Ok, so as I stated in my last blog, I'm going to try to do more posts about what we are eating.
I don't keep my meal plan on an excel sheet on my computer, so I can't just upload my file.. So I'm going to type this all out. This is just the plan, not the recipes. If you want the recipes now, please shoot me a comment to let me know, otherwise, I am going to try to get the recipes on for each meal as the month progresses... Also this week I hope to get our shopping list on a blog this week, too.
Here's how I meal plan. I sit down with a spiral notebook, my pre-printed calendar that hangs on the fridge and usually my computer-but that depends on the mood Hannah is in. Many times I have to do my meal plan and grocery list planning in stages over a week.
I start off with planned breakfasts (Sundays and Saturdays usually, sometimes Wednesdays). Then I move onto dinners. I label my calendar squares by the month, one shopping day to the next, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday get a B, L, D (breakfast, lunch dinner). If I KNOW we have a day we are eating out, I label that first. Like this month I know we will be eating out for one meal, so that's labeled, I don't have to plan that day. After I get at last 14 dinners planned I start putting them on my calendar. The meals are repeated once a week, or once every two weeks, or sometimes not repeated at all... Like something new or a soup.
For my sanity, I try to have something easy on Sunday evening.
For lunches during workdays, it stays the same for Dennis. He eats a salad, fruit for a snack, boiled eggs, a pickle, and a nutty bar. Right now he has a few extra snacks for promotion they are doing at his job. Those are cauliflower and raisins. For our lunches, it varies.. Peanut butter and jelly, mac and cheese, tuna and I try to get something like fish sticks or chicken nuggets for some variety in there. For Saturdays right now we are doing hamburgers and fries. Sundays we are looking for a church right now, so we decided to get some chips, then we'll stop at one of the restaurants and grab a hot sandwich for everybody and eat in the car or have a picnic.
Breakfasts are normal... During workdays Dennis and I eat eggs, he also gets yogurt and bacon. Sometimes I just eat jellied toast. The kids usually get cereal or I'll make coffee cake. Saturdays we do waffles. Sundays I'll make something like cinnamon rolls, monkey bread or just cinnamon toast if I don't get something done.
Wednesdays depends on if we sleep in or not.. Sometimes we'll just do cowboy hash, the kids just get cereal those days, they aren't fans and Grace can't eat eggs. I've done french toast for us and cinnamon toast for them.. it really just depends on the day.
So this month we're shopping on the 13th, then in October it's the 11th. Shopping day we usually grab Papa Murphy's or get pizza while we're at Costco to heat up at supper.
14th-Caprese Chicken
15th-17th-the kids and I are visiting in Nebraska, so Dennis will find something at Costco to eat while we are gone, the 17th I'll grab something on our way home
18th-Ranch pork chops
19th-Shake N Bake Chicken
20th-Caramelized Onion Pizza
21st-Caprese Chicken
22nd-Hawaiian Fajitas
23rd-Angry Chicken
24th-pizza
25th-chili
26th-Shake N Bake
27th-Pizza Casserole
28th-Caprese Chicken
29th-Hawaiian Fajitas
30th-Angry Chicken
Oct 1st-pizza
2nd-Grilled Eggplant Parmesan
3rd-Shake N Bake
4th-Pizza Casserole
5th-Caprese Chicken
6th-Hawaiian Fajitas
7th-Angry Chicken
8th-Pizza
9th-Grilled Eggplants Parmesan
10th-Shake N Bake Chicken
11th-is a shopping day so we'll grab pizza again
You're getting some extra posts this week as I didn't want to make this really long, so I'll get my shopping list out to you soon.
Have a great week!
~Tabitha
Triple Clicks
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Tacos and a Plan
My husband started a blog on his weight loss journey. Go check him out. He's already made some awesome progress, but it's a lifestyle change for us all with the food we eat.
Obviously I'm the chief cook and the chief grocery shopper, though he does shop with us now. So my side is finding healthier meals and shopping healthier.
What that means for my blog is I'm going to try to do more food blogs and more shopping blogs. On his blog, you'll get the calorie count... SO, if you are in need of eating healthier, we hope we can help you on your journey as Dennis is on his journey.
So here's our taco meal. Not much has changed in this meal. The salsa varies depending on what's on sale. We got our Costco membership I've been waiting on, so everything in bulk is Kirkland brand now. I did not keep track of the prices this month, but I will for next month and break costs down more as I do our food blogs.
1 lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
shredded cheese
salsa
sour cream
lettuce
tomato
taco shells
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| Sour Cream, Taco seasoning, Monterey Jack & Cheddar Shredded blend, Kirkland Salsa (not bad), tomatoes (I cut two for everybody though the kids rarely eat it), lettuce (it's a baby spinach and romaine mix-I buy it in bulk, and cut as we use it) |
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| Yes, there are three different shells. Medium flour tortillas for Dennis, Small flour tortillas for the kids-because they want a whole taco, but can't eat the medium shell, and corn tortillas. I prefer the corn tortillas (and they are less calories). |
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| The meat after the seasoning. I don't drain the fat off the beef, I just use what has cooked off to dissolve the seasoning. Yes I know I can make my own seasoning, but we prefer the store bought. |
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| My plate. 3 corn tortillas with a little bit of everything. |
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| Dennis' tacos. 3 flour tortillas with a little bit of everything. |
Have a great week!!
~Tabitha
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
We Found A Really Awesome Coffee
If you are on my Facebook you are possibly really tired of hearing about this awesome coffee we found. (And for general information, this is not an affiliate, just simply me sharing.)
So if you don't want to hear more about it, Exit Stage Left. Before you exit, be forewarned-this is more than me saying how much I love the coffee.
Now first off, let me say I LOVE our local coffee shop, I go there when I can. Which isn't much, I admit. A great couple who owns it, homemade food and great coffee and other drinks, plus awesome food and it's all locally sourced.
Check them out if you are in town.
I LOVE Out of the Grey Coffee.
So if you don't want to hear more about it, Exit Stage Left. Before you exit, be forewarned-this is more than me saying how much I love the coffee.
