Inspiration

In case you need a little mommy inspiration for the day...

You can never go wrong with a crash pad.

I feel like crash pad is the epitome of fun...

and cuteness.

 

 

 

 

 

Freezer Dinner Attemp #1

The most important part of this whole freezer cooking thing is to find a cookbook that has the freezer recipe's and the shopping list included.  This is key.  It saved me so much time to just print off an already compiled grocery list. 

I used this ebook and it is fabulous.  She arranges your shopping list by combining three meals. 

So the first step is to find or create a shopping list and then do the shopping.  I recommend going after the kids are in bed.  It makes things much easier.  I love my precious ones but I despise taking them both to the grocery.

Next you need to slice and dice every little thing.  I like to use two different cutting boards, one for veggies and one for meat.  I hate raw meat.  I don't want anything to touch anything that's been touched by raw meat.  I also wear gloves because I feel like if I touch raw meat, inevitably it will get on my faucet or on the counter.  If I wear glove, I just chop chop and then throw away the gloves.  It's perfect. 

I recently saw on "Shark Tank" a fantastic idea.  It was a form that will make any bag a bowl.  So I used that same idea using big cups to make my baggies into bowls.  It helped keep the raw grossness off the outside of the bag and made assembly so easy.  I just tossed all my chopped items right in.  And can you believe the people on "Shark Tank" didn't bite?  I thought it was genius.

So that's about it, chop chop, throw and toss.  Then you zip those suckers up, put a label on it, and stick it in the freezer.

Today I actually put one of those freezer meals in the crock pot so I'll keep you posted on the final product.   

Super Mom

Super mom...I am not. 

I have had these unexplained burst of adrenaline where I've tried to attempt something that would unequivocally place me in that category.  Let's take cloth diapers for example.  I jumped on that band wagon without looking back.  Before Stella was born, I was avidly stalking eBay for awesome scores on cloth diapers.  By the time she came around, I had quite the collection.  You all know how this story ends. 

They leaked.

They leaked and they leaked and they leaked.  I tried washing them with Dawn.  I tried washing them with vinegar.  I tried it all people and I'm telling you they leaked.  So I put them right up on eBay. 

And just for the record...I made almost double what I paid so I count that as a win.

The next trick I had up my sleeve was a really good one.  It was gonna make Jonathan swoon at my frugality and my children would sit at my feet and adore me.  Couponing.  I really thought I could do it.  I have seen enough episode of Extreme Couponing and let's be honest, those people aren't geniuses.  How hard could it be?  Well, I live in Whitesburg, Ky with approximately one and a half grocery stores and none of them double coupons, not to mention the fact that we get one newspaper a week and there aren't exactly circulars included. 

Fail.

So tonight I'm beginning my third act of stay-at-home mother bravery.  Freezer cooking.  I realize I'm probably the last mom to try this but I've never been known to be on top of the trends. 

Freezer cooking.  Sounds awesome.  You do one big shopping trip, throw a ton of junk into gallon  Ziploc bags, throw it in the freezer and you are done.  How hard can that be.  Well my friends, when you live in a small town, it's pretty stinkin hard.

For starters our grocery story was out of about six crucial ingredients.  Nothing is more frustrating.  So I did the best with what I could find and I plan to make the drive to the beacon of light, Super Walmart in Virginia, to complete my list.  Hopefully I can just add those ingredients to the already frozen bags with no problem. 

I'll give you the play by play in the next post and let you know how it all goes.

Dropping the Ball

Wow, I totally dropped the ball on this blog.  I was looking back at some older post and saw the one from Addis's four month home marker.  It was about hunkering down.  I think after that point, I really took that to heart.  Don't get me wrong, we have been on about 17 road trips since then and two of those required leaving the kids with family, but my overall attitude has been to try to slow down and help Addis fully adjust to his new life.  My biggest mistake in all of this was thinking we would have no problems since Addis came home at 10 months. He was just a baby. The adjustment would be simple. Realistically, our journey has been very blessed and semi smooth, but still rougher than I had anticipated.

         

 

The bottom line here is that, despite these seriously cute faces, I felt like I was failing.  Addis was screaming more than not and I felt constantly on edge and overwhelmed.  Then a miracle happened.  Some friends decided to come visit us on a whim.  Our friends Zach and Rockie and their two babies had the weekend off and decided to come spend that time with us.  Our other friends Ben and Carrie and their baby jumped in the car at about 9pm and made the drive from Louisville.  (My absolute favorite thing about Ben and Carrie is their spontaneity...need I remind you of our trip to Niagra Falls?)  I digress. 

For these dear friends, they were coming just to hang out with some buddies.  For me it was a lifesaver.  I think I just needed to be able to talk about the struggles I was having and my dear friends were so great to remind me that I'm not failing...I'm surviving...and there is nothing wrong with that.

 

This is pretty much how we spent the entire weekend.

 

As if the weekend wasn't great enough already, we decided to all hop in the car and drive to Louisville to surprise another friend for his birthday.  It was an added blessing to be with Ben and Julie.  

Doc's surprise birthday party

 

 Getting to spend time with these friends really did change my perspective on mothering.  They encouraged me to get a book called "Loving the Little Years" by Rachel Jankovic, which I ran out and bought that day.  I have to say, it is amazing.  I love how she talked about how "fat souls are better than clean floors" and that even if the chores aren't done or if the laundry is piling up because you spent some extra time with your little ones, it's okay.  So, my goal is to not simply survive but to thrive. We can all dream can't we.

 

And since my kids are exceptionally cute, I'll leave you with a few more pictures...you're welcome.

 

"Helping" make sugar cookies...note Addis is sampling.

Sneaking icing as the cinnamon rolls cook.

Cutie!

Tea Parties are our favorite.