Busy, Busy

Sorry I have been so absent lately from my blog; there is just so much going on right now! I don't feel too overwhelmed with the amount of things on my plate, it's more the emotional handling of all the things that are going on right now. It is interesting to see God's hand in the little details of life, and how He lines things up for us, and blesses us in tiny ways that only we can recognize as His hand. He keeps us steady. He hasn't forgotten about us. He is waiting for us to diligently seek Him. I often find myself thinking about how much I have to do, how full my plate is, or how I am going to get everything done. And in my devotional, it talks about how Jesus led a busy, full life when He was on earth. He had people who wanted his attention and company and He knew His mission and plan for being on the earth. And yet, He still got up early and sought that time away, by Himself, with the Lord. It's kind of a funny concept to think that He would need to do that, but what a huge statement for us and how connected we need to be to Him before we start our day. How can we go through our hectic day without Him?
I feel like I have gotten off track of a lot of things lately, and that's often how I roll. I will go from disciplined, to lacking in most areas of my life. And then I will realize that I need to get back on track and really apply some discipline. Areas like eating right, working out, spending time with God, my priorities, or how I spend my time. So I am trying to get my priorities back to where they should be, and apply some discipline. It's not easy, but I want to get back on track and feel more in control of my life, instead of just letting everything happen to me.
I am not one who enjoys spontaneity too much, or plans changing quickly, or sudden decisions being made that are out of my control. It's a control thing, I guess, and I should be able to go with the flow a little more often but I struggle with it. Lately, I think God is trying to see if I will trust Him as things change without my "permission." "I will hold you, I am already in control, all you have to do is trust Me," He says. It's hard. I want to hold tightly to those things that I feel are in my control. But really, nothing is in my control.
These are the times when we can either throw up our hands and give up, curl up in a ball and deny what is happening, or push through in faith, and choose to trust God even when you don't know what is happening, or what is going to happen. I hope I can push through in faith, and come out more than a conqueror through Him who gives me strength.
"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3

New Workout Routine

Well, the holidays killed my weight loss plan. I know it's so hard for everyone to be disciplined during all those holiday parties and functions, with all those devilish goodies, cookies, and fatty meals. They are lovely, but they are deadly, too. I think I learned some valuable lessons from it all. Like, if you binge all holiday season, you will waste so much of the time you spent burning that fat off, and you will have to start over, and that is depressing. And, treating yourself to holiday food is okay, in moderation, but once you let yourself go and just binge everyday all day, making up for all those months you "couldn't have that stuff," it is a recipe for disaster. And also, when the new year finally rolls around, and you have the will-power to get your booty in gear, you will feel depressed looking at the "old you" in the mirror, the you that started out many months ago and lost weight.
So, here we are. I guess I didn't think I would erase so much of my hard work, but I learned that eating that junk will do harm very quickly. It also sent my gallbladder into "crazy mode" and started giving me attacks with too much fatty foods. I really wish I would have had the sense to at least be disciplined until those holiday functions, and then given myself some extra liberty to enjoy those foods, instead of just "taking the holiday season off." That was a bad idea. It wasn't my intention originally, but I just got so busy that I even stopped working out for a few weeks, trying to get caught up on all the Christmas duties.
I am excited that I have the discipline to lose this weight though. It has been tough, to try to break away from that "binging mode" that is so easy for me. I hate to admit that I am a binger, but I like to keep it real. I am an eater. And I don't know when to stop. It seems like I am either doing really good, or really bad. Before the Christmas break, I was in the habit of working out everyday during the kid's nap time. But then that changed because Ruth started waking up about an hour into her nap and I was afraid I was waking her up. And if I try to workout early in the morning, it wakes up the kids as well. Then I started to workout in the morning while the kids were awake, and that can be very distracting because they need me so many times during it, or are crawling around my legs while I am trying to do it!! So I started going to the Y a little before 6 in the morning, and one of my friends wanted to join me for accountability! So we go about 3-4 times a week. I cannot even tell you how great it is to get that workout done early, and without interruptions!!
I am slowly getting my groove back with logging all my food on My Fitness Pal, and trying to stay within my range. That is the hardest for me. I am in the habit of working out again. The Y in the morning, or I do a workout dvd the other days in the morning. But the biggest challenge for me is staying on track with my nutrition. The hardest thing for me is the events with food. It is so hard for me to say no. And when I'm feeling stressed, anxious, angry, overwhelmed, etc. I feel like I "deserve" those horrible snacks. Which is actually doing a disservice to myself.
I am so glad that I have my weight loss group on Facebook, because without those amazing ladies, I would be lost. I wouldn't have as much motivation to keep going. But with their daily motivational posts, encouragement, and just the friendships I have formed on there over the last 9 months, it inspires me to keep going. To start over. To keep making good choices, and not beat myself up for past failures. And it helps that they are believers and that the encouragement is also towards the things of God!! Such a blessing!!
So, what are your New Year weight loss goals? Are you maintaining, trying to lose that pesky holiday weight, or starting fresh, trying to lose weight for the first time? What are some helpful tips you could share that would help someone who is in the daily fight to be healthy and workout?
If you qualify for any of these, keep going!!! And feel free to post on here your successes, setbacks, advice, or encouragement!! And for pete's sake, read Made to Crave!!