Now first off, let me say I LOVE our local coffee shop, I go there when I can. Which isn't much, I admit. A great couple who owns it, homemade food and great coffee and other drinks, plus awesome food and it's all locally sourced.
Check them out if you are in town.
I LOVE Out of the Grey Coffee.
What I love about this coffee.
IT'S COFFEE!! Lol Obviously.
Jack and Sheila (the owners) are Christians. For us, that's usually good enough to try the product if it's something we already eat and it's in our price range. The website has the way to Christ on it, their bags come with verses on them.
They are a custom roasterie. You read that right. A CUSTOM ROASTERIE. Now, other than the occasional "fancy" cup of coffee from a coffee shop, I'm a Folgers gal. These guys get beans from AROUND THE WORLD. And it's all organic. They have explanations on how the taste varies not only between the different roasts (light to dark), but between the different kinds of beans. Spend some time on the site and learn about the bean and roast you choose before you order to make sure you get the flavor you want. They have some awesome flavors they have come up with, OR YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN. Seriously. You can make your own coffee flavor. My jaw dropped. Dropped.
They are organic. YES!!!! All of this yummy goodness is ORGANIC COFFEE!! 'Nuff said.
They are affordable. I'm sure you read "custom roasterie" and are thinking "there is NO WAY this can be affordable".. I mean, organic and customized, usually those words go hand in hand with "you gotta be rich to afford this stuff". BUT NO! My custom creation roast was $14.75 for 12 ounces of beans-and he stuffed those bags FULL. The Butter Pecan, one of their creations, was $13.75. That's what you pay at a grocery store for some of the coffee in the cool little dispensers!! AND THIS IS BETTER! AND ORGANIC!
I learned something!! Ok, I learned a lot of things from the FAQ section on the site... but one thing...no two things I did not know. The different types of coffee makers work best with different grinds of coffee. SAY WHAT?! I had no idea! No wonder we always get grounds, the cone style filter works best with a larger grind. Now I know. Now our yummy coffee doesn't get the grounds like the Folgers does. Did you know that coffee in a fridge will absorb the odors like baking soda? I didn't. Now I do.
And finally. It's yummy. Just. Plain. Yummy. Yummy enough that even my hubby was willing to try some without the sugar! WOW. Four thumbs up for Java Jack, nobody has gotten that to happen!
So. The flavors we (ok, I) ordered.
Butter Pecan. Take a pecan pie. Stuff all that flavor into some coffee. THERE YA GO! Butter Pecan was one of their roasts (you can order other customer's custom creations, too). It's yummy. That's all there is... It tastes like I'm eating a pecan pie-but without the calories and the baking.
Raspberry Delight. See now, as I scrolling around the site, I saw the butter pecan and said to myself "Dennis will LOVE this, let's just try one bag and see how it is"....and then I saw the custom roast option. Did I mention my jaw dropped? Did I happen to mention that? White chocolate, raspberry, and macademia nut. Ooooooo mmmyyyyy gooodneesss!!! Y'all need smellivision. Seriously.. They need to make those scratch stickers like lip gloss used to have for computers.
Now, while this is affordable, we cannot buy it for all of our coffee wonderfulness. We have half a pot or a full pot of Folgers in the mornings.. Then we have the yummy coffee for something special. Making it more affordable to us by keeping it down to a cup or two a day. I do think that when we ended up doing the math, buying the whole beans really wasn't much of a price difference than buying the already ground. But for now, we're gonna stick with the already ground for the convenience.
If you want to hear my pretty voice giving a short review of Out of The Grey as I am making a cup, check out my YouTube video.
Thanks for reading and go check out Out Of the Grey, because they are AWESOMENESS! That's a word, because I said so.
Have a great week!!!
~Tabitha
Friday, August 11, 2017
Confessions of a Mom
I have been rolling this post around in my head for quite some time now... Trying to figure out how to word it without offending somebody.
But let's face it, somebody is always offended no matter how nicely you say things. It is not my intention to offend anybody with this post, simply to ask you to think about it.
So. Here goes it.
You know that Beatles song?... Was it the Beatles or somebody else... my song guru is sick in bed this morning (hubby). The one that goes "for everything, turn, turn, turn". My mom always loved that song, one of the few songs that wasn't Christian I can remember her singing to. The words are from the Bible.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: {2} A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; {3} A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; {4} A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; {5} A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; {6} A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; {7} A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; {8} A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."
I completely understand the feeling of 'ugggghhh why won't the kids go play!!!'. It seems I've been uttering that phrase more and more myself. And I feel guilty every time. Yes, we buy them toys to play with-but sometimes they want to be near us-not upstairs with the toys.
While on one hand, I can understand the parents who public school wanting the chaos out of the house and the kids back in school, every year it gets under my skin a little bit.
This year I encountered the attitude in a home school group. One place I thought I'd never hear it.
As a momma with littles, I hear a lot "cherish the moments, they will be gone all too soon". And it drives me a little batty. When all four kids are grumpy and just want held, or when I don't feel good... I just want them to be a little older so I can rest. And then I get reminded, in one form or another. To stop and smell the roses. My children being at home won't last forever. My children WANTING me, wanting to be held by me-NEEDING to be held by me won't last forever.
God has put me in this season of life and I love (almost) every minute of it. I will fully admit that I have those days where I just wish there was peace and quiet. But within the next few days at the most I get reminded that those days will be here all too soon.
Through choices made, I cannot be a part of my oldest daughter's life as I should be, and it kills me to the core every day. In almost every way it mirrors an abusive relationship... One person trying anything and everything to get the other to talk to them, the other person only throwing them a spare bone if they do something for them. There's only so much I can do... so far I can go before I have to back out and cry myself to sleep every day because of it. Because for me to be the mom I need to be, I cannot be the floor mat for that one child to walk on. Because of this situation, it helps me to remember to cherish the mom-kid relationships I do have.
Weary momma, I know how tiring it is to hear this.. But please, please read those verses in Ecclesiastes and take them to heart. Write them on a note card, hang them wherever you can see them the most so you can be reminded.
