating my house is like pampering myself. I love a few touches of vintage and making it feel like the season inside, even if sometimes I could go outside in a t-shirt.

The Lowdown on the FlyLady and how I took Control of my Life in 2011

2011-12-31T13:13:00.000-06:00

I sound like a crazy person talking about CHAOS, Flying and Control Journals but, and its a big but, less than a week post Christmas and my house looks like parties and Christmas mayhem never happened. While some parts of Christmas didn't go as smoothly as I wanted (I was up way too late wrapping presents) most of the celebrations we had were easy and carefree. Thanksgiving and Ellie's Birthday were hands down the easiest and less stressed holidays/parties I've ever had. I think that next year, Christmas will be just as easy. It's all thanks to starting a House and Holiday Journal and working 15 minutes at a time.

If one of your goals for 2012 is to get organized, have a clean house, lose weight, eat healthier, etc, I really suggest looking up FlyLady. It has truly revolutionized my house and my life. I am pampering myself, I drink the amount of water I should, my house is never more than 15 minutes from company ready, I can spend more time doing things with my kids, crafting, sewing, I've lost over 32 lbs this year and I'm getting rid of the junk that had once taken over my closets, garage and house.

I have been labeled as a super mom before, I'm really not, I just FLY with FLYLADY. I resisted having routines for myself for a long time and now that I've given in I couldn't be happier or less stressed. It has even helped in my marriage. My husband never complained when coming home to a messy house. He even told me it wasn't a big deal, we had four kids after all. But I wanted him to come home to a clean house, I wanted to have a clean house and this has given me the tools to do it. And you know what? He actually helps more, the kids help more and we do things together.

So scroll down and have a look at my Journals. I call them my house and holiday journals. My house journal is broken up into my Before Bed, Morning and After School Routines. It also includes my Weekly Home Blessing, which is all of the things that I do each week throughout the week. Next it has detailed Zone Cleaning, with very detailed things to do for each area of my house. I schedule in days each week to do a Zone Mission and FlyLady sends out their own Zone Missions. I also have a list of Kid Dashes. These are things that my kids can do in 5 minutes or less. I have them do 1 or so each day. Once its been 5 minutes we stop. They know I won't make them do more and they give it their all because I keep my word and stop when its time to stop. In the front pocket of the binder I keep all of our current bills that are due and in the back pocket I keep important receipts or letters. This way I always know what is due and when and I never have to search around the house to find it. I also keep my recipes that I use often and my meal plan and shopping lists towards the back of the binder.

My holiday journal serves for any holiday, birthday party or get together. It's one place where I can put event details, shopping lists, decoration ideas and anything else related. Once the event is over (like Christmas) I type up what worked, what didn't and what we liked about it or other fun details. I also include any recipes that we used and want to use again. For example, we used a new gingerbread recipe and I have it included with the Christmas details. Next year I can see what worked and have all of those details ready for me. I file them in chronological order placing each current event in the front and then when its over placing it in the back using clear sheet protectors. I use the front and back pockets for gift receipts and party item purchase receipts. I put some Michael's and Hobby Lobby receipts from my daughter's Christmas party at school, so glad I did because I have about $15 in supplies that we didn't use and now I have the receipts handy so I can make those returns. In the past I would have just kept the items if I couldn't find the receipt with the excuse that I could surely use that craft item. All that did was add to the clutter that was taking over my life, well not anymore!

My husband rolled his eyes when I started this. Now he helps me shine my sink!

Yes its NYE and I have already done this! I didn't want to forget anything!

I know you're ready to FLY with me! Take it on in 2012. It all starts with BabySteps. I don't follow what she says exactly, I have tailored it to fit me and my schedule and my life. It really works!!! Want help starting? Comment below I would love to help you!

Christmas Jones Style

2011-12-30T09:50:00.000-06:00

We have FOUR Christmases. I know, crazy right? In the midst of traveling, we make a day long trip from Tulsa to Wichita, round trip 7+ hours in the car with four kids, I have made it my mission to give us some wonderful holiday traditions. Some of them we keep and do every year, sometimes we try some new stuff out. Here's how it all went down.

This year we did the Elf on the Shelf. Charlie was a great elf and he's definitely coming back next year. He didn't do anything naughty or that required a bunch of extra work or clean up because lets face it I have enough to do without cleaning up a mess I make myself. He played in the snow (made an elf-angel) and built a fort out of marshmallows and flour (it took about 2 minutes to make it and 2 to clean it up) while we went to Wichita for the day. He hung from the ceiling and hit on our angel (she is pretty cute). On Christmas Eve he crepe papered the door of the big kids room so they had to break through to get to their presents (although we watched Ethan army style crawl underneath.) Super fun tradition that we're keeping.

We leave cookies and milk for Santa and treats like apples, carrots and celery for the reindeer. Best part about this year was watching the girls make gingerbread cookies with my brother. They had so much fun!

We hosted a Christmas Eve dinner and it was a lot of fun. I attempted to go all fancy and put a tablecloth on the table, which Jack eventually pulled off. He thought it was loads of fun. At least I could just toss it in the wash. Ham, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, cheesy garlic bread, apple pie, cookies, brownies and a relish tray that the kids raved about for days. It was definitely a keeper.

Beary Christmas was kind of overshadowed by our elf movement. Ethan and I were the main movers of beary. It was more of a decoration than an advent calender. Ellie did use it to see how many days were left until Christmas a few times. We'll keep it, mainly because its my tradition and I couldn't bear the thought of not doing it.

We read The Night Before Christmas, The Velveteen Rabbit and a book from when I was a kid called Santa;s Elf. I love reading all together before they go to bed. We read every night anyways, but the big kids often just read to themselves. It's nice to have all four of them snuggled up around me. Keeping that tradition for sure.

The kids school has a "Santa Shop" that is open for about a week before they go on break. You can send money with your kids and they can shop for presents. We sent the big kids to school with $5 each and the rule that they could only buy for their family, not for friends or themselves. It sounds kind of mean when I type it out but we wanted them to focus on others and learn the joy from giving. I had them each wrap the presents they bought. I loved watching them give the gifts and I think they enjoyed putting their names alone on the "from" section of the gift tag. So glad we did it!

We didn't get around to making gift tags like last year. Although we did save some more cards so we should have plenty if we get around to doing it next year. I also picked up a cute little stamper on clearance that has a deer and the words to and from. So maybe we will.

We made lots and lots and lots of cookies. It wasn't as fun for me this year, I think because I did more making than they did. We did eliminate a few non keep recipes.

We made what I deemed "Reindeer Alert Dust" which we sprinkled all over the backyard so that it would glitter from up above when Santa flew over and appeal to the reindeer with the smell of oats and coffee. It consisted of coffee, oatmeal and red glitter. It would have been nice if it were all snowy outside, the glitter would have really sparkled, but they saw it sparkle in the moonlight so all was good. Next year I think we will sprinkle it while it is still daylight.

That's a few of the things we do. I want to make memories with my children and give them the best childhood I can. Not just toys and presents but things we do together.

She was so proud of her arrangement. Then there was an apple thief!

Its blurry but he was the reindeer apple thief, on the move!

See that tablecloth behind me? Hehehe!

She couldn't believe this one was for Mom and Dad.

I got to open a lot of Jack's presents so naturally I modeled them for Dale so we could have some fun memories of me being excited about his presents.

The boys were so excited when Ethan opened his Formula 1 poster of his favorite driver Sebastian Vettel. It was a fun Christmas.