Mommy and Kiddos

Hello Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 17:43:00 +0000

Hello World!
I have decided to dust off this blog and get at it again. For awhile there, my life was way busy and too hard or busy to keep up with blogging. I'm now at a point that I think I can add this back in to my life.

My kids will be going by the names Lightning, Leo, and Lizzy. We have all agreed on these names. If you can believe it, deciding on a name with my youngest was the hardest! My kids are 7, 6 and 3. I am a stay a home mom and my kids are homeschooled. We are in to a lot of "natural" stuff, we do lots of sports and try to get outside as much as possible. We hope to own our own homestead someday.
This blog will probably go down the route of recipes, homeschool stuff, stay at home mom stuff, dreams, health, and, maybe, a little bit of "work" items. I will just do as I feel led.

In the years I've been gone, a lot has happened. Possibly the biggest change was when we moved back and forth from Idaho to Arizona and back to Idaho. Additionally, my husband and I took up running for a while in 2014-2015. I ended up running a 5K, 10K, 7K, 10K, 5K, 12K and Half Marathon. I found that 10K's felt the best. Half marathons...now those are a doozy! I'm not sure I ever want to do that, again! Another change, is while training for my half marathon, I gained about 20 pounds and couldn't understand why. It turns out my adrenals and thyroid were not function quite right and my hormones were out of balance. I've just recently started to correct those. So, I HOPE I am back to "normal" soon.
***Soap Box Moment: Moms~~~If you feel something may be wrong---gaining weight, feeling sluggish, HAVE to have coffee, etc.---please get your adrenals, thryoid, hormones checked by your doctor or naturopath or specialist. This is too important to ignore!***
As of now, I am back to running and following Couch to 10K (C210K) and following the app to build back up my running endurance.

I hope to be on here more in the future. I am currently in the process of getting school stuff set up for next year, trying a few new things and doing the busy life of mom.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Lizzy

Lightning

Leo

#1 Goal for the New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:53:00 +0000

The New Year is a perfect time to make new goals. A lot of people call them "resolutions," but I don't like the stigma attached to that wording. Additionally, if you finish or reach a goal you can make a new one so that you keep making yourself better. I wanted to share with you one of the goals I have made so far. As I work on bettering myself, I will continue to make new goals which I hope to share with you. As an aside, I have other goals that I just don't share such as reading more nonfiction, reading more scripture, etc. that I don't share because they are not as easy to get sidetracked as this goal I will be telling you about :o)

Last year, my main goal at the new year was to learn how to swim so I could overcome my fear of water. Yes, I didn't really know how to swim, and I was afraid of deep water. This is because I almost drowned in 5th grade. I signed up for classes and learned through the month of January how to swim and overcame my fear of water. In fact, my husband and I started to swim in the olympic size pool at our local community center where the greatest depth is 10 feet. I had no problem doing this, and I was very proud of myself. I hope to get back to swimming now that my bathing suit will fit, again.

This year one of my main goals is to get back in shape. Yes, I know EVERYONE has the get back in shape goal. I am seriously motivated due to complications I have developed over my last 2 pregnancies. In my second pregnancy, I developed a diastasis recti that is now 3 fingers wide. This is where the ab muscles separate and don't go back together, which occurs in 98% of pregnancies. Diastasis recti leaves mom's (this can happen in men too) with a "mummy tummy." The "mummy tummy" is where women still look pregnant because the stomach sticks out due to the transverse abs not having enough strength. I have been researching the internet and watching YouTube videos to find different ab exercises that work for diastasis recti because crunches are one of the worst things you can do as it makes the gap worse. I am also looking at ordering a Kindle book to give me more ideas as my abs get stronger.

Through my research I have found about 5 different exercises I can do that should help the condition. I will be doing them 3 times a day. Each of the groups of exercises I will be doing I estimate to take about 15 minutes, so this is not too long for my hubby to watch baby girl, if she is not sleeping. Additionally, it is ideal if I remember to sit up straight, have good posture when standing, and draw my belly button to my back (which brings the transverse abdominis together) to let the abs learn how to stitch themselves back together.

In addition to this, I plan to lose 13 pounds in the next 3 months. When I weighed myself yesterday, on the Wii, I was 153 pounds. I hope to get down to 140, which leaves me some room for acquiring muscle. To help accomplish this I am going to do about 20 minutes of Wii exercise/play each day. My oldest son has gotten very excited about playing on the Wii and when he wants to take a break, he has an adult play. So, this should not be too hard to add into the day. I usually do the snowball fight, super hula hoop, step aerobics, and a few various yoga poses on the Wii Fit Plus. When it gets warmer, I hope to take my "workouts" outside and do some bike riding, walking/running, hiking, etc. I feel it's best to do activities and not really make it an "exercise routine," which I could probably NEVER stick to without my husband prodding me along to keep at it.

Finally, to help lose weight and tone up I plan on eating better. I know what this looks like, I just have to do it. Less eating out, less carby (yes I made that up) snacks, smaller portions and more "real food" instead of processed (which we already do a lot of at our house due to allergies).

Wish me well on my journey!

If you have New Year Goals you have created, I would love to hear them!

Back to it!

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 02:27:00 +0000

Hello Readers!

I know I have been VERY remiss in writing on my blog. VERY probably isn't even good enough for saying how bad I have been with this blog in the last 9 months. Think about that a moment...9 months. You got it! I have been pregnant...and I still am for that matter.

Anywho...I found out I was pregnant in early March and my due date was around November 9th.

I found out at 20+ weeks that I was having a girl.

Summer finally came to North Idaho. If you MUST know, you DO NOT ignore summer in my part of the country because it doesn't stay long. Most of the summer we did the normal stuff went to the beach, played at the park A LOT, went to friends houses and rode bikes. My husband and I both got new bikes, so we were very excited to use them. Summer and the fall here were fantastic! Usually fall (September and October) can get nasty, but they were beautiful until about the last week of October. I cannot complain (too much) about how much time and sun we got this summer.

We started a few new things this fall. My oldest, Lightening, is going doing some preschool homeschool stuff. I have found so many wonderful printables online for his schooling. I am so surprised at how much he already knows. He loves to "do school" and he is amazing at mazes. Regular mazes for his age level are way too easy, but I am looking for something harder but not too advanced. Having a little trouble with that, at the moment. I will start adding some homeschool stuff to my blog. It will probably include links to printables as well as try my hand at a few printables for others to use. They will probably be geared toward when I see missing in my travels on the internet for printables. My biggest problem with homeschooling is keeping, Leo, my 2 1/2 year old happy while I am working with his brother. Any ideas you would like to leave in contacts or email would be great!

