April Goals

I am not really in the mood to do a full post today. My heart is sad but I feel like I need to just write something. So here it is Aprils goals are all about food and meal planning. I love this subject so I am excited to get better prepared in this area. I will be posting meal plans, recipes, and ideas that hopefully can help us all out.

I will post my March overview of how I did on my housekeeping routine later tonight. It went better than I thought and I have a few new ideas that I want to put into play.

Anyway check back to see what I will come up with next! :) You never know with me right?

April Goals

I am not really in the mood to do a full post today. My heart is sad but I feel like I need to just write something. So here it is Aprils goals are all about food and meal planning. I love this subject so I am excited to get better prepared in this area. I will be posting meal plans, recipes, and ideas that hopefully can help us all out.

I will post my March overview of how I did on my housekeeping routine later tonight. It went better than I thought and I have a few new ideas that I want to put into play.

Anyway check back to see what I will come up with next! :) You never know with me right?

Deep sadness

Last month I had the opprotunity to assist at another birth. It was beautiful and amazing. It was a short labor and the mom did wonderfully. The baby was so cute and sweet. A very peaceful child. All was well.

I received word this morning that this sweet baby has passed away. She got a little cold that stayed for a few days and then seemed to go away. Unfortunatly it didnt go away and in the end took the baby. The family is greiving yet they have the faith that this child has now gone back home. They believe this is what was supposed to happen. The funeral is this week and I hope to attend.

I am stunned by this. A lot of things have been on my mind lately and this once again solidifies my thoughts that we need to live each day to the fullest. We never know when something is going to happen to take a loved one away. I am glad that this family got to spend the month with their daughter and I am so glad that I have had years with mine. Family is infinatly precious and its something that we all need to remember, every single day of our lives.

Deep sadness

Last month I had the opprotunity to assist at another birth. It was beautiful and amazing. It was a short labor and the mom did wonderfully. The baby was so cute and sweet. A very peaceful child. All was well.

I received word this morning that this sweet baby has passed away. She got a little cold that stayed for a few days and then seemed to go away. Unfortunatly it didnt go away and in the end took the baby. The family is greiving yet they have the faith that this child has now gone back home. They believe this is what was supposed to happen. The funeral is this week and I hope to attend.

I am stunned by this. A lot of things have been on my mind lately and this once again solidifies my thoughts that we need to live each day to the fullest. We never know when something is going to happen to take a loved one away. I am glad that this family got to spend the month with their daughter and I am so glad that I have had years with mine. Family is infinatly precious and its something that we all need to remember, every single day of our lives.

My 10yr reunion

I graduated from high school 10 years ago this year. It seem like yesterday and forever ago at the same time. I was thinking today as I did the laundry about all the hope, dreams and goals I had for myself. Not many were accomplished and even at the time I dreamed them up I knew they werent really what I wanted. Thought I would share some with you.

1. I wanted to be a doctor (this is still something I toy with at times)
2. I wanted to be a stock broker: Only for the money though, the rest bored me to tears!
3. I wanted to live in a big city, big like NYC.
4. I planned on applying to college in NYC, Minneapolis, Seattle and Logan (it was my fall back application)
5. I never wanted kids AT.ALL.
6. I wanted to have fun with lots a friends and date lots of guys, but nothing serious, just fun.
7. I never wanted to get married.
8. I wanted to live in a studio apartment that I decorated(like on TV) in above mentioned big city and live quietly.....with a cat....or a goldfish.
9. I wanted to be a strong independant career woman.

As you can see none of those things happened, in fact most of the opposites occurred. And for this I am so greatful. I look at all the things I wanted back then and I know that I wouldnt have been happy. I would have been bored out of my mind, directionless and lonely. I am glad that over the last ten years I have come to see myself a little more clearly. While I still learn new things about myself all the time its nice to know that I didnt go the direction that I thought I wanted. Ten years after those goals or dreams I find myself staring at a field ready to grow vegetables in, loud screams shrieks and laughter come from the other room, the floor needs mopped and my school work still needs to be looked at and well......I'm totally happy with all of it.
Thank heavens you really dont know everything when you are young!