There is a season for everything.
Right now I am in the season of teething babies eating everything they can. Dirty diapers. Crying, fighting, bickering. And using the times to teach the kids how to treat each other.
I am in the season where I can't always stay up to have one on one time with my husband, but we have both agreed we would rather spend the time as a family and have sparing dates, than be out on a date alone on a regular basis. While our kids aren't the center of the family, they will only want to spend time with us for so long... We need to nurture that and enjoy that.
Enjoy the summer vacations when things are crazy. You'll miss that. Enjoy the homework times, because soon, they won't need our help.
Confessions of a mom.... I am not the kind of mom who tries to hide from her kids. Have I been known to strongly suggest they go play outside for a bit? YES. But the quiet gets to me after 45 minutes. I do love the mornings where I actually get 10 minutes with nobody else awake. It makes me enjoy them all the more when they do wake up.
I am not the kind of person who can't wait to get out of the house. Yes, I have found lately that if I can get out and take a walk I feel much better-mostly because the kids feel much better. For me, being able to stay home is a gift. I've been that mom who had to work 40-50 hours a week... I don't like it. I don't look for excuses to get out. I want to be content being at home. I want to teach my kids, especially my girls, that you can be content being a stay at home mom and wife. You don't need a career outside the home, you don't need something else.
I have God. I have my husband. I have most of my kids. That is enough. Everything else is just icing on the cake.
Have a good week!
~Tabitha
But let's face it, somebody is always offended no matter how nicely you say things. It is not my intention to offend anybody with this post, simply to ask you to think about it.
So. Here goes it.
You know that Beatles song?... Was it the Beatles or somebody else... my song guru is sick in bed this morning (hubby). The one that goes "for everything, turn, turn, turn". My mom always loved that song, one of the few songs that wasn't Christian I can remember her singing to. The words are from the Bible.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: {2} A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; {3} A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; {4} A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; {5} A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; {6} A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; {7} A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; {8} A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."
I completely understand the feeling of 'ugggghhh why won't the kids go play!!!'. It seems I've been uttering that phrase more and more myself. And I feel guilty every time. Yes, we buy them toys to play with-but sometimes they want to be near us-not upstairs with the toys.
While on one hand, I can understand the parents who public school wanting the chaos out of the house and the kids back in school, every year it gets under my skin a little bit.
This year I encountered the attitude in a home school group. One place I thought I'd never hear it.
As a momma with littles, I hear a lot "cherish the moments, they will be gone all too soon". And it drives me a little batty. When all four kids are grumpy and just want held, or when I don't feel good... I just want them to be a little older so I can rest. And then I get reminded, in one form or another. To stop and smell the roses. My children being at home won't last forever. My children WANTING me, wanting to be held by me-NEEDING to be held by me won't last forever.
God has put me in this season of life and I love (almost) every minute of it. I will fully admit that I have those days where I just wish there was peace and quiet. But within the next few days at the most I get reminded that those days will be here all too soon.
Through choices made, I cannot be a part of my oldest daughter's life as I should be, and it kills me to the core every day. In almost every way it mirrors an abusive relationship... One person trying anything and everything to get the other to talk to them, the other person only throwing them a spare bone if they do something for them. There's only so much I can do... so far I can go before I have to back out and cry myself to sleep every day because of it. Because for me to be the mom I need to be, I cannot be the floor mat for that one child to walk on. Because of this situation, it helps me to remember to cherish the mom-kid relationships I do have.
Weary momma, I know how tiring it is to hear this.. But please, please read those verses in Ecclesiastes and take them to heart. Write them on a note card, hang them wherever you can see them the most so you can be reminded.
There is a season for everything.
Right now I am in the season of teething babies eating everything they can. Dirty diapers. Crying, fighting, bickering. And using the times to teach the kids how to treat each other.
I am in the season where I can't always stay up to have one on one time with my husband, but we have both agreed we would rather spend the time as a family and have sparing dates, than be out on a date alone on a regular basis. While our kids aren't the center of the family, they will only want to spend time with us for so long... We need to nurture that and enjoy that.
Enjoy the summer vacations when things are crazy. You'll miss that. Enjoy the homework times, because soon, they won't need our help.
Confessions of a mom.... I am not the kind of mom who tries to hide from her kids. Have I been known to strongly suggest they go play outside for a bit? YES. But the quiet gets to me after 45 minutes. I do love the mornings where I actually get 10 minutes with nobody else awake. It makes me enjoy them all the more when they do wake up.
I am not the kind of person who can't wait to get out of the house. Yes, I have found lately that if I can get out and take a walk I feel much better-mostly because the kids feel much better. For me, being able to stay home is a gift. I've been that mom who had to work 40-50 hours a week... I don't like it. I don't look for excuses to get out. I want to be content being at home. I want to teach my kids, especially my girls, that you can be content being a stay at home mom and wife. You don't need a career outside the home, you don't need something else.
I have God. I have my husband. I have most of my kids. That is enough. Everything else is just icing on the cake.
Have a good week!
~Tabitha
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
This and That
I have nothing to write about this week.
No, really, I don't... I'm out. Nada. Not a thing... So I'll ramble a bit and catch you up on news around here.
The big news (for our 7 year old anyway).. I have a cyst on my foot.. It's about an inch in diameter... SO I get to go get it aspirated. Andrew has been trying all week to weasel his way into going. Nope. Not gonna happen kid. He's convinced he needs to see what it is EXACTLY.
I just want the day over with and my foot to stop hurting.
We are in our third week of school. Andrew is doing awesome in first grade. He's really liking it and is, mostly, working hard. Eva is breezing through Kindergarten. I'm trying to take it a little slow I know she is learning what she needs to be learning. Grace is loving doing her ABCs 'just for daddy'!! She is almost done with her 'c' week, so she'll get to be a bit ahead, but that's ok. Hannah just isn't sure why she can't tickle Andrew while he's sitting on that chair! LOL
I am working on some bags for my sister. She's a doula in Nebraska and needed some bags to help keep her doppler, fetascope and stethoscope organized. This is something I've never done, but I'm figuring it out!!