Additionally, it is now November 17th and I am still pregnant. Yep, I am a bit overdue. I'm rather tired of the wait/weight, but I will endure. I am very excited to meet my little girl. I hope to keep my current schedule of getting up early so I can keep going with this blog and give out as much information as I can about things I am interested in and I know others are as well such as kiddos, homeschooling, menu planning, etc.

I hear one of my children needs me, so I will be back to blog in the near future!

Tuesdays with Tammy: Mom Radar

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:35:00 +0000

Sorry about the long blogging break, but I was on vacation and then we all got sick. It's been an interesting month, I tell ya! So, I hope to get back on bandwagon here and start writing more regularly. One of my wonderful friends, Tammy, has sent me another story that I would like to share today. Hope you like it!

Mom Radar

Spiderman has “Spidey Sense” that tingles when something is wrong. Superman has super hearing that allows him to know when someone is in distress. Some moms have “Mom Radar”. This amazing “super-sense” tells them when their children are doing (or thinking of doing) something they shouldn’t, having a bad dream, are ill in the middle of the night and need comforting, are injured, upset, or otherwise in need. Sometimes it goes off and we aren’t sure why—only that something is not right with one of our children. (Often, we aren’t sure which one either!)

This is very handy when our children are young. It allows moms endowed with this wonderful ‘sixth sense’ to nip unsafe behavior in the bud before someone is seriously injured. (Like the time my older two boys tried to launch their baby brother, or the time they tried to feed the youngest one deer poop. They had him convinced it was chocolate covered raisins left by the Easter Bunny!) This amazing radar awakens us from a dead sleep to arrive in time to get a child to the bathroom when they are ill in the wee hours of the night, or to soothe a frightened youngster experiencing a bad dream.

As our youngsters grow, the radar goes off when they are telling a fib or plotting to do something they shouldn’t do. It goes off a lot when they are teenagers! We often don’t know why it is “pinging off the walls”, and we may not be sure which child is setting it off—but we know something is wrong and we are on high alert until the facts come to light. They always come to light—sometimes years later—but the truth always comes out. Many times, we figure it out, but allow our children to continue with their plans in order to allow them to learn the necessary lessons in life that will make them better people. Besides, sometimes it is nice to have some leverage—we might need it later for more important issues!

I am convinced this is how mothers got the reputation of ‘having eyes in the backs of their heads’. We simply know our own children so well, that we know when they are ‘off’—(or maybe it is that we know ourselves well enough to know what our children are likely up to at certain stages.) Whatever it is, it can drive our children crazy—a nice reversal for a change!

I always thought the ‘radar’ would diminish as our sons grew into adulthood---I was wrong. The other day, while sitting at a stop light on my way to work, I had the overwhelming sense that I needed to call my middle son (now 20 years old and in college in a different town) and wake him up so that he didn’t miss class. I ignored it, telling myself it was silly! The boy has been getting himself up to classes and work for several years without my assistance, there was no need for me to get my panties in a wad now! Later that day, he called and I asked how his day was.

“Ugh!” he responded.

“What happened?’ I asked, empathetically.

“I slept through my first class!” he groaned.

I should have listened to the ‘radar’. I called him the following day to make sure he didn’t miss class, though.

A few weeks later, I was awakened from a wonderful dream and a dead sleep with the overpowering sense that I needed to go to our office (in the basement), get on Skype, and talk to this same young man. I rolled over, looked at the clock, and groaned—it was 2:30 in the morning! I argued with myself telling myself this was stupid! If he was up at that hour on the computer, it was his problem, not mine! I attempted to go back to sleep, but the feeling was so persistent that I finally gave in. Grumbling to myself about my own idiocy, I tromped down the stairs, and clicked the Skype tab on my computer. Sure enough, there he was, online. I am not sure exactly what he ‘needed’ from me, but we talked via skype for quite awhile. Finally, he went to bed (or logged off at least), and I was able to snuggle back into my bed, safe and sound.

I should have known, or at least suspected this might happen. My mother’s “Mom Radar” is seldom wrong, and her mom (my grandmother) had such remarkable ‘radar’ that it worked with all of her children up until the time she died! I guess I should resign myself to the fact that I will seldom get a full night’s sleep--ever!

Tammy is a writer, storyteller, artist, crafter, and bellydancer who enjoys working with children of all ages. She lives in North Idaho with her wonderful husband, three sons, and a goofy dog. She teaches bellydancing, crochets, paints and sketches, and is trying to complete her first book when she isn’t at work or transporting her youngest son around town. She loves a good read, a good laugh, and life in general (especially when there are cookies involved!)

Meal Plan: Monday and Tuesday (2/20 and 2/21)

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:40:00 +0000

Hello, again! Hello, again, all!

I am going to give a meal plan for 2 days and an extra breakfast. This time it is NOT because I am slacking. We are taking a trip starting Wednesday REALLY early, so we don't have a meal plan for 2 weeks. I am sure by the end of this I will be happy to cook in my own kitchen, again...maybe. I'm not really a "cook" so I'm not fond of it. I love baking, though *sigh*

So, I will be doing some baking in the next two days getting ready for our trip. I'm SUPER excited to be on the move. We are going to AZ to see friends and soak up some warmth. I miss the sun and warmth up here in Idaho.

I plan on making granola bars, cinnamon applesauce bread, oatmeal raisin cookies, and waffles. That's all I can think of at the moment. We also got plenty of stuff at Trader Joe's for our trip, so I think we are pretty much all set! We have to hit Costco and the local stores once more for fresh fruit and veggies, though. I think I will do that as well as other errands with the boys tomorrow.

Our two day (plus one breakfast) meal plan:

Monday:
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Spelt Toast (from Trader Joe's) with cranberry apple butter
Lunch-Hot Dogs and Veggie Chips
Dinner-Leftover Chicken (from Sunday crockpot) and Quinoa

Tuesday:
Breakfast-Cereal (last treat before we leave)
Lunch-Salmon Salad on rice cakes and leftover quinoa
Dinner-Wildtree flavored chicken breast and carrots (or any leftovers in the fridge)

Wednesday:
Breakfast-Cocktail pups, tator tots and eggs (for those who can have them)

To Bake:
Cinnamon Applesauce Bread
Granola Bars
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Waffles
Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies (maybe)
Muffins (maybe)

I am planning on blogging during our trip, but that is not for sure. It depends on internet access and how much running around and "stuff" we do. I can't wait to tell everyone how the trip goes. We have to drive 16 1/2 hours. Yes, we plan to stop overnight. We learned little boys don't do well straight through the hard way last summer. I can't wait to see all our friends and go hiking! It should be a fun trip.

I would surely appreciate anyone with ideas for food and travel ideas with little ones to chime in on this post.