The Homeschool Slide

When I first thought of possibly homeschooling, and believe me, it wasn't my idea, I didn't know how I was going to replicate "real school" at home. I wanted to make sure that Maddy was getting the full "experience" and one of my main concerns was that I couldn't give her all of that, because I am only one person, only good at certain things, not all of them. I think when we first started, and even up until recently, I was still holding onto that "homeschool mom guilt." I think we all do it. We wonder what we are missing, what we haven't taught, what we forgot, what the "other kids" are doing. Ok, I still do it. I wonder, "Is she reading as well or better than other kids her age? Will she know everything she would learn in music class at school? Will she excel in art without having "art class" like they do in school? Will she get that kid-interaction and learn how to deal with other kids?" I know she is getting some of these things through Classical Conversations, and for that, I am so glad. She is learning the tin whistle, art, doing science experiments, learning about artists and orchestra, and doing weekly presentations. She is learning to sit in a classroom, when to be quiet, lining up in a line, and making friends in her small class. But as far as what we do at home. I always wonder if we are doing enough. I think sometimes I pile too much into each day, just trying to "fill in the holes." I have an "other" category that includes the things I think of or stumble upon, and realize she should be learning, or should already know by now.
So what is the homeschool slide, you may ask? Well, I think it means that it's where we, as homeschool moms, can take a load off and not worry so much. It's not where we get lazy and stop teaching things. It's not where we drop the ball and watch TV instead of school our children. It's just where we stop the anxiety, and comparing ourselves to other moms who homeschool, or don't, and concentrate on all the wonderful blessings we have in being a homeschool mom. I have realized that it is such a privilege and joy to have my kids home with me all day. I get to teach them about life, and let them experience things with me that they wouldn't get if they were gone all day. They learn more things about how to run a house, how to take care of the baby, how to entertain themselves when mom has things to do, how to work independently on school, how to play when mom sends them off to play "together," and are interested in helping me cook when they see me start to get ingredients out.
Now this is not to say that that's all we do for school. My homeschooling philosophy is very academic, and their studies are very important to me. My mother-in-law is a wonderful example and counsel for me of a homeschooling mom who is strict with her kids studies and has had kids who have graduated highschool and gone on to colleges where their teachers have commented that their mom did a great job. They have been at the top of their classes and have done well in college. So I look to her for advice so that I can help my kids succeed as well.
Not everyone has the same philosophies in homeschooling as I do, and that's okay, but for me, academics is very important. But I guess my point is that we have to give ourselves a break sometimes. So many veteran homeschooling moms talk about how they wished they weren't so strict and hard on their kids in the early years. How there were tears and frustration, and how they didn't need to be so hard on them. I have Judah doing preschool this year, and I am pretty lax with him. I have realized that there will be no permanent damage done if we skip a week of his school, or have a lighter week, or if we don't do our "curriculum" one week but do other stuff instead. And with Maddy, I have to make myself take a day off once in awhile if it's absolutely necessary, and try to not feel guilty about it. We can take those breaks, we homeschool for crying out loud!!
So I guess in conclusion, I have realized that homeschooling is not ever going to look just like "regular school," and that's okay. In fact, it's more than okay, that's the point!! We can give our kids different experiences, a closer bonding with their siblings, and greater responsibility around the house, more hands-on, one-on-one intereaction, and a deeper studying of God's Word that they might not get at school. As in everything in life, our perspective is everything. If we focus on where we are lacking and what we are not doing and how we are failing, then we will be miserable homeschooling moms. But if we focus on our precious time with our kids, the responsibilities they are learning, the unique teaching times we have, and how we get to see their eyes opened to the world around them as they learn, then we will be joyful and content in our homeschooling journey that God has called us to. I know it's not for everyone, but if God has called you and your family to it, then be grateful that you have the opportunity to stay home and teach your precious children!! And embrace the homeschooling chaos!!