I also am planning out a few different quilts... Hopefully soon. Superhero fabric is EXPENSIVE!!!
Other than that, things are pretty well normal around here.. We are still adjusting to Dennis being on a 4 day schedule.. Hopefully soon things will slow down so we can spend one of his Wednesdays off at home. Seems since he started it, we've had to be going somewhere.
Dennis and I are both working on getting healthy. He is trying to make it to 2400 steps a day and usually making it. Which is awesome. I try to make it to 4000 steps a day... The days we can't walk I try to do some sort of aerobics program through the Roku. Which of course the kids have to help with. Though I quickly figured out I just can't do something with heavy exercise every day of the week. So I'm aiming for 4 days out of the week and if I feel up to more then I walk laps in the house.
Well. That's all there is to report on.
Have a great week!
~Tabitha
No, really, I don't... I'm out. Nada. Not a thing... So I'll ramble a bit and catch you up on news around here.
The big news (for our 7 year old anyway).. I have a cyst on my foot.. It's about an inch in diameter... SO I get to go get it aspirated. Andrew has been trying all week to weasel his way into going. Nope. Not gonna happen kid. He's convinced he needs to see what it is EXACTLY.
I just want the day over with and my foot to stop hurting.
We are in our third week of school. Andrew is doing awesome in first grade. He's really liking it and is, mostly, working hard. Eva is breezing through Kindergarten. I'm trying to take it a little slow I know she is learning what she needs to be learning. Grace is loving doing her ABCs 'just for daddy'!! She is almost done with her 'c' week, so she'll get to be a bit ahead, but that's ok. Hannah just isn't sure why she can't tickle Andrew while he's sitting on that chair! LOL
I am working on some bags for my sister. She's a doula in Nebraska and needed some bags to help keep her doppler, fetascope and stethoscope organized. This is something I've never done, but I'm figuring it out!!
I also am planning out a few different quilts... Hopefully soon. Superhero fabric is EXPENSIVE!!!
Other than that, things are pretty well normal around here.. We are still adjusting to Dennis being on a 4 day schedule.. Hopefully soon things will slow down so we can spend one of his Wednesdays off at home. Seems since he started it, we've had to be going somewhere.
Dennis and I are both working on getting healthy. He is trying to make it to 2400 steps a day and usually making it. Which is awesome. I try to make it to 4000 steps a day... The days we can't walk I try to do some sort of aerobics program through the Roku. Which of course the kids have to help with. Though I quickly figured out I just can't do something with heavy exercise every day of the week. So I'm aiming for 4 days out of the week and if I feel up to more then I walk laps in the house.
Well. That's all there is to report on.
Have a great week!
~Tabitha
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Monkey Bread!
Andrew volunteered me to make monkey bread, my mom is coming up for the Sculpture Walk in Sioux Falls.
I found this monkey bread recipe from Little House Living. We loved it when I made it a few weeks ago, so we made it again. It's for breakfast in the morning, but making it ahead all we have to do is warm it up in the morning.
I did change the recipe a bit. I used warm milk for the yeast instead of warm water. And instead of the dipping in butter and cinnamon sugar mix, we did two different flavors. Caramel and cinnamon sugar.
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| Dough resting |
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| Caramel Sauce!!! |
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| The cut pieces of the dough after it's rolled out |
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| Butter the pan and toss the pieces in |
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| For the caramel, I just poured the caramel over the pieces. For cinnamon sugar, I sprinkled sugar and cinnamon. |
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| Caramel monkey bread |
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| The done monkey bread. LOOKS GOOD!! I doubled the monkey bread recipe... because we are pigs lol. My caramel recipe, also doubled-I didn't have enough last time, this time I had too much-but leftover caramel is yummy. Caramel Sauce 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup corn syrup 1/2 cup butter Melt all together, bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes then cool. Make sure you keep stirring or it will burn!
Have a good week!!!
~Tabitha
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Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Cowboy Hash and Coffee
Cowboy Hash... skillet meal... call it what you will-it's YUMMY, extremely versatile and customizable. The kids were begging for lunch (imagine that! lol) and the ham still hadn't thawed for sandwiches... so I started searching my other ingredients. And Cowboy Hash it was!
So here's what you need. While you can easily do this in one skillet, I used different ones to make it go a little faster. I have my 15 inch skillet, 6 inch skillet and 4 inch skillet (Grace can't have eggs). This served 5-maybe even 6 as a few of my kids were pigs. And definitely more if you combine with cinnamon rolls or something.
Butter or bacon grease
8 eggs
about 1/2 pound sausage
about 1 cup of hash browns
about one cup of cheese (I did two handfuls until it looked like enough)
Melt your grease-about 2 tablespoons there
Start your hashbrowns
Here's the rest of our skillets. The smallest is Grace's portion-hashbrowns, sausage and cheese. I also have the grease melting for our eggs.
I had cooked the sausage yesterday, so when the hash browns were half done, I added the sausage.
Cooking the scrambled eggs.
Sprinkled the cheese on
I put the big skillet in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese. The little melted the cheese just from the heat in the skillet after it was shut off.
Ah the coffee. Gotta have the coffee!!
Iced Chocolate Coffee (Blended)
Tray of coffee ice
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup of coffee
3 tablepoons chocolate syrup
Whipped cream if you have it
I made my ice yesterday.. Put those cubes in your blender. Add the milk, the chocolate, the coffee. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!
You can leave unblended, just mix it all together-but I wanted it blended today.
Have a Great Week!!!
~Tabitha
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Furniture Shopping
One of the things we are working on around here is getting some nice furniture, last year we bought a couch and a bunk bed. We were impressed with the place along with the comfortable and great quality furniture.
So we went back to Conlin's Furniture in Sioux Falls. They listened to us, they didn't pressure us, and while they did show us some things that weren't on our list, it did make us think about other options. We were also impressed with the prices.