Don't forget to like me on Facebook if you want to see new posts!

Recipe of the Week: Peanut Butter Granola

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:36:00 +0000

Quite by accident, I came up with a new granola recipe. My plan was to make peanut butter chocolate chip granola bars. This would be because I have really been craving Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Bad, huh? I’m training for a sprint triathlon and all I really want is sweets. *sigh*

Anyway…a few years ago (when my oldest son was an infant), I found this amazing granola bar recipe on the internet. I can’t remember where I found it, but I used it for ages. As soon as number boy number 2 came along, I wasn’t as motivated to use this recipe. A few weeks ago, I decided to pull it out and this week got to point of trying it with a few variations. The granola bars came out granola rocks, so I broke it up to use as granola cereal. Good idea, huh? It doesn’t taste quite like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but I was under no illusion that they would.

Here’s the recipe with my changes...

Ingredients:

Dry:

2 cups oats

¾ cup quinoa flakes

¾ cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup crushed almonds/peanuts

Wet:

2/3 cup brown sugar

½ cup honey

¼ cup all natural peanut butter

4 Tbsp butter

2 tsp vanilla

½ tsp salt

Extras:

½ cup raisins

½ cup chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and roast on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Combine wet ingredients and simmer in a saucepan until they are combined and melted. It looks really creamy and gooey (for lack of a better word).

Put the extras (raisins and chocolate chips) in the pan that you combined the dry ingredients in. After the dry ingredients are done roasting, put them back in the bowl with the extra ingredients and pour the melted, hot wet ingredients on top and stir everything together.

Press into a 13 x 9 inch pan that has butter wax paper in it and press down with more wax paper.

Let cool for a couple of hours. After it is cooled, crumble up to use for granola!

I hope you enjoy this, even if it doesn’t taste like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup!

This is a guest post at These Five of Mine Plus Two
I will also be linking up with A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Meal Plan: Monday and Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:21:00 +0000

Last week was interesting. We were all sick. Everyone had a runny nose, some of us had a sore throat, and some of us you wouldn't be able to tell anything was wrong. Isn't it interesting how little boys can be sick, yet, you wouldn't be able to tell?

I have not been motivated to do anything except read a couple of really good books that I found on Inspired Books. It's a nice website where I have downloaded numerous free Kindle books. I don't have a Kindle, so I also downloaded the Kindle reader on my PC to read them. Nice to not get fines for not turning my books in on time!

Therefore, I only have 2 days of meal plans ready. I will give you those, and, then, I will figure out the rest tomorrow. This should help get you started, though. I have to admit some are pretty processed, though.

Monday:
Breakfast-Cereal (I gave in and bought some Natures Path Granola)
Lunch-Salmon Salad Sandwiches on Rice Cakes, Carrots, Cuties
Dinner-Porcupine Meatballs (yes, we still didn't make them), Broccoli

Tuesday:
Breakfast-Cereal (there should be some left)
Lunch-ABJ (Almond Butter and Jelly) on Rice Cakes and Smoothies
Dinner-Brined Chicken Thighs, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

That's it, so far, ladies and gentlemen. I hope to have more later in the week. I'm kind of excited for the dinners as they sound pretty good!

Have a good week, all, and God Bless!

If you like my blog remember to follow me on Facebook or by RSS Feed.

Tuesdays with Tammy: Baby Brain

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:47:00 +0000

Here is another wonderful post by my friend (and monthly contributor), Tammy. She has a wonderful way with words, and she is a great story teller!

BABY BRAIN

As we watched our darling children grow, we were often amazed at their capacity to absorb ALL knowledge and information (including those things we wished they wouldn’t). Everything they saw heard, or did was sucked up into their inquisitive minds and retained to be spit out at the most inopportune times. Nevertheless, it was comforting to see that they were intelligent beings with the capability to learn and grow.

Imagine our confusion then as these bright young boys entered the beginning stages of puberty (somewhere around the ages of 11 to 13), and appeared to lose the capacity to recall valuable information, let alone retain anything new! Our once-intelligent sons would suddenly forget that soap was a vital part of the shower process; or that it was indeed necessary to put food out for the dog when reminded to FEED THE DOG! Simple daily information was lost completely—information they had known for a VERY LONG TIME! New information had to be given in one or two word commands—and these words MUST NOT have too many syllables! (Monosyllables appeared to work best). Any more than that, and they simply blinked at us in confusion—or worse; they would mumble “K” and wander off aimlessly.

After observing this phenomenon in our own young sons, and in the children of our friends, my husband developed a theory that I call “The Baby Brain.” (This is NOT a scientific theory, so don’t go getting all worked up! It is simply a theory of observation!) It goes something like this: Brains appear to be much like teeth. As young children develop, their Baby Brains develop and grow. Once the child enters the early stages of puberty, the Baby Brain falls out (we actually had occasion to see this happen in our youngest, but I will save that story for another time). During the teen years, the adult brain (much like adult teeth) begins to push through, then retreat over and over again. Sometimes it actually makes great gains, but it is still not fully developed and often retreats completely again (kind of like wisdom teeth).

According to this theory, our teenagers are not only operating without a fully-functioning brain (a fact observed often enough), but they are often operating without any brain at all! It appears that the fully-functioning adult brain surfaces sometime in the twenties, but, for some, it may take even longer. I have seen it take into the forties before an individual has full use of an adult brain.

Since this is not the fault of our poor teens and tweens, we must be patient and treat them with kindness and sympathy, resisting the urge to strangle them as we remind them for the fifteenth time that YES, they must change their underwear EVERY DAY and DEODORANT is NOT AN OPTION! (It is just good hygiene!) :)

Weekly Meal Plan (2/6/2012-2/12/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:03:00 +0000

I hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday. We are not really watching the Super Bowl as we don't get NBC. My hubby may be watching it on his computer, though.

You may notice on my menu for the week I have porcupine meatballs, again. That is because I haven't made them the prior two weeks I had them on the menu. By the time they were on their, I just didn't have the energy to get to them. Oh well. I hope we will be able to remedy that this week and
try them next Sunday evening.

I am excited to try a totally new breakfast cookie recipe this week. This one is one off the top of my head that combines the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe with other stuff to hopefully make some delicious and somewhat nutritious breakfast cookies. If they turn out well, we will have them up on the blog!

Here's the menu for the week!

