Hungry Boys

I suspect this may be a title I go back to over and over – since I have pre-teen boys –THREE of ‘EM- and they are only getting bigger and hungrier!!

So, after breakfast today I posted a plea on facebook :

Okay, mommas of teenage boys : two eggs, two pieces whole wheat toast & almond milk - not filling up my nearly-teen boys!! What is a cheap filling item I can add to breakfast? (Most morning we have a fruit smoothie instead if milk. ) Shower me with ideas please!!!

Now first, let me explain.  I do not mind making breakfast, I normally do every day.  We no longer get boxes of cereal (TOO expensive and they are hungry an hour later).  We have farm fresh eggs (get about 10 a day) at our disposal.  And we eat as a family after chores before school.  So, I do not mind the prep.  But how much food do these people require????  It is no fun when I feed them, and they are still begging for food!!

And, I do not want to be mixing up muffins, toasting granola, frying eggs and whipping up a smoothie each morning. 

So the answer is : let’s start using my freezer!! 

I had many suggestions :

Peanut butter

pancakes

oatmeal

steak

potatoes

more peanut butter, more oatmeal

add veggies to eggs

add eggs

granola

This all got me thinking about things I have done in the past.  I have made a gallon of yogurt.  That lasts about a week and a half.  I made and froze lots of muffins before friends came to stay and pulled different ones out each night.  I need to get ahead of my problem….

I saw a muffin recipe on pinterest that said you can freeze the batter.  Perfect!!  Then, I knew I need to whip up some granola to have on hand too.  And I think I need to start making either yogurt or Kefir every other week.  This is a great item to use to fill up those HUGE stomachs. 

So, Here is my plan and a few links to share with you:

Banana Crumb Muffins (I’m going to cook and freeze)

Potatoes O’Brien

Cinnamon Zucchini Freezer Muffins

Morning Ham and Cheese Muffins (make and freezer before cooking)

* Note with some of these recipes I will modify the sugar.  I do not use white sugar or brown – we use less every time, honey when we can or an organic unrefined sugar if we have to. 

After I get all these items mixed up, cooked up, or fixed and frozen, I feel like I will be able to throw a few more items on our breakfast table.  Or I will have more options for a mid-morning snack.

Some other suggestions from my Facebook Friends were oatmeal, peanut butter, potatoes, more eggs, steak (not going to happen here), and granola.

---

Coconut Cranberry Granola with cashews and pecans

So, my granola is cooling right now (nothing like motivation kicking in!), my 12 muffins are cooking, 24 more are freezing, and I am about to whip up those egg muffin things to bake and freeze.

Whew.  I think I will have a bit of help with breakfast for the next week or two….I hope!!

Meanwhile, if anyone knows where I can sign my boys up for sponsorship through the teen years – for feeding purposes only-  please tell me!!

Getting away with some Sally (pt 2)

Did that first part of my weekend sound like fun??  Oh it was.  It was great to be in a room with almost 800 other moms who want to really lead their children’s hearts and not just their actions.

It was great!!

So, after having a quick supper and some visiting, we got back to our seats to settle in and hear what Sarah Mae had to say!!  Oh my, what a sweet young mom!!  I just loved getting to chat with her very briefly at our table, and then loved listening to her story even more! 

Sarah Mae wrote Desperate – a book recently released – that she co-wrote with Sally Clarkson.  (HOW COOL IS THAT!?)  I have had the book in my hands for several weeks, but I have not finished it, shame on me – I know!  But it is so good.  Sarah’s kids are a bit younger than mine, but I still feel like her message is very relevant to me.  And it is not about feeling desperate because your kids are out of control, more that we feel desperate because we are not plugged in to the right source.

Anyway, loved her talk – she talked about being a Free mom – we are unchained.  We have grace and can and should offer it to our kids.  That we are not perfect … and neither are those little ones.  She reminded us that we need to let go of the “but” in the “yes, we are saved by grace, BUT….”

Did I mention she is a blogger too?  Of course.  Her blog is SarahMae – and check her out too!!  My favorite thing she said was a caterpillar has 100% butterfly DNA – even though it looks like a caterpillar – and our kids are more than they look too.

Getting away with some Sally!!

One of my favorite weekends of the year is when I get to run away and see Sally Clarkson!!  I love to get away with a few friends, catch up, think clear thoughts, have some Starbucks, and get filled by a seasoned Homeschool mom of 4 who has walked this road before me. 