So first of all, let's start at the beginning. Dennis is a pretty big guy, so we need furniture that will hold up to the big guy standards. Our old mattress just wasn't cutting it anymore.. Since we had to re-home the cat, it opened us up to other possibilities other than a traditional mattress. So we bought an air mattress. And now we have a guest bed-not that we ever get guests....lol Dennis had found a website with recommendations for furniture for bigger people. So many there recommended an air mattress, so we found Fox Air Mattresses and got an almost 3 foot high air mattress for $200. On top of that we do have our egg crate foam topper for extra comfort, we found that through at friend at The Foam Factory two years ago and it's still going strong. After three weeks on the air mattress we are starting to regret it, while it' helping Dennis' back it keeps developing holes. We were able to use the warranty and the company is sending us a replacement, but it has us looking at other options.
After the air mattress, we quickly realized Dennis would need a chair to be able to sit in the bedroom.... So that was on the list. And the last half an Ashley Furniture mistake sectional is falling apart after only 5 years, so he also wanted a chair for downstairs. We found both of those on clearance-last year's floor models-at Conlins. One chair was originally marked at $1300, marked down at $313.20. The other was original price at $599, marked down to $359.
Since we were at a furniture store we liked and trusted we decided to check out bunk bed prices... Let's face it, we are blessed with many children, and with many children comes the need for many beds. So bunk beds are a must, while we weren't looking to buy today, we changed our mind when saw the deal. A wooden bunk bed, twin over twin, can be taken apart to be two separate beds, with Conlin's special mattresses (well I've never seen mattresses like this before anyway, memory foam with neon covers) all for $510.
Conlin's delivered and set up everything for an extra $75.
With the exception of the troublesome air mattress, we are enjoying our new furniture.
Have a great week!
~Tabitha
So we went back to Conlin's Furniture in Sioux Falls. They listened to us, they didn't pressure us, and while they did show us some things that weren't on our list, it did make us think about other options. We were also impressed with the prices.
So first of all, let's start at the beginning. Dennis is a pretty big guy, so we need furniture that will hold up to the big guy standards. Our old mattress just wasn't cutting it anymore.. Since we had to re-home the cat, it opened us up to other possibilities other than a traditional mattress. So we bought an air mattress. And now we have a guest bed-not that we ever get guests....lol Dennis had found a website with recommendations for furniture for bigger people. So many there recommended an air mattress, so we found Fox Air Mattresses and got an almost 3 foot high air mattress for $200. On top of that we do have our egg crate foam topper for extra comfort, we found that through at friend at The Foam Factory two years ago and it's still going strong. After three weeks on the air mattress we are starting to regret it, while it' helping Dennis' back it keeps developing holes. We were able to use the warranty and the company is sending us a replacement, but it has us looking at other options.
After the air mattress, we quickly realized Dennis would need a chair to be able to sit in the bedroom.... So that was on the list. And the last half an Ashley Furniture mistake sectional is falling apart after only 5 years, so he also wanted a chair for downstairs. We found both of those on clearance-last year's floor models-at Conlins. One chair was originally marked at $1300, marked down at $313.20. The other was original price at $599, marked down to $359.
Since we were at a furniture store we liked and trusted we decided to check out bunk bed prices... Let's face it, we are blessed with many children, and with many children comes the need for many beds. So bunk beds are a must, while we weren't looking to buy today, we changed our mind when saw the deal. A wooden bunk bed, twin over twin, can be taken apart to be two separate beds, with Conlin's special mattresses (well I've never seen mattresses like this before anyway, memory foam with neon covers) all for $510.
Conlin's delivered and set up everything for an extra $75.
With the exception of the troublesome air mattress, we are enjoying our new furniture.
Have a great week!
~Tabitha
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
When All Else Fails......
Some days, it's just been one of those weeks. One of those weeks where you just want to curl up in a ball and hide from everything.
I spent an hour this morning cooking, filming it for a vlog. (Ha! Did I just date myself?? lol) After watching it on the computer I realized it was useless. Now, I'm glad I got the cooking done, I was going to do that anyway... But the vlog was useless. Why? Because I spent more time keeping the kids out of the flour (they eat the flour I use to roll out the cinnamon roll dough), the cheese for the lasagna and Hannah out of well.. everything... And I failed with the Hannah part.
I can't put that on YouTube. Why? Because if I put that on YouTube, I KNOW, I JUST KNOW somebody will send CPS knocking, or make some nasty comment. Because once you put anything out there, people can't just disagree and move on, they have to stick their nose into everything. Because, as I saw in another video... My toddler TODDLES (EGADS!!!) Because I forgot to put something away and she found out... She brought it to me, but she found it and attempted to make a snack out of it, and quickly learned it was not snacking material. Because my son was being forced (no outside or else, how DARE I!!!) to do his cursive (which he did very well at). Because Eva got too close to the hot pan and said "Oh no, that's hot!!!".... the list goes on and on.. and it dawned on me... I can't put that on YouTube. Because in this age of social media everybody overthinks everything and they don't think before they type. Normal kid stuff-the behavior kids learn from, is now something we lose our kids over.
I do the same thing. I typed out a Facebook status and my husband says "woah, think about that for a minute". I deleted it, but I know enough about computers to know it's out there, floating around somewhere. Because I didn't THINK before I started typing.
When all else fails... When I feel inadequate.... When I feel like I'm failing as a mom because I just want them to go outside, or I just want Hannah to take a nap for longer than 10 minutes. When I feel like I'm failing as a wife because I want to go get frozen pizza for supper (boy are we glad there are no delivery places in town!!), or when I don't get the house clean... Because it's my JOB, to take care of our babies (ssshhh don't tell Andrew I called him a baby), because it's my JOB to keep the house clean.