Monday (2/6/12):
Breakfast-Cereal or Oatmeal and Spelt Toast
Lunch-Nachos w/LO roast
Dinner-Rib Steaks and Quinoa w/veggies

Tuesday (2/7/12):
Breakfast-Cinnamon Applesauce Bread
Lunch-Almond Butter and Jelly Sandwiches w/nacho chips and carrots
Dinner-LO Rib Steaks and Wild Rice

Wednesday (2/8/12):
Breakfast-Breakfast Cookies (hopefully…and if they turn out well I will put the recipe up)
Lunch-Salmon Salad on Rice Cakes or Spelt bread
Dinner-Chick Thighs and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Thursday (2/9/12):
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Spelt Toast
Lunch-LOs
Dinner-Mom Soup

Friday (2/10/12):
Breakfast-Muffins (haven't decided what kind, yet)
Lunch-Pizza
Dinner-LOs

Saturday (2/11/12):
Breakfast-LO muffins
Lunch-Tator Tots w/LOs or eggs
Dinner-McDonald's (friends birthday party)

Sunday (2/12/12):
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Spelt Toast
Lunch-LOs
Dinner-Porcupine Meatballs

To Bake: Spelt Bread
Cinnamon Applesauce Bread
Breakfast Cookies
Muffins

Blog Help

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:30:00 +0000

You have heard of self help books, right? They are a big industry with people wanting to make themselves better whether it is financially, physically or spiritually. I find that I don’t need to go and buy a book for self help. If I really need one to tangibly hold, I can go to the library and see if I like it. On the other hand, I find many homemaking blogs and friends putting up Bible verses on Facebook for the day help me tremendously.

For some years in my 20’s, I was slacking pretty bad in my Christian walk. Some of that had to do with “time,” inability to find a church I wanted to attend and having it pretty easy, I think. Times were good! Money was coming in, we were clearing debt, and my husband I were having a great time being married. Then, I got pregnant and I realized that was going to change. I had no doubt my hubby could take care of us on his income, but I didn’t know how HARD it would be to be a mom.

The first few months after having my oldest son, Philip, were the hardest I can remember. He couldn’t nurse correctly, at first, he wanted to nurse for an hour on end, and sleep was hard to come by. When he was nursing for half an hour, some days, I would get out my Bible and start reading trying to find encouragement. After about 3 months, things settled into a routine and I got lazy, again. It’s easy to get lazy when you can’t find a church you enjoy and like in your area to get into and people to rely on to keep you a bit “accountable.” Life gets hectic and you forget about praying and God like he is a friend in another state you mean to “get in touch with” but they days go on without contact.

In the last 4 months, with urging from the Holy Spirit, blogs, my boys getting older, and me trying to make myself better, I have been digging in to the scripture a bit more. I’m not perfect with Bible study, by no means. On the other hand, I would have to say other blogs have really helped me be more accountable and take a moment out here and there in the day to read, check my heart, and try to be the better mother the Lord asks of me. It’s like a little dose of “God’s here, ask for His help. Duh!” I want to send a big THANK YOU to all those blogs out there that have been helping me out!

Two of my favorite verses that I had forgotten I memorized long ago and now think on:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”---John 3:16

Wow…just wow! How many of us would be able to do that for others? Thank God we don’t have to even think of it because it was done for us.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lead not into thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.”---Proverbs 3:5-6

Ahhh…my favorite “power” verse of all time. If you’re lost, there is One you can cry out to who will direct your paths. I have to remember this when I am sinking in babies, housework, fear, anger, and listlessness. He will direct my paths if I just look to Him.

God Bless!

This post if a guest post at These Five of Mine Plus Two
Linked up with Heavenly Homemakers and A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Weekly Meal Plan (1/30/2012-2/4/2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:06:00 +0000

I think I need to tell everyone that Monday January 30th is my 30th birthday (applause, noisemakers, etc. going on in my head), so I get to decide what special meals I want on my birthday. I’ve decided I will do this with my family throughout the years. It’s only fair, right? Plus, it makes the day just a little more special for the person. We have already done the extended family celebration, so there will probably not be another cake. My sweet mother-in-law, Alana, made me a spelt chocolate cake with German Chocolate Cake icing. It was very good and I’m sure my mother would have been happy, which is why I asked for that particular cake in the first case.

As you may see from my meal plan, we have a lot of repeat meals from last week. This would be because we had more leftovers than we thought we would from our salmon. We also started a workout routine (I’ll put that in another post) that messed up the time for meals a few times. Yeah, we need to get the time of day for that figured out around my hubby’s office hours, baby naps, food making, etc. I hope this week will go a bit better and we can stick to the plan better. Which means, I am going to go get some chicken and hamburger out for dinner tomorrow…just a moment.

Okay, I am back (I was going to put up a picture to show you the meat was out thawing, but I didn't think you would really want to see it), and here is the menu!

Monday (1/30/2012):
Breakfast-Spelt Muffins (new recipe)
Lunch-Chicken and Mashed Potatoes
Dinner-Aunt Betsy’s

Tuesday (1/31/2012):
Breakfast-Cereal
Lunch-LOs
Dinner-Asian Noodle Soup

Wednesday (2/1/2012):
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Spelt Toast
Lunch-LO
Dinner-Cream of Broccoli Soup

Thursday (2/2/2012):
Breakfast-Cereal
Lunch-LO or Salad
Dinner-BBQ Beef on Rice Cakes or Spelt Bread

Friday (2/3/2012):
Breakfast-Spelt Waffles
Lunch-Salmon Salad
Dinner-LOs or Nachos

Saturday (2/4/2012):
Breakfast-Oatmeal, Spelt Toast, Fruit
Lunch-Hot Dogs
Dinner-Fried Chicken and Tater Tots

Sunday (2/5/2012):
Breakfast-Spelt Donuts
Lunch-LO or Almond Butter and Jelly on Rice Cakes
Dinner-Porcupine Meatballs

Baking: Spelt Muffins
Spelt Bread
Spelt Donuts

Tuesdays with Tammy: Not My Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I have a very sweet friend who is extremely funny and tells the best stories. She and I met through work and she invited me to try bellydancing when I was pregnant. I thought it would be a pretty easy workout (which it's not!) while I was pregnant. I am happy to be able to say we have been friends every since.
I have asked her to share a story twice a month that I can add to my blog. It's about her boys, and since I have two of my own boys I love to hear her stories and insights. I hope you like it!

Not My Boy….

I have three wonderful sons, now 22, 20, and 15 years old. My sons are all caring, wonderful, tenderhearted young men who will usually go out of their way to help others—even if they don’t really want to. I love them dearly and cherish the many lessons they have taught me over the years.

One lesson they taught me has held consistent through several situations as they have progressed through their various stages of development---they will always prove me wrong! (A trait I think they got from their father!) Just when I think I have them figured out, they will do or say something (usually very publicly) that will prove me wrong.