This year was just what I hoped it would be!  I got to get away with a friend who is expecting her first bundle of joy, a friend also homeschooling her two, and then also got to meet up with a few friends from Mansfield/Arlington days.  I almost gave up my seat to the conference this year so a friend could go.  In fact, I told her she could have my seat and then I planned to go and just have some alone, quiet time in the hotel room during the conference.  Honestly, that was just as appealing as hearing someone speak. 

However, God had other plans.  I told God I would give up my ticket so my friend could go, and if He wanted me to be in that conference there would be a ticket available on the wait-list.  And low and behold, I got the call.  I was offered another ticket and so I was able to go. 

And guess what?  It was the best conference I have been to yet.  It was perfectly what I needed to hear.  The sessions spoke to my heart for the season I am in right this moment.  It was such a blessing!

 

“Scripture tells us that the disciple becomes like his teacher. So, the teacher must be and live out what he wants his pupil to know and be. What you are in your home is what you are.” Sally @ Itakejoy.com

 

First, Clay Clarkson, Sally’s husband spoke about his book Heartfelt Discipline, which I am LOVING!!  Clay’s approach to discipline is not the normal rod style discipline.  Instead his approach is more heart based.  In the past I have read about this approach, but this time is clicked, and I am so excited to move toward applying more of this in our home.

Next was Sally to complement Clay’s talk, she talked a bit more nuts and bolts to his ideas.  I so appreciated her honesty of where they have been with this children and painting a picture of where they are now.  Seeing their family gave me tremendous hope for our future.

The next session was by Kat Lee, an amazing young mom with a powerful story!  She writes a blog at Inspired to Action – check her out!  I loved listening to her story and her message – to empower moms!!

That was it for our Friday afternoon sessions – then we met up for dinner in our room.  A time of food and fellowship – does it get any better??

Check back tomorrow to hear more about our weekend away -

Still to come……..

{Sarah Mae & more Sally}

Sprouts anyone?

Oh the fun we have had!!  We went to a sustainable gardening club meeting recently and it was so much fun!!  At the meeting we met people who are thinking like us : garden, home raised meat, and even organic!  Not everyone thinking the same, but similar and encouraging!

As part of our meeting a friend taught us all how to sprout.  I have read tons of posts about this on the internet, but never ventured out to do it.  But this time, it was different!  Cheri sent us home with a baggie of seeds, a box to raise them, and the knowledge to do it!!

Start with a plastic shoe box (or you can use other stuff, but this time we used a plastic 89 cent shoe box from Walmart)

You need a fine strainer, we have a metal one.

Pour some seeds into strainer and rinse.

Then dump into shoe box. (yes they will be wet.

Cover the shoe box with lid and leave over night.

Spring Garden : In

 

I love this part of the garden, not as much as the final product, but I still love the planning, the excitement of what we are going to put into the ground, the hope of what will spring forth from the ground in the coming weeks and months!!

We had a wonderfully productive day on Sunday!  We arrived home from church, and after we ate some lunch we all headed out to work in the garden!  The weather was so nice, almost 70’s, even though the wind was blowing like crazy!

We planted 2 rows of three different kinds of potatoes, hope that is enough this year.  Then, we also planed lettuce (bibb and romaine), Swiss Chard (my favorite), radishes (a family, minus me, favorite), beets, onions, and some Pak Choi, not really sure what that is!

Everyone planted something, which is another favorite part – they are all so excited about getting seeds in the ground and planting things!  They love to watch their row grow and occasionally help weed too!

Tamale Time {w/recipes}

Okay, day 2 of tamale making resulted in a few pictures, lots of tamales in the freezer and lots of fun time with friends!!

 

I have been making these beauties for about a year now, after learning from my mom and her husband Louie Martinez … yeah, he learned from his family.  They are good!!

Discipleship ~ Part II

So, Tuesday  I shared some of the thoughts in my head, bouncing around (I am sure there is lots of open space for such thoughts to bounce….)

What does discipleship really look like?

How do we “do” it?

To whom do we disciple?

Many of these thoughts came from reading Radical by David Platt. 

 

While reading that book, I have listened to a few great podcasts too like :

Matt Chandler and Mission of God

Michael Fletcher @ Manna ReligionX

The underlying theme in all these places has been that it is not about God saving us to Save Us – it is about saving us so that we can live our lives glorifying HIM.  I just love this.  It is not about us.  Never was.  Never will be.  Wow.  I love this!

Christmas Traditions

I *love* Christmas time! We take time away from our typical studies and we focus on why we celebrate this holiday.