Vegetable Stew (Giambotta)

I think I originally saw Rachael Ray cook this vegetable stew on her show several years ago, and have made it several times since. It is vegetarian, which I usually don't do, especially for dinner, but this one is so filling because of the amount of vegetables in it, and it is so delicious! Comfort food for sure, for those cold, winter evenings! I think another selling point is that you are suppose to serve it with crusty French bread cooked under the broiler with garlic and parmesan. It doesn't get much better than that, right?
I have been suffering from gallbladder attacks lately, and one way to dissolve the gallstones is to eat clean, eliminating fatty foods from your diet and adding in lots of healthy, fresh foods and increasing your water intake. I haven't been completely faithful to all of that, but I have definitely been adding in lots of fresh foods, fruits, vegetables, and lemon water. So that is why I wanted to make this soup again. And don't be too scared by the amount of vegetables, it truly is so delicious!! And since there are so many, you stand by your stock pot and throw in the veggies as you chop, starting with the veggies that take the longest to cook, and so forth. So, happy winter cooking!!

Vegetable Stew (Giambotta)
Rachael Ray, The Food Network

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
3 cloves garlic, 2 whole, 1 cracked from skin
2 onions, sliced
2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 eggplant, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
Salt and Pepper
1 (28 oz.) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup stock, chicken or vegetable (I used one whole box of chicken stock)
1/2 cup torn or chopped basil (10-12 leaves) (I used some dried basil and just sprinkled it in)
4 (1-inch thick) slices crusty whole-grain bread
1/2 cup grated pecorino (I used grated parmesan)

Preheat the broiler. Heat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add the extra virgin olive oil, bay leaf, chopped garlic and onions, and let them sweat while you prepare the other veggies.  Work right next to the stove, and drop as you chop, in order of longest cooking time: potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and add tomatoes and stock, and cook 5 minutes more, to heat through. Turn heat off and add basil.

Next, char the bread under the broiler and rub with cracked garlic, then drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and top with cheese and pepper, and return to the broiler for 30 seconds to brown the cheese. Serve the toasts with the vegetable stew!!

Enjoy!!

Happy New Year!

Well, it's another new year; Happy 2014!! It's that time of year...packing up the Christmas decorations, cleaning up the house (after the Christmas explosion and kids being off school), and planning to get back to school and other "normal" routines. I actually like the progression of things; I am always ready for a break from CC and school, and excited for Christmas, but afterwards I am ready to declutter the house of the decorations and get back to the regular schedule. I will miss the extra time I have to get things done, but I have been getting a lot of deep cleaning done that I usually don't have time to do, so hopefully that will make up for the rest of the school year where I don't really have time to do that kind of thing!!