My 10yr reunion

I graduated from high school 10 years ago this year. It seem like yesterday and forever ago at the same time. I was thinking today as I did the laundry about all the hope, dreams and goals I had for myself. Not many were accomplished and even at the time I dreamed them up I knew they werent really what I wanted. Thought I would share some with you.

1. I wanted to be a doctor (this is still something I toy with at times)
2. I wanted to be a stock broker: Only for the money though, the rest bored me to tears!
3. I wanted to live in a big city, big like NYC.
4. I planned on applying to college in NYC, Minneapolis, Seattle and Logan (it was my fall back application)
5. I never wanted kids AT.ALL.
6. I wanted to have fun with lots a friends and date lots of guys, but nothing serious, just fun.
7. I never wanted to get married.
8. I wanted to live in a studio apartment that I decorated(like on TV) in above mentioned big city and live quietly.....with a cat....or a goldfish.
9. I wanted to be a strong independant career woman.

As you can see none of those things happened, in fact most of the opposites occurred. And for this I am so greatful. I look at all the things I wanted back then and I know that I wouldnt have been happy. I would have been bored out of my mind, directionless and lonely. I am glad that over the last ten years I have come to see myself a little more clearly. While I still learn new things about myself all the time its nice to know that I didnt go the direction that I thought I wanted. Ten years after those goals or dreams I find myself staring at a field ready to grow vegetables in, loud screams shrieks and laughter come from the other room, the floor needs mopped and my school work still needs to be looked at and well......I'm totally happy with all of it.
Thank heavens you really dont know everything when you are young!

Home managment week in review

So the last week was not a good week for me. Laziness kicked in big time as well as the upcoming arrival of family. I lounged the first part of the week and then scrambled on Thursday and Friday to get back on track. It is not a pretty picture in the laundry room because of this.

So today I woke up renewed to get back to my schedual and so far so good. I had to do much more than maintaince cleaning just because of all the visitors and the mess made there. The laundry is stacked up but I am working through that pretty well. I am not really going to focus on kitchen day today but will bump that to later in the week when everything is back on track.

A few things:

* the major cleaning I give the kitchen every week as helped a ton as far as up keep. I notice that things like the baseboards and wall (near the garbage can) look a lot better all the time. I usually give these wipe up jobs to the kids as they think its fun.

* Doing Laundry all on one day is fine in theory but it sure is a complete bore and I usually end up leaving a load for the next week. I am thinking about doing a load every other night throughout the week so it never piles up. (This is assuming I make it through the current pile!)

* Making 2 batches of granola each week is PERFECT. We are loving it!

* The kids seeing me take the time to do this each week are slowly improving on their own cleaning. Since getting their room organized with the bins they keep their room much tidier. Also the mess does not get as out of control as before.

This picture: Mainly herbs but some perenial flowers.

The garden is coming along great. Dean got 2 raised beds this weekend and we ordered 15 fruit trees. They should be here in about 6 weeks or so. The raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and asperagus that we ordered will be here next month. We have a lot to do to get ready for them but we are excited.

Broccoli, cabbage, brussle sprouts and other herbs and flowers

The starts here in the kitchen are covering nearly all the counters on one side. It is annoying to a degree to have all the space taken up. The kitchen never quite feels completely clutter free. However all those little green sprouts totally make my day. Most of them have their first set of true leaves coming in so that is great! The tomatoes had a harder time this year germinating. I think this is because I have them in a different place that doesnt stay has warm. They finally popped up last night, although I am still waiting on quiet a few to show some action.

Top: Onions, they smell fantastic already. They need to be trimmed down a bit.

Bottom: My poor tomatoes. Today they will be moved to the dishwasher by the window. I am hoping that this place gives them more incentive to perk up and get growing!

Home managment week in review

So the last week was not a good week for me. Laziness kicked in big time as well as the upcoming arrival of family. I lounged the first part of the week and then scrambled on Thursday and Friday to get back on track. It is not a pretty picture in the laundry room because of this.