When all else fails... God doesn't. That little voice inside you saying, I'm here, I'm here for you. That's not your imagination. People so often say, "God won't give you more than you can handle". Wrong. God won't give me more than HE can handle. He is teaching me to lean on Him. He is teaching me that when I'm utterly exhausted from one thing or another, there are more important things. Teaching our children how to react when they get stressed or tired... They won't learn from me singing the "Be Patient" song from Psalty. They will learn from watching my reactions. They will learn from Dennis' reactions when he comes home and Hannah is still in the same outfit three days in a row because it's not dirty so I didn't bother to get a new outfit out. Or when the carpet doesn't get vacuumed... Or the bathroom didn't get clean (there's that bathroom again, I HATE cleaning the bathroom.. can I hire a maid just for the bathroom?) He is teaching me, when I don't feel like I can go any farther, that's when He carries me. That's when He gets me through. Not me. HIM, it's all Him.
This morning I made cinnamon rolls and lasagna. Two loads of dishes (because cooking takes more dishes)... I've ignored laundry, but fed the kids!!! lol I need to go clean upstairs. Desperately so. But all I want to do is sit here and play games. I had 6 cups of coffee this morning. And I'm still not awake. (I think I hear my 9th grade English teacher sobbing into her tea somewhere with all these sentences starting with prepositions.) I just can't bring myself into getting off my tush and cleaning. This couch is just too comfortable. Yeah. Let's blame it on the couch. That sounds great.
When all else fails..... turn on Sermon Audio, find a good pastor (personally, I'd recommend something from Dr. Marc Monte from Avon, Indiana) and spend some time absorbing the word of God... Because there's nothing else that will lift you out of a depression faster than that. God is the great healer. So find a way to spend some time in the Word. Sermon Audio or our hymn channel on Pandora is really the easiest way for me because... well.. kids.
When all else fails-God never will.
Have a great week!
~Tabitha
I spent an hour this morning cooking, filming it for a vlog. (Ha! Did I just date myself?? lol) After watching it on the computer I realized it was useless. Now, I'm glad I got the cooking done, I was going to do that anyway... But the vlog was useless. Why? Because I spent more time keeping the kids out of the flour (they eat the flour I use to roll out the cinnamon roll dough), the cheese for the lasagna and Hannah out of well.. everything... And I failed with the Hannah part.
I can't put that on YouTube. Why? Because if I put that on YouTube, I KNOW, I JUST KNOW somebody will send CPS knocking, or make some nasty comment. Because once you put anything out there, people can't just disagree and move on, they have to stick their nose into everything. Because, as I saw in another video... My toddler TODDLES (EGADS!!!) Because I forgot to put something away and she found out... She brought it to me, but she found it and attempted to make a snack out of it, and quickly learned it was not snacking material. Because my son was being forced (no outside or else, how DARE I!!!) to do his cursive (which he did very well at). Because Eva got too close to the hot pan and said "Oh no, that's hot!!!".... the list goes on and on.. and it dawned on me... I can't put that on YouTube. Because in this age of social media everybody overthinks everything and they don't think before they type. Normal kid stuff-the behavior kids learn from, is now something we lose our kids over.
I do the same thing. I typed out a Facebook status and my husband says "woah, think about that for a minute". I deleted it, but I know enough about computers to know it's out there, floating around somewhere. Because I didn't THINK before I started typing.
When all else fails... When I feel inadequate.... When I feel like I'm failing as a mom because I just want them to go outside, or I just want Hannah to take a nap for longer than 10 minutes. When I feel like I'm failing as a wife because I want to go get frozen pizza for supper (boy are we glad there are no delivery places in town!!), or when I don't get the house clean... Because it's my JOB, to take care of our babies (ssshhh don't tell Andrew I called him a baby), because it's my JOB to keep the house clean.
When all else fails... God doesn't. That little voice inside you saying, I'm here, I'm here for you. That's not your imagination. People so often say, "God won't give you more than you can handle". Wrong. God won't give me more than HE can handle. He is teaching me to lean on Him. He is teaching me that when I'm utterly exhausted from one thing or another, there are more important things. Teaching our children how to react when they get stressed or tired... They won't learn from me singing the "Be Patient" song from Psalty. They will learn from watching my reactions. They will learn from Dennis' reactions when he comes home and Hannah is still in the same outfit three days in a row because it's not dirty so I didn't bother to get a new outfit out. Or when the carpet doesn't get vacuumed... Or the bathroom didn't get clean (there's that bathroom again, I HATE cleaning the bathroom.. can I hire a maid just for the bathroom?) He is teaching me, when I don't feel like I can go any farther, that's when He carries me. That's when He gets me through. Not me. HIM, it's all Him.
This morning I made cinnamon rolls and lasagna. Two loads of dishes (because cooking takes more dishes)... I've ignored laundry, but fed the kids!!! lol I need to go clean upstairs. Desperately so. But all I want to do is sit here and play games. I had 6 cups of coffee this morning. And I'm still not awake. (I think I hear my 9th grade English teacher sobbing into her tea somewhere with all these sentences starting with prepositions.) I just can't bring myself into getting off my tush and cleaning. This couch is just too comfortable. Yeah. Let's blame it on the couch. That sounds great.
When all else fails..... turn on Sermon Audio, find a good pastor (personally, I'd recommend something from Dr. Marc Monte from Avon, Indiana) and spend some time absorbing the word of God... Because there's nothing else that will lift you out of a depression faster than that. God is the great healer. So find a way to spend some time in the Word. Sermon Audio or our hymn channel on Pandora is really the easiest way for me because... well.. kids.
When all else fails-God never will.
Have a great week!
~Tabitha
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Shopping Trip 5/13 and Vlogs
When I looked at the sales ads last Wednesday I was a little worried about my budget. There wasn't much there for sales.
But I planned out my meals and did my best to find foods that would stretch. By the grace of God we made it home in under $500.
Aldi's had some great prices, eggs last week were $.49 a dozen. WOW Hyvee was racing them at $.59 for 18 count. So I got the max I could get with the fridge space I have and came home with 6 dozen-I still had two dozen left from the week before.