One spring day in my oldest son’s second year of life, we sat on the front step visiting with a neighbor and enjoying the gentle, earthy smells permeating the air after a warm rain. My sweet, gentle son squatted down on the concrete walkway attentively watching a small ant as it struggled with a heavy load. He loved bugs and would usually raptly watch them for many long minutes (a very long time for an active preschool boy to remain still!)

My neighbor eyed him cautiously and said, “He’s gonna kill that ant.”

“No,” I assured her, shaking my head reassuringly. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly!” (And he never had.)

At that very moment, my kind, loving, cherub-like child, stood up and STOMPED with all his might on that poor struggling ant, grinding it into the ground. I was mortified---not because he had killed the ant, but because he had done exactly the opposite of what I had expected him to do—and he had done it with witnesses! This little person, who I thought I had known better than I knew myself, did the unexpected!

This was but the first of many times that my sons would ‘prove me wrong’ over the years. Usually their proofs have come as wonderful surprises; sometimes they are difficult realizations. Sometimes they come with tears and struggles, but they always reinforce one thing----no matter how young or old they are, our children are NOT our carbon copies. They have minds of their own that they exercise from birth—making their own choices (both ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in our eyes), and growing with what they learn from the choices they make. We, as parents, can only love, guide, hope, and pray—ultimately, the lives and choices of our children are in God’s hands. May He hold them safely always!

Weekly Meal Plan (1/23/12-1/29/12)

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:17:00 +0000

I have packed this meal plan with plenty of links from different websites. I am trying a lot of new recipes this week. I will not follow the recipes exactly, most likely, but I plan to follow as much as I can without using wheat or dairy. Many of these websites were referred by a friend for meals, so I don't endorse the websites, just the recipes!

It’s a good thing I didn’t put the the meal plan yesterday (Sunday) because I made a few changes this morning. We don’t have applesauce until after the boys and I go to Costco today, so I had to switch breakfast for Monday and Tuesday. Not sure how this will go down with the boys or my patience. Have you ever seen a 20 month old try to eat oatmeal on their own? Yeah…not pretty :o)

On a brighter note, my youngest son, Grant, is 20 months old today! Here's a picture of him when he has smoothie all over his face. He’s such a sweet pea when he is not smearing oatmeal, yogurt, or smoothie all over his highchair or himself *sigh*

So, here’s the plan for the week!

Monday (1/23):
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Spelt Toast
Lunch-Salad
Dinner-Taco Potatoes

Tuesday (1/24):
Breakfast-Cinnamon Applesauce Bread
Lunch-LOs into Nachos
Dinner-Goulash w/Corn Pasta and Side Salad

Wednesday (1/25):
Breakfast-Potatoes, Bacon (or Turkey Sausage), Eggs, Smoothie
Lunch-LO
Dinner-Whole Salmon (barbeque in stove) w/quinoa and veggies

Thursday (1/26):
Breakfast-Cereal (due to swimming)
Lunch-LO Salmon and Quinoa w/salad
Dinner-Porcupine Meatballs w/Rice

Friday (1/27):
Breakfast-Rice
Lunch-LO or Hot Dogs
Dinner-Valentino’s Pizza! (they have a gluten free crust and dairy free cheese)

Saturday (1/28):
Breakfast-Waffles
Lunch-LO or BLTs
Dinner-Cream of Broccoli Soup

Sunday (1/29):
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Spelt Toast
Lunch-LO
Dinner-Noodle Soup Bowl

To Bake: Cinnamon Applesauce Bread
Spelt Bread
Apple Crisp w/Soaked Oats Topping

Recipe of the Week: Quinoa and Veggies

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:45:00 +0000

{I want to welcome all the new awesome people The Five of Mine Pus Two! I am glad I was able to contribute to her blog, today}

This could possibly be the easiest recipe you have ever seen for a food in which you may never have heard. I’m excited to share a little bit of the history, a few pictures and the recipe.

Quinoa is pronounced keen-wah. I point this out as I pronounced it wrong for quite sometime, and I looked a little stupid for saying it wrong once.

Quinoa is a little, round, grain-like crop with edible seeds. It is actually the seed you are eating when you eat quinoa. In size, quinoa is smaller than a sesame seed. It is native to South America, primarily Ecuador and Peru. It was second only to the potato, in nutritional importance, to such peoples as the Inca. In the past year or so, it has become better known as gluten and wheat sensitivities have increased. Quinoa is considered an ancient grain (with many other grains such as spelt, amaranth, millet, etc.) as they have not been bred to the point that they are unlike their ancient counterparts, such as corn and wheat. Quinoa is gluten free, is high in protein content, and is considered to be a complete protein. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, iron, and easy to digest.

I get quinoa in the organic bulk section of my local grocery store, and it was $3.99 per lb. when I bought it on Monday. There are also prepackaged containers of quinoa, but I think you are paying for the packaging as you get less and pay more for the ones I saw.

In the last 2 months, I have learned how to bake cookies chocolate chip cookies with Quinoa and learned how to make one side dish with Quinoa. I’m pretty excited about it and plan to do more with it in the future.

Quinoa with Veggies

1 ½ cup whole grain quinoa

3 cups water

(same ratio as water 2:1)

10 oz pkg frozen all natural veggies

Wildtree Garlic Grapeseed Oil to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the quinoa (which takes about 45 minutes in my rice cooker). Cook the veggies for about 15 minutes in water and put them together. From there, add Wildtree Garlic Grapeseed Oil and salt and pepper to taste.

On the other hand, if you do not have frozen veggies or garlic grapeseed oil, here is what I would suggest. Heat a skillet with some olive oil (or oil of choice), add minced garlic and chopped onion and cook until onions are translucent. Add veggies of choice such as chopped carrots and celery and cook until carrots are cooked through. From there add any canned veggies such as peas, green beans, corn, etc. You can have a few different varieties of veggies. Add in the quinoa after it’s cooked and you have a delish side dish for any meal!

Enjoy!

Weekly Meal Plan (1/16/12-1/22/12)

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:26:00 +0000

It is weekly meal plan time, again. I’m kind of excited about the meal plan this week, especially the dinners. They sound amazing even to my own ears! Plus, they are super easy, except maybe the biscuits on Saturday. I usually have my brother-in-law make them as I have not “mastered” biscuits, yet. We’ll see how I do. Although if he is here on Saturday, I will ask him to make them!