So today I woke up renewed to get back to my schedual and so far so good. I had to do much more than maintaince cleaning just because of all the visitors and the mess made there. The laundry is stacked up but I am working through that pretty well. I am not really going to focus on kitchen day today but will bump that to later in the week when everything is back on track.

A few things:

* the major cleaning I give the kitchen every week as helped a ton as far as up keep. I notice that things like the baseboards and wall (near the garbage can) look a lot better all the time. I usually give these wipe up jobs to the kids as they think its fun.

* Doing Laundry all on one day is fine in theory but it sure is a complete bore and I usually end up leaving a load for the next week. I am thinking about doing a load every other night throughout the week so it never piles up. (This is assuming I make it through the current pile!)

* Making 2 batches of granola each week is PERFECT. We are loving it!

* The kids seeing me take the time to do this each week are slowly improving on their own cleaning. Since getting their room organized with the bins they keep their room much tidier. Also the mess does not get as out of control as before.

This picture: Mainly herbs but some perenial flowers.

The garden is coming along great. Dean got 2 raised beds this weekend and we ordered 15 fruit trees. They should be here in about 6 weeks or so. The raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and asperagus that we ordered will be here next month. We have a lot to do to get ready for them but we are excited.

Broccoli, cabbage, brussle sprouts and other herbs and flowers

The starts here in the kitchen are covering nearly all the counters on one side. It is annoying to a degree to have all the space taken up. The kitchen never quite feels completely clutter free. However all those little green sprouts totally make my day. Most of them have their first set of true leaves coming in so that is great! The tomatoes had a harder time this year germinating. I think this is because I have them in a different place that doesnt stay has warm. They finally popped up last night, although I am still waiting on quiet a few to show some action.

Top: Onions, they smell fantastic already. They need to be trimmed down a bit.

Bottom: My poor tomatoes. Today they will be moved to the dishwasher by the window. I am hoping that this place gives them more incentive to perk up and get growing!

Spring has Sprung

The weekend was a little cloudy and rainy but overall it was still awesome. We had family up for the weekend so the kids were in heaven playing with the cousins. Seriously I dont think we saw them for more than 20 min all day long. The bath at the end of the night was covered in a thick black sludge from the mud. Dean got a lot done too. Including 2 raised beds for the garden this year! WOOP! Seriously I couldnt be more excited to get the rest of them made. Dean also got all the weeds mowed down in the field and a bunch of other odds and ends. Next weekend its more raised beds, fencing and such. Hopefully the nice weather will return to make it a bit more enjoyable.

Spring break has come and gone now and I have to say I am sad to see it go. It was so nice not having to do homework or worry about due dates. Blah. As much as I like learning I have come to realize I like to do it on my own terms. Some of this stuff for school is just so pointless and yet I have to do it for a grade. Oh well it could be worse I suppose.

The kids are doing great. We are nearly done with the school year. We are done with Math and history (have I already mentioned this? It sure seems like it!) A few more language lessons and a few more weeks of science. This week we start on habitats and the animals in them. It should be fun. We are going to try our hand at lapbooking so hopefully that goes well and the kids enjoy it.

I am working on getting our schedual for next year worked out. We will only take a couple of weeks off before going back to school. For our kiddos the less the break the better. It works well this way as it allows us more time off during the year to prevent burn out. Boy do I wish I could have gone to school like this! :)

Spring has Sprung

The weekend was a little cloudy and rainy but overall it was still awesome. We had family up for the weekend so the kids were in heaven playing with the cousins. Seriously I dont think we saw them for more than 20 min all day long. The bath at the end of the night was covered in a thick black sludge from the mud. Dean got a lot done too. Including 2 raised beds for the garden this year! WOOP! Seriously I couldnt be more excited to get the rest of them made. Dean also got all the weeds mowed down in the field and a bunch of other odds and ends. Next weekend its more raised beds, fencing and such. Hopefully the nice weather will return to make it a bit more enjoyable.

Spring break has come and gone now and I have to say I am sad to see it go. It was so nice not having to do homework or worry about due dates. Blah. As much as I like learning I have come to realize I like to do it on my own terms. Some of this stuff for school is just so pointless and yet I have to do it for a grade. Oh well it could be worse I suppose.