Christmas Eve service

A Lushes with Brushes birthday party: so fun!!

The kids have had fun being on break, but they also get bored and end up fighting, so I will be glad to get back to a more normal routine with schoolwork and normal chores, to keep them busy with constructive things. A little too much TV, computer games, and phone games around here! It's also a good time to think through things that could change; routines, schedules, working out, school ideas, extra-curricular activities. The break just gives me a little bit more time to think straight without so much to do all the time. Though I did feel pretty overwhelmed with Christmas duties, so I am trying to relax a little more this week, but that's hard to do! A mother's work is never done!
I am reading a book called Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge and I am really enjoying it. I thought I would have more time to read it while on break, but I feel like I have actually had less time to read!! But it is a great book so I need to carve out some more time to get into it.
So what are you all excited to get back to after break, or are you excited at all? I have a new workout partner and we have been meeting at the Y before 6 am to workout, so that is good motivation for me. It feels good to get my workout done so early, before anything can ruin it and prevent it from happening. I did a workout at home this morning while the kids were awake, and it is ridiculous trying to referee and keep them occupied and get almost an hour long workout done. Ridiculous!! It just reminded me how going to the Y earlier is so much more practical. So that is what I will do tomorrow!!

Date night!!

Well, I guess this was just a rambling post with no real point or purpose. Just what is going on with me, with us. And I want to know what is going on with you!! So if you have read this post, let me know how you are planning on improving in January. Improving your marriage, schooling, taking care of your home, losing that "holiday" weight, or making your time with God a priority. Let's spur one another on towards love and good deeds!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Day!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

We have been so blessed this year and are enjoying being a family of five!! We had a wonderful Christmas with Tad's family, and all of his siblings were in town on Christmas day! I miss my family in Ohio and other places, but I look forward to seeing them this summer!!

Tad has had a change of jobs this past year and enjoys delivering mail for the United States Postal Service. He practically runs all day long delivering mail and has lost quite a bit of weight doing it! He has done several races this last year, including his first ultra-marathon in Arizona!! He finished 40 out of 50 miles, when he injured his IT band. I was so proud he made it so far!! He is also now the worship leader of our praise and worship team at church, and he is doing a great job!!

I have been busy homeschooling Madelynn, who is in second grade this year, and Judah, who has started preschool! I also teach Maddy's class once a week for a group called Classical Conversations, which is a Classical, Christan model of education and we learn a History Timeline, History sentence, World Geography, Latin, Science, English, and Math, as well as Fine Arts, Presentations, and Science Experiments. The kids love it! And it is such a good opportunity for them! I also enjoy working out, running, cooking (as always), and spending time with family!!

 

 

Madelynn is in second grade this year and is doing great in all her subjects. She has become quite the reader and also takes piano lessons (from me!) and swimming lessons at the YMCA. She has passed all of her swimming classes and is about to move on to Intro to Swim Team! We are so proud of her!! The wheels in her head are always turning and she is always asking questions, trying to figure things out, and trying to come up with solutions to problems. She is also a huge giver, and spends a lot of time making things for other people. I love those things about her! She is full of energy and spunk!!

Judah is doing preschool this year and is doing a great job. He is very smart! He just turned 4 on Christmas Eve! He does a preschool class once a week during Classical Conversations and is learning so much!! He loves art, wrestling with his dad and uncles, playing with his sisters, playing computer games, and cooking with Mommy. He is such a joy and is still my little cuddler. He also has been doing swimming lessons and has come to really enjoy them!!

Ruth will be 2 at the end of February and we love her so much!! She has been such a fun addition to our little family!! I can't believe how much she is doing at this age, but I think when they have older siblings, they learn to do more at an earlier age. She pretends with the kids, will lay down with a blanket when they are playing doctor, crawl when they are playing kitties, or call Madelynn "Mommy" when they are playing house!! It is so cute to watch them all play!! She has a similar personality to Maddy: loud, outspoken, very opinionated, and a ham!!