Monday (1/16/12):
Breakfast-Cinnamon Applesauce Bread and Cuties
Lunch- Leftovers (stew/soup)
Dinner- Brined Chicken Breast w/Quinoa and Veggies (double batch for LO)

Tuesday (1/17/12):
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Spelt Toast
Lunch- Leftovers Chicken and Quinoa
Dinner- French Dip over Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday (1/18/12):
Breakfast-Waffles and Little Smokies
Lunch- Salmon Salad on Rice Cakes and Chips
Dinner- LOs

Thursday (1/19/12):
Breakfast-Cereal (due to my swim class)
Lunch- BLTs on Rice Cakes
Dinner- Beef and Broccoli w/Stir fry and Brown Rice

Friday (1/20/12):
Breakfast-Potatoes, Eggs, Bacon
Lunch- Hummus and Chips
Dinner- Deluxe Nachos

Saturday (1/21/12):
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Spelt Toast
Lunch- LO
Dinner-Hamburger Sausage and Biscuits

Sunday (1/22/12):
Breakfast-Muffins or Breakfast Cookies
Lunch-LO breakfast
Dinner-Pasta E Fagoli w/Toast

Baking List: Cinnamon Applesauce Bread
Muffins
Breakfast Cookies
Biscuits
Spelt Honey Graham Crackers/Cookies

I hope you all have a great week! I’m open to ideas for dinners as I need some for next week because we are kind of tired of the “same old thing.”
Thanks!

Cleaning and Organizing

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:46:00 +0000

I have always had a hard time cleaning and organizing. I feel good after it is done, but getting started is the main problem. I almost need a pep rally to get going!

On the other hand, I know if our house isn’t organized and clean we tend to spend more time doing things that aren’t as important as our job of caring for children and doing things that would glorify the Lord. So, I need to get on top of the mess---unclean dishes, dusty shelves, disastrous cupboards, dirty refrigerator, etc. I know there are many books out there with schedule on what to do each day, but I feel if I get behind that schedule I failed and it all goes out the window. In my world, one day I may not be able to do much due to my little boys needing me more on that particular day and another they may play quietly for hours.

I have decided that I will attempt to spend each week for at least the next 4 weeks working on a deep, in and out cleaning of a particular room. I will, of course, keep up with the normal chores such as washing clothes, washing dishes, etc. Just writing this makes me more excited and eager to get started. I will let you all know when I have completed the first area, which is the kitchen.

My kitchen is rather small for everything I would like to do with it. We just don’t have enough cabinet room for all the different “stuff” we have that we need occasionally such as vegetable platter, cake carrier, waffle maker, etc. I hope to find a way to organize that this week. On top of that, my preparation cart has become a “catch all” for junk mail, papers, computer accessories, etc. So, I am planning on taking care of that this week and be DONE with it so my preparation cart is a usable area, again.

Here are a few photos of my horrendous kitchen, at the moment. In a weeks time, I hope to put up pictures of a much nicer looking kitchen. I, also, hope it will look beautiful and clean, even where you don’t see (such as the refrigerator).

The preparation cart mess (left) and the microwave mess on (right).

The unorganized pots and pans cabinet.

Wish me luck in my endeavor...I shall need it!

Recipe of the Week: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:36:00 +0000

Adapted from Food Doodles at fooddoodles.com

Guess I must be on a bit of a cookie kick. Yikes! Last week I gave a recipe for Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies. I took them to belly dance class and the girls thought they were delicious.

This week, on Monday, I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. My two little boys helped mix the ingredients. It was a fiasco though. Anybody have any advice for how to let two little boys (3 years old and 19 months old) at a little counter help their mommy make cookies? If so, please comment and let me know because I TOTALLY need a solution. Thanks!

I love to make these cookies as it is a quick recipe, quick mixing and quick baking. What else do you need when a cookie craving hits? Plus, they only make about 10 (if "man size" as my mom used to day) to 2 dozen so there aren't too many...if that's even possible.

On to the recipe!

Ingredients:

Wet:
½ cup (or 1 stick) butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg (or egg substitute)
1 tsp vanilla
Dry:
1 ½ cup oats
¾ cup spelt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup craisins (or you may do all raisins)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.

In another bowl combine the dry ingredients, except for the raisins and craisins. After they are combined, pour into the large bowl containing the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the raisins and craisins and mix until evenly distributed.

Use a cookie scoop or drop by teaspoonful onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the bottom of the cookie start to look browned. Let cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheet and then put on a cooling rack to continue cooling. If these last long enough, put them in an airtight container to store.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

I took the picture when my boys were asleep this time so there wouldn't be any little hands trying to take the cookies :o)

Weekly Meal Plan 1/9/12-1/15/12

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:10:00 +0000

Last week’s meal plan didn’t quite go as expected. We decided midday Wednesday that we would not go to Moscow and wait until the weekend so there would be a little more time. It was probably a good idea as we had not decided what we were going to do with our little Giacomo (Jack for short). In our excitement about getting out of town for a day we didn’t have any idea what to do with our dog. So, we decided to leave on Saturday, stay overnight, and come back on Sunday. The day before we left (Friday), I went out and left Giacomo at my inlaw’s house to play with the other doggies for the weekend. He loved it, as usual.

It also gave the boys time to play with some friends who live out that way, so it was a great trip for multiple reasons. Now, I just have to figure out how Giacomo is getting back, as I don’t feel like driving back out there.

Additionally, we are tired of “eating out” food. We found we eat bigger and less healthy foods when we aren’t at home. I had brought a few things, but they were quickly gone, so we resorted to other stuff that wasn’t as healthy. It will be nice to have our “old” comfy foods again.

Monday:
Breakfast-Potatoes, Bacon, Hash browns
Lunch-Turkey Salad or Sandwiches
Dinner-Steak and Risotto

Tuesday:
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Toast
Lunch-Hot Dogs and LO
Dinner-Goulash

Wednesday:
Breakfast-Spelt Pancakes/Waffles
Lunch-LO
Dinner-Chicken Breasts (seasoned with Wildtree), Wild Rice and Corn

Thursday:
Breakfast-Cereal (due to swim lessons for mommy)
Lunch-Leftovers
Dinner-Mom Soup

Friday:
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Toast
Lunch-Salmon Salad and LO
Dinner-General’s Chicken

Saturday:
Breakfast-Tator Tots and Eggs
Lunch-Almond Butter and Jelly on Rice Cakes
Dinner-Little Smokie Corn Dogs

Sunday:
Breakfast-Oatmeal and Toast
Lunch-Tacos (from Taco Bell---maybe---for football game)
Dinner-Stew

I don’t really have a baking list for the week. I may have to make a loaf of Spelt Bread and I may make some Oatmeal Raisin cookies, but I am going to take it easy this week on baking. I have a new swim class I am taking on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and I have to tutor on Tutor.com Wednesday afternoon. So, my week is pretty full along with posting a bit more this week.

Now, time to go find a bathing suit as I haven’t bought one for…oh…6 years, maybe?

What yummy meals do you all have planned for the week?