I got most of my meat at Sam's. While that is the case most months, I can't always say I'll be spending $10 on 10 pounds of chicken legs. This is because the packages are by weight. The average is $5 a package, but it varies either way, so I always over estimate, just in case. I was also able to grab meats that were on their way out the door. You can save a lot of money if you can figure out when your local grocer puts the meats on sale to get them gone by a certain date. Some of our easy lunches this month are chicken and cheese quesadillas-so I needed chicken. I decided to spend the $10-$15 on a two pack of whole chickens at Sams. Usually I just get the cheaper one, but they had organic chickens on quick sale (nearing the 'date').. So I got those and I'll throw them in the crock pot tomorrow to get them cooked. Watch my video on my repackaging the meat.
At the bread outlet I spent over $9 (12 loaves+pop tarts-hey they were $1 a box!!), so I got a free loaf of bread. So.. $10, 13 loaves of bread and a box of pop tarts.
We are working on getting some vlogs out there. Check me out on YouTube, for now my YouTube name is the same as my blog "Tabitha H Stay At Home Wife and Mom". If this keeps working, then I'll get a separate YouTube channel just for my vlogging. I'm really enjoying-when it does work anyway.
We just added the road trip to the city to grocery shop, but we didn't think about the music in the background and aren't sure about the editing.. Because technology and I do not get along lol. So YouTube is editing out audio because of copyright infringement. I have figured out I need to use my husband's tablet, because my kindle just doesn't like that stuff. I'm hoping we can get a GoPro to make it easier.
I'm also working on monetizing the blog to help us with finances, but yet again, technology and I do not get along. My attention span is almost nil right now, Hannah has grass and pollen allergies so sleep seems to be almost non existent. I grabbed some Cafe Bustelo today, so I see homemade coffee drinks in my future. I'm figuring out quickly that if I can find a picture to add to put this on Pinterest, that has been helping my reader content.... Thank you all SO MUCH!! I love writing, and being able to share the little things, it's fun!
Also today, I grabbed the folders I needed to finish organizing the school stuff, so I'll get some blogs and maybe even a vlog out about that.
Have a great week!
~Tabitha
But I planned out my meals and did my best to find foods that would stretch. By the grace of God we made it home in under $500.
Aldi's had some great prices, eggs last week were $.49 a dozen. WOW Hyvee was racing them at $.59 for 18 count. So I got the max I could get with the fridge space I have and came home with 6 dozen-I still had two dozen left from the week before.
I got most of my meat at Sam's. While that is the case most months, I can't always say I'll be spending $10 on 10 pounds of chicken legs. This is because the packages are by weight. The average is $5 a package, but it varies either way, so I always over estimate, just in case. I was also able to grab meats that were on their way out the door. You can save a lot of money if you can figure out when your local grocer puts the meats on sale to get them gone by a certain date. Some of our easy lunches this month are chicken and cheese quesadillas-so I needed chicken. I decided to spend the $10-$15 on a two pack of whole chickens at Sams. Usually I just get the cheaper one, but they had organic chickens on quick sale (nearing the 'date').. So I got those and I'll throw them in the crock pot tomorrow to get them cooked. Watch my video on my repackaging the meat.
At the bread outlet I spent over $9 (12 loaves+pop tarts-hey they were $1 a box!!), so I got a free loaf of bread. So.. $10, 13 loaves of bread and a box of pop tarts.
We are working on getting some vlogs out there. Check me out on YouTube, for now my YouTube name is the same as my blog "Tabitha H Stay At Home Wife and Mom". If this keeps working, then I'll get a separate YouTube channel just for my vlogging. I'm really enjoying-when it does work anyway.
We just added the road trip to the city to grocery shop, but we didn't think about the music in the background and aren't sure about the editing.. Because technology and I do not get along lol. So YouTube is editing out audio because of copyright infringement. I have figured out I need to use my husband's tablet, because my kindle just doesn't like that stuff. I'm hoping we can get a GoPro to make it easier.
I'm also working on monetizing the blog to help us with finances, but yet again, technology and I do not get along. My attention span is almost nil right now, Hannah has grass and pollen allergies so sleep seems to be almost non existent. I grabbed some Cafe Bustelo today, so I see homemade coffee drinks in my future. I'm figuring out quickly that if I can find a picture to add to put this on Pinterest, that has been helping my reader content.... Thank you all SO MUCH!! I love writing, and being able to share the little things, it's fun!
Also today, I grabbed the folders I needed to finish organizing the school stuff, so I'll get some blogs and maybe even a vlog out about that.
Have a great week!
~Tabitha
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Confessions of a Horrible Housekeeper
I have a confession to make.
I'm a horrible housekeeper. Horrible. I know I am. I'm trying to do better. But it seems like every time I get a cleaning routine down somebody gets sick and it throws the whole thing off.
The house is a mess. I know it's a mess. I know it's embarrassing. I also know, most days, I try my hardest to make some sort of headway. But I also know with young kids there's going to be a mess.
Quite honestly, there are some days where I watch YouTube videos of the families that live in RVs and I'm almost envious. They moved into an RV and were forced to sell pretty much everything but what's needed. But I know we can sort through the things and get rid of stuff without buying a $70,000 RV that would fit all of us.
Part of me wants to rip all the carpet up (Thank God my husband stops me lol) because then it would just take a towel to wipe up messes and not worry about whether it soaked into the sub-flooring or not.
...And yet, every time I clean the stove I promise myself I won't let it get that dirty again. And it does. Then I spend an hour scrubbing on a stove because I didn't take the ten minutes a week to clean it good-or the few minutes every night to just wipe it down from the day's messes.
I hate cleaning the bathroom, but it's a necessary evil-I know. I cringe every time I clean it.. But I promise myself the same thing I do with the stove. Every time I clean it I promise myself I won't let it get that far again. But I do.
I thank God that my husband is so understanding. That he understands and he doesn't get mad when the house is a mess. I am blessed that he understands and knows that even if the house is a mess, it doesn't mean I've been sitting on my bottom all day-it simply means the kids needed me more that day.
I'm a horrible housekeeper. It's not a strong point for me, I will readily admit that and gladly take any help offered when it comes to cleaning the house. My house is a mess, though rarely 'dirty' mess (I am getting better at vacuuming every couple days instead of once a week), it's a cluttered, toy filled mess.