Well, we hope you enjoyed some of our funny family photos, and that you all had a great Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year!! We are so blessed to have our little family, and wonderful friends, and of course, salvation, blessings, and redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord. God Bless you all as we enter 2014!!

'Tis the Season (with a cookie recipe!)



The mailman came to help decorate our tree :)



Well, it's that time of year again. Time for all the hustle and bustle, getting a million little (and big) things done, and enjoying the holiday festivities that only come around this time of year. I love it, but I'm always ready for a break from the busyness of the holiday. I do enjoy all of our holiday traditions, and also doing new things each year to make it fun and different. Some of our yearly traditions include doing our advent calendar with candy for each day, making cookie plates to give to our neighbors and friends, decorating Christmas cookies with the kids, Christmas coloring books, decorating the tree as a family, watching Christmas movies, having Christmas pictures taken to go in our Christmas card, and having biscuits and gravy on Christmas day with Tad's family. There are lots

 of other things we do different each year that make it different and fun for us and the kids. It makes it so much more fun to have kids and to see their excitement over all the fun facets of the holiday season. We have chosen not to do Santa with the kids, but they know who he is and still enjoy watching movies about Santa and me teasing them about Santa bringing them gifts. We have just chosen not to tell them that Santa is real.

This year, we also have a cookie exchange at our church. While I have heard of these, I don't remember ever being a part of them so it will be fun. We actually have to make 6 dozen cookies for ours - 5 dozen to be shared with others (to take home) and one dozen to put out to enjoy at our women's Christmas party. And I am so proud of myself that I got all my cookies made almost a week in advance!! So I am going to give you the recipe for the cookies I made out of Allrecipes.com's new magazine!! I am so excited that they have a magazine since that is my favorite website to get recipes off of! So the recipe might seem a little confusing, because they take one of their top-rated recipes and then they test it in their own kitchen and make extra suggestions next to the original posted recipe. So I will post it that way, and then, after all that, I will give some of my own suggestions.


Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Allrecipes.com
armagazine.com/ginger-cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened (from Allrecipes kitchen: Use butter, not margarine, for the best flavor)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together margarine and 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, then stir in water and molasses. Gradually stir sifted ingredients into molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut-sized balls and roll them in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. (From Allrecipes kitchen: We got a yield of thirty 2 3/4 inch cookies.) Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

143 calories per cookie

So these cookies turned out pretty good, and taste pretty much like a gingerbread cookie, so if you like cookies with all those strong flavors, you will like these. I will say, the dough was really hard to work with, so what I found is that if you refrigerate the dough for at least 10 minutes or so, you can work with it and get it shaped into a ball and rolled in the sugar without it being all stuck to your hands and really messy. Once I figured that out (like on the last batch!!), it was much easier. It really was a great cookie to make for a cookie exchange too, because it was fairly easy and a tasty, popular option to give out. I think I will also make this one as one to put on our cookie plates for friends and neighbors. Or I might just do gingerbread men so the kids can decorate them. We'll see!
So, as I love this time of year, I also am stressed out with all there is to do. But after these next few days, of scheduled events every night, we are almost totally free, so that will be nice, and less stressful.

Maddy helping to decorate the tree at church!

Another highlight from this year is that we got a chance to perform at our annual homeschool group Christmas talent show. Usually, Maddy would display something she had made, but this year she wanted to play the piano (like one of the first songs she has learned!) and she did great! Also, our family sang "Jesus loves me" while I played the guitar and sang. It was so precious to this momma's heart! I have always wanted a singing family, so this is just the beginning!
I hope you all have such a wonderful year of making Christmas memories and starting or continuing beautiful traditions with your families. Here are some links to some previous Christmas posts I have done in past years, with an advent reading schedule if you are interested!!

Cookie Plates
Loving Christmas Break
Coconut Snowballs and Coffee Filter Snowflakes
Homemade Gifts: Christmas Sweets in a Jar
Time for Christmas (with Advent Readings)
Christmas Festivities