The kids are doing great. We are nearly done with the school year. We are done with Math and history (have I already mentioned this? It sure seems like it!) A few more language lessons and a few more weeks of science. This week we start on habitats and the animals in them. It should be fun. We are going to try our hand at lapbooking so hopefully that goes well and the kids enjoy it.

I am working on getting our schedual for next year worked out. We will only take a couple of weeks off before going back to school. For our kiddos the less the break the better. It works well this way as it allows us more time off during the year to prevent burn out. Boy do I wish I could have gone to school like this! :)

A year of Ian

Happy Birthday Ian!! The little guy turns 4 today. I can hardly believe it. He told me today that now he is four he is big enough to go to the bathroom standing up like a dad and he is ready to be a super hero. :) He is ready for a super hero because he eats lots of fruits and veggies so he has big strong muscles. So just in case you want to be a super hero eat your veggies.....and turn 4.

A year of Ian

Happy Birthday Ian!! The little guy turns 4 today. I can hardly believe it. He told me today that now he is four he is big enough to go to the bathroom standing up like a dad and he is ready to be a super hero. :) He is ready for a super hero because he eats lots of fruits and veggies so he has big strong muscles. So just in case you want to be a super hero eat your veggies.....and turn 4.

Food Storage

We have really been making it a point to get our food storage set up. A friend shared an awesome site with me. I added the button on the right column if you want to check it out. I used some of their worksheets to calculate how much food I need to buy to get us to 1yr storage. HOLY COW! That seems like a ton of food. But we are well on our way. This last week I was able to get some great deals for our regular food budget so I was left with nearly an extra $100. I was able to get a few cases of items we use plus condiments, 6lbs of rice, and a few odds and ends. It didnt seem like a lot at the store but when I got it home and veiwed it with the other items we have I have about 15 more meals plus snacks. Not bad eh?

I am going to post my meal plan for everyone to see. I try to make simple meals that use a lot of storage items so that I am always rotating my stock. I also try and use my crock pot as much as possible and cook more so that I have 2 meals. This works great sometimes and not so great others. :)

So our food storage goals (okay you can think it, this girl is obssesed with goals! I admit it is a personality flaw/virtue I have had all my life!)

1. Get 72 hour kits prepared and put in a safe spot.

2. Build a strong 3 month storage as soon as possible (almost there I think)

3. Get a 1 year storage.

4. Find more recipes that utilize long term storage items. (ie beans, rice, wheat).

5. Get organic non-gmo seeds for storage (SO important I will post why later!)

Food Storage

We have really been making it a point to get our food storage set up. A friend shared an awesome site with me. I added the button on the right column if you want to check it out. I used some of their worksheets to calculate how much food I need to buy to get us to 1yr storage. HOLY COW! That seems like a ton of food. But we are well on our way. This last week I was able to get some great deals for our regular food budget so I was left with nearly an extra $100. I was able to get a few cases of items we use plus condiments, 6lbs of rice, and a few odds and ends. It didnt seem like a lot at the store but when I got it home and veiwed it with the other items we have I have about 15 more meals plus snacks. Not bad eh?

I am going to post my meal plan for everyone to see. I try to make simple meals that use a lot of storage items so that I am always rotating my stock. I also try and use my crock pot as much as possible and cook more so that I have 2 meals. This works great sometimes and not so great others. :)

So our food storage goals (okay you can think it, this girl is obssesed with goals! I admit it is a personality flaw/virtue I have had all my life!)

1. Get 72 hour kits prepared and put in a safe spot.

2. Build a strong 3 month storage as soon as possible (almost there I think)

3. Get a 1 year storage.

4. Find more recipes that utilize long term storage items. (ie beans, rice, wheat).

5. Get organic non-gmo seeds for storage (SO important I will post why later!)

Eye Candy

Eye Candy

A year of Miss Lauren Lou

One year ago Miss Lauren was born. I cant belive its already been that long. Seems like just yesterday. Amazing! Happy Birthday Lauren!

I dont know how to flip a video so enjoy this sideways! I went shopping today and Lauren snagged an apple. She loved it! :)