Recipe of the Week: Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:32:00 +0000

I first heard of, and tried, these cookies at an event for Lakeside Chiropractic Center. They were delicious! So, I went home, found the recipe online, got some Quinoa Flakes and made them. The resulting cookies were HORRIBLE! I thought maybe it was because I had used almond butter instead of peanut butter. I tried them again, with peanut butter, and still pretty crummy, but not as bad as first time. Then, I got an amazing idea, why not ask the person who made them? She gave me the recipe (Thanks Suzie!), I made them, FABULOUS!!!

If you don’t know, quinoa is pronounced (keen-wah).

Try these for yourself and see how amazing they taste. If you are gluten free, these will be great for you. If you are dairy free, they will work as well if you use dairy free chocolate chips and a substitute for the butter.

Remember, even though they have quinoa flakes and brown rice flour, it is NOT a good idea to eat a dozen…at one time!

Ingredients:
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup all natural peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
¾ cup quinoa flakes
¾ cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the wet ingredients (butter, sugars, peanut butter, egg, vanilla) and then mix in the dry ingredients. Finally, add the mini chocolate chips and mix until well incorporated.

Using a cookie scoop put onto parchment covered cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes or until browned around the bottom edges. Let cool on cookie sheet for a minute, transfer to wire to rack to cool and then eat!

Makes about 3 dozen cookies (if you don’t eat any of the dough…not sure who might do that!).

These were so good my youngest tried to take a cookie as I snapped the picture!

Note: my oldest had already taken a cookie. That’s why there are only 2 left when I started with 3 on the plate in the first picture.

If you try these, let me know what you think!

Weekly Meal Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:27:00 +0000

Just so it’s known, my meal plans don’t ALWAYS go according to schedule. If I had to guess, I would say we do about 85% of what it says. Sometimes we change due to things that come up, we don’t feel like chicken that day or we have more leftovers than expected. Additionally, I may be too tired to make breakfast or we don’t have an ingredient, and I didn’t realize it.

A few notes on my schedule. First, when I write LOs it means leftovers.

Second, if you see something on the schedule for dinner 2 weeks in a row, it’s probably because it didn’t get made the first week I had it on there.

Third, my hubby and I thought about how our boys seem to eat really well in the morning and during the day. My boys almost never eat dinner (unless it is goulash). So, we thought we would try to make dinner meals in the lunch area a few days and see how it goes!

Monday (1/2/12):
Breakfast- Cereal and Spelt Toast
Lunch- Salmon Salad on Rice Cakes
Dinner- Crockpot Chicken

Tuesday (1/3/12):
Breakfast- Applesauce Bread
Lunch- Extreme Nachos (from Sunday LOs) or Veggie Mix Tacos
Dinner-BLTs

Wednesday (1/4/12):
Breakfast- Waffles
Lunch- Sack Lunch (AB & J on spelt bread, chips, cuties, cookies)
Dinner- Eat out in Moscow

Thursday (1/5/12):
Breakfast- Spelt Muffins
Lunch- Chicken Chili (from Monday LOs)
Dinner- LOs

Friday (1/6/12):
Breakfast- Oatmeal and Spelt Toast
Lunch- Goulash
Dinner- Salad and Pasta E Fagoli

Saturday (1/7/12):
Breakfast- Cinnamon Sugar Spelt Toast and Cuties
Lunch- LOs and Salad
Dinner- Steak and Risotto

Sunday (1/8/12):
Breakfast- LOs---Steak and Egg Sandwiches
Lunch- Chicken Strips and Jo Jos
Dinner- LOs

To Bake: 2 loaves Spelt Bread
2 loaves Cinnamon Applesauce Bread
1 batch Waffles
1 batch Spelt Muffins
1 batch Veggie Mix (to supplement leftovers) Hot Pockets

Hope this gives people ideas for the week. From this list, I have already gotten my shopping list ready for Tuesday!!!
I am going to try a few different spelt muffin recipes in the next few weeks and highlight those we really like. Stay tuned!

Mom Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:45:00 +0000

We have something at our house that we call Mom Soup. There are many variations, but my hubby’s mom always made it the best, so that’s what we call it. I guess you could say its vegetable soup, but you can add or subtract a vegetable or swap some out if you don’t have it. You could even make it vegetarian by not adding the beef.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion (optional)

3-4 russet potatoes

2 carrots

2 stalks celery (optional)

1 can green beans

1 can corn

1 can mushrooms (optional)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

Water

1. Brown the ground beef in the pan with a little oil, if needed. Add in spices such as salt, pepper, garlic powder or whatever you like. You can brown the beef with an onion, if you like. Drain grease if needed.

2. Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces. Add after the beef is cooked and drained. Put in enough water to cover the potatoes (usually takes about 2-3 cups)

3. Peel and chop the carrots and throw in with the potatoes and beef. Chop and throw in the celery.

4. Cook until the potatoes are cooked through. Then, add in the green beans, corn, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cook until all the ingredients are warmed through.

5. Add salt, pepper or chia seeds for a little extra nutrition.

6. EAT!

We love this recipe, and I love it because it’s so easy to cook. When I don’t know what else to make, mom soup it is! My kids LOVE it...I’m serious. My son just ate at least half of the bowl I just had. I had to get a second bowl because he ate so much and he ate about a third of that one.

Hope this recipe helps when you have no idea what to make for dinner!

What is the go to recipe in your house?

No Meal Plan!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:40:00 +0000

So…I did a bad thing this week and didn’t make a menu plan. To tell the truth, menu planning isn’t the highlight of my week. On the other hand, it does make the week go more smoothly. Why didn’t I make a menu plan this week? Because I was busy cooking like CRAZY on Christmas. I did not take time to plan out the rest of the week. Plus, I didn’t know how long the leftover turkey would last (Wednesday night was it), so I decided to play it by ear. Not too bad for dinner but very bad for breakfast.

My boys wake up and I think the fourth word out of Philip’s mouth after “potty,” “Cars,” and “train” was “hungwy.” Did I have any ideas what to make? Not really. My husband was working online, but he suggested hash browns. In our house, he does the hash browns, not me. So, while he finished up a few things I gave the boys a Cutie and half a Z-Bar. They STILL weren’t satisfied, so I gave them oatmeal with applesauce and raisins. In the end, Philip never ate the hash browns, but he ate the two little smokies and Grant ate the hash browns and 2 little smokies. Seriously! In the morning, you would think I never feed my children!

Back to menu planning…kinda important for my sanity, therefore, here’s what the rest of my week looks like.