For us, it is really not about the presents, to keep true to this, we limit the number of gifts the kids get to three, from us. We try to find something that they need (this year 2 boys may be getting new comforters), something they want (a toy of some sort: BB gun, Bow & Arrow, games, etc) and the last thing is kind of our choice (this year I think some books). One exception is on Christmas eve they get to open their PJ pants – so, I guess they get 4.

On Sunday after Thanksgiving, we start our Jesse Tree tradition. We have always done something Jesse tree/Advent related, but last year I used Ann Voskamp’s Jesse Tree Devotion, and trust me when I say it is THE BEST out there!! I have many Christmas tradition books, and nothing comes close in spiritual depth and truth!! In order for us to remember each night, because life around here can get crazy, we get a chocolate candy Advent calendar for each child. (Aldi usually sells these – cheap)

Crafty Christmas

So, while we are still trying to savor Thanksgiving, I am up to my elbows making Christmas crafts!

Normally, I am done about September, making Christmas crafts, this year I started a few weeks ago.  So, you can imagine how much fun I had recently spending half my day making some crafts!!

Going back to Pinterest, I saw this:

and loved it!  So here are a few of my versions :

Making Hand Soap {DIY}

Oh my, I am in heaven!!

I saw this on pinterest a number of times, and knew I wanted to do it, but when the pin was with Mrs. Meyers soap – it became #1 on my list instead of somewhere lower!!

If you have ever smelled Mrs. Meyers Basil soap, you are missing out!  It is my favorite smell, makes me WANT to mop.  I simply love it.  I have been using a bottle (12 oz) of hand soap for about a year, I stretch is by refilling those foamer bottles.  I put about 1-2 Tablespoons and fill it up with water.  I do this for the kids too, since they tend to waste lots of soap. 

Discipleship {Part I}

What does discipleship really look like? 

How do we “do” it? 

To whom do we disciple?

Those are a few of the questions bouncing around in my head these days. 

 

While reading Radical, and listening to David Platt talk about what it means, how Jesus did it, and how we are called not only to go and tell, but to make disciples, I am chewing on how that looks in my life. 

First, I think I am called to disciple my children.  Why?  Well, before this week I could not specifically tell you, but while I was reading Titus 1:5-9 I read why I am called to do this.

For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, ⁶ namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.

Paul tells us in Titus that to be a leader in the church you must have only 1 wife, and children who are believers and not rebellious.  Why would he say this?  Because if you do not have your own house in order, how in the world are you going to tell someone else how to get theirs in order?

Planning Time

It’s Wednesday in our week of “vacation” of sorts.  The other little girl who schools with us is on vacation, so we are taking a bit of a break too.   It is nice to get a break every now and then, especially to make you appreciate what you have!!

The extra time I have had has been spent researching a plan for November and December.  While we will keep on track with regular school in November, I wanted to incorporate something dealing with Gratitude and also with the history behind Thanksgiving.  I found a couple different things for these topics, but my favorite, and the one I think we will use is Attitude of Gratitude Lapbook.  It is a 12 lesson plan with some great ideas!! 

Stretching $$ & being healthy

If you are like me, and you are probably not like me – you are probably still considered normal by your friends.  I am not.  I am far from normal – and I promise not to tell you all the ways.  You would probably cringe.

But if you are like me a little – a wee bit, well then I may be able to help you out.

First, with 4 growing kids in our house – 2 almost teenage boys, okay maybe not in age – but in eating ability for sure – we have changed how we eat – COMPLETELY.

Robert and I ate “normal” for years.  We based a meal around the meat we were serving and added a veggie or starch, or probably both.  We bought our meat in the store, with our veggies and processed foods.

Slow Saturday

Don’t you love days that you do not do much of anything?

Well, if you know me, you know it is not possible for me to really do nothing.  But, I love days that I do not HAVE to do anything.  That was my day today. 

I did not get out of bed until 7:30am  - that is the latest I have been in my bed in ages!  It was fun to just relax.  I even had a snuggle buddy – AG who arrived sometime (too early to read my clock) and loves to cuddle in the morning.

So, I started a bit lazy this morning, and it continued just about all day. – okay, all day. 

I did get some fun stuff done though, I fixed up a backpack that was a hand-me-down from a friend with the name Colette on it.  I stitch-ripped the monogram off, and appliqued a flower on the flap of the backpack.  Tomorrow I will add some replacement buttons and it is ready to go all the way to West Point next week on my daughter’s back.