Thursday:

Breakfast-hash browns, little smokies, eggs (for those able)

Lunch-Almond Butter and Jelly on Rice Cakes, veggies, cuties

Dinner-Mom Soup (recipe tomorrow)

Friday:

Breakfast- Applesauce bread

Lunch-Leftovers

Dinner-Hot Dogs or Chicken Sausage Nachos

Saturday:

Breakfast-Oatmeal with fixin’s and toast (maybe…unless Uncle makes something)

Lunch-Chicken breast (with WT seasoning) and salad

Dinner-Snacks at get together

Sunday (Happy New Year!):

Breakfast-Oatmeal with fixin’s and toast (because, most likely, Uncle will cook one day)

Lunch-Spanish Rice with Tortilla Chips

Dinner-Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Veggies

Yeah!!! I feel a great weight lifted of my shoulders. *sigh of relief*

What do you all have planned for the rest of the week?

BLTs

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:57:00 +0000

As many of you already know, we are (mostly) wheat free and dairy free in our family. My youngest son and I also stay away from eggs, in large quantities. This all came about due to allergies we learned my youngest son had about a year ago, which I will write about in a post, eventually.

Now, we are far off the subject...BLTs! That is what I wanted to write about today. My family makes BLTs for lunch. We don't really use all the components that BLT stands for, but it works for us. So, I wanted to let other people know about it whether wheat free, dairy free, egg free or not.

Ingredients:
Rice Cakes (lightly salted)
Mayonnaise or Mustard
Spinach
Turkey Bacon (we use no nitrate, no nitrite, all natural)
Avocado
Tomatoes

These are the order in which we put the BLTs together. You can use lettuce instead of spinach, regular bacon, if you like, no avocados. The possibilities are endless. We usually end up eating two, and everyone seems to love them. They can be a bit messy, but...who cares! It's bacon and other ingredients that are good too :)
Here's a couple pictures (if you needed more convincing):

YUMMY!!!

Do you have recipes that you call one thing, but it's not...really...what it is?
Let me know what you think of this recipe! I love comments!

Christmas Stockings and Memories Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:41:00 +0000

If you haven’t read Part 1, check it out here.

My mom loved Christmas. I’m pretty sure it was her favorite time of year. She was always giddy, happy and smiling during this time of year. I think she got so much joy out of seeing her kids get excited about presents and watching us in our Christmas programs at school and church year after year. Oh…and she was always doing her snow dance. Her idea of the “right” amount of snow was about 3-10 feet!

My mom started a tradition in our house of putting Christmas presents in or on the tree. My mom did this because one of her favorite Christmas presents, pearls she received from her father, were hanging on the Christmas tree. Since that time, she decided to put presents in the tree at her own home. I carry on the tradition today. Some of my favorite gifts of my growing up years either came in my stocking or were hanging on or sitting in the Christmas tree.

I will share three of my favorite presents I ever received in my stocking or on the tree. One year I received a Claddagh Ring. A Claddagh ring is a traditional Irish ring that has a heart with a crown on top and two hands holding the heart. I received it around the time I was 12 years old and the heart had a cubic zirconia in it. I loved that ring although it didn’t fit quite right. It was to replace the ring my brother had broken a few years ago. The ring is so special to me because it shows my heritage (Irish) and that means a lot to me.

Around the time I was eight years old I received a Peanuts necklace (shown below) that my mother had purchased from Avon. I like Peanuts and love all the movies, but my mom liked Peanuts the most, so I can’t let it go.

Finally, when I was 16, I received a tennis bracelet. I played tennis and my mother knew how much I wanted one. That tennis bracelet has been with me through a number of events in my life from proms, to band performances, flute solos, and banquets. This was probably one of the most treasured gifts I ever received from my mother, who is no longer with us.

Christmas Memory

Another precious memory of my growing up year occurred in 1999. I was part of the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) at my high school and every year a Christmas breakfast was held where we invited a guest. The breakfast was at the school and we got there early in the morning to attend.

I invited the freshman English teacher, Mr. Wild and his wife, to attend. I invited them because she worked with me at the library, and I met him the summer before he started working at our school. I just felt they were the right people to ask.

At the breakfast, we are all asked to write something on a slip of paper for the other people in the group. To be honest, I have lost a few, but I have 2 that I have kept all these years. The two slips I still have is one from Mr. Wild thanking me for inviting him and one from my best friend, Susan. Yes, Susan (if you are reading this), I still have it. It marks Luke Chapter 2, as you wrote on it, and I keep it there so I can read it to my boys on Christmas Eve.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! God Bless!

Christmas Stockings and Memories Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Lorie) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:59:00 +0000

My husband advised me to write a Christmas post on my love for Christmas stockings. Needless to say, I thought it was kind of silly. In the end, though, I thought, why not? It would be fun and a fitting tribute to my mother.

Christmas Stockings

I love stuffing stockings! Even before I had kiddos, I had the most fun doing the stockings each year. They always look so festive hanging on the fireplace, and it’s so homey. I don’t know if maybe my “ideal” of stockings is more than the actual, but every year, I get in the spirit when I think of stockings.

For kids, stockings are a gift that last longer than tearing the wrap off a big gift. You get to go through this long stocking and get a few tiny gifts while sifting through to the orange in the toe. Yes, we got an orange, too. If I remember right, a few years we also got an apple along with an orange. On top of that, you get candy and what kid doesn’t love candy. You can get your kids stocking stuffers for little money and they love them! Little eyes light up at each little thing you get and exclamations of surprise.

For adults, many find them useless. In my family, they have to deal with them. They know, by now, after much urging from the men, I am to get them “useful” things. So, every year they get something I know will be used. I buy a few pieces of candy, such as Chocolate Covered Santas (significance in this post) and truffles. After that I buy things such as trail mix, hand lotion, carmex, nuts, and sometimes gloves or clothing. No oranges in the adult stockings.

This year, though, I read a few blogs that had the most AMAZING ideas for stockings. I will be implementing these in the future when my boys get too excited to sleep long enough on Christmas morning.

Put the clue to begin a scavenger hunt for a present in the stocking
Put breakfast in the stocking

Great ideas, don’t you think?

Christmas Memory

One of my best Christmas memories was from 1996, I believe. There was actually snow in Kansas that year for Christmas. I remember out driveway had ice on it from where my parents had driven into and out of it many times.

I had received two of those enormous hair clips because my hair was so thick. I put my hair up and my sister and I raced outside to use the tire tracks as our skating rink. We were pretending to be Michelle Kwan and skated and twirled in the driveway a good amount of the day. I don’t know HOW many times we fell, but we loved every minute of it. I think that is one of my clearest, and best, Christmas memories.

***Check in tomorrow for Christmas Stockings and Memories Part 2 where I write about some of the best presents I received from my Christmas stockings as well as another Christmas Memory***

Leave me a comment with your favorite Christmas memory!