We're working on the clutter. We're working on getting rid of stuff we don't need. It's a work in progress. As am I. But in the meantime, if you come, please excuse the mess as I'm doing the best I know how (except maybe for the bathroom, I hate cleaning the bathroom).
As I'm sitting here typing, I'm looking at a popcorn filled floor.. We had popcorn last night and the baby tried to share with the dog, I need to pull the vacuum out. I'm also avoiding the half clean stove. IT'S ACTUALLY WHITE!!...except for a few spots of burned on who-knows-what because I'm a horrible housekeeper. I might have to take a picture to mark this momentous occasion. But then my horrible housekeeping skills would be documented.
I feel like I'm playing a balancing act and I keep dropping everything. My wonderful husband helps when he can, but there are only so many hours in a week and he needs to de-stress from work, too. Other than the normal housework, I'm sewing some new clothes, putting our store back on Ebay, getting ready for a new school year, cleaning out the office, creating a school corner in the dining room and we have added playing round robin with the beds.
That, in itself, could probably be a two page story but-so I'm not leaving you in suspense-I'll let you in on it. Dennis and I need a new bed, we ordered an air mattress. It seems to have the best reviews for overweight people to help with their backs. We also decided this winter that Andrew is getting old enough to stop sharing a room with the girls. Now, we have king size traditional mattress now. There is a bunk bed in the kids' room along with the toddler bed. The third bedroom upstairs is rather little, so our king size mattress will not fit... SO we have to disassemble the bunk beds, move them across the hall (Can we just knock down the wall? lol) reassemble the beds. Move the mattresses. (that's after shampooing the helpless carpet). THEN we have to vacuum the girl's room, I will BEG again to remove the carpet though I'm sure to no avail, it's not shampoo-able. We don't have the money to replace the carpet right now and with as rowdy as the kids are, we're worried about extra bumps and bruises on a hardwood floor. Move the king size mattress to the girls' room. Then back to our room, vacuum and shampoo the carpet, get rid of the head board, and set up the air mattress... The last two steps have to be done in one day. The bunk beds could be done a different day. But it could prove interesting.
As I'm sure you can tell by now, I'm rambling. I'm typing this over a course of a few days... Because. Well. Kids. These verses keeps coming to mind so I had to look it up.
Colossians 3:23-24 23And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
 |
| Photo Credit-The Busy Mom blog .... I love this poem |
I'm a horrible housekeeper. Horrible. I know I am. I'm trying to do better. But it seems like every time I get a cleaning routine down somebody gets sick and it throws the whole thing off.
The house is a mess. I know it's a mess. I know it's embarrassing. I also know, most days, I try my hardest to make some sort of headway. But I also know with young kids there's going to be a mess.
Quite honestly, there are some days where I watch YouTube videos of the families that live in RVs and I'm almost envious. They moved into an RV and were forced to sell pretty much everything but what's needed. But I know we can sort through the things and get rid of stuff without buying a $70,000 RV that would fit all of us.
Part of me wants to rip all the carpet up (Thank God my husband stops me lol) because then it would just take a towel to wipe up messes and not worry about whether it soaked into the sub-flooring or not.
...And yet, every time I clean the stove I promise myself I won't let it get that dirty again. And it does. Then I spend an hour scrubbing on a stove because I didn't take the ten minutes a week to clean it good-or the few minutes every night to just wipe it down from the day's messes.
I hate cleaning the bathroom, but it's a necessary evil-I know. I cringe every time I clean it.. But I promise myself the same thing I do with the stove. Every time I clean it I promise myself I won't let it get that far again. But I do.
I thank God that my husband is so understanding. That he understands and he doesn't get mad when the house is a mess. I am blessed that he understands and knows that even if the house is a mess, it doesn't mean I've been sitting on my bottom all day-it simply means the kids needed me more that day.
I'm a horrible housekeeper. It's not a strong point for me, I will readily admit that and gladly take any help offered when it comes to cleaning the house. My house is a mess, though rarely 'dirty' mess (I am getting better at vacuuming every couple days instead of once a week), it's a cluttered, toy filled mess.
We're working on the clutter. We're working on getting rid of stuff we don't need. It's a work in progress. As am I. But in the meantime, if you come, please excuse the mess as I'm doing the best I know how (except maybe for the bathroom, I hate cleaning the bathroom).
As I'm sitting here typing, I'm looking at a popcorn filled floor.. We had popcorn last night and the baby tried to share with the dog, I need to pull the vacuum out. I'm also avoiding the half clean stove. IT'S ACTUALLY WHITE!!...except for a few spots of burned on who-knows-what because I'm a horrible housekeeper. I might have to take a picture to mark this momentous occasion. But then my horrible housekeeping skills would be documented.
I feel like I'm playing a balancing act and I keep dropping everything. My wonderful husband helps when he can, but there are only so many hours in a week and he needs to de-stress from work, too. Other than the normal housework, I'm sewing some new clothes, putting our store back on Ebay, getting ready for a new school year, cleaning out the office, creating a school corner in the dining room and we have added playing round robin with the beds.
That, in itself, could probably be a two page story but-so I'm not leaving you in suspense-I'll let you in on it. Dennis and I need a new bed, we ordered an air mattress. It seems to have the best reviews for overweight people to help with their backs. We also decided this winter that Andrew is getting old enough to stop sharing a room with the girls. Now, we have king size traditional mattress now. There is a bunk bed in the kids' room along with the toddler bed. The third bedroom upstairs is rather little, so our king size mattress will not fit... SO we have to disassemble the bunk beds, move them across the hall (Can we just knock down the wall? lol) reassemble the beds. Move the mattresses. (that's after shampooing the helpless carpet). THEN we have to vacuum the girl's room, I will BEG again to remove the carpet though I'm sure to no avail, it's not shampoo-able. We don't have the money to replace the carpet right now and with as rowdy as the kids are, we're worried about extra bumps and bruises on a hardwood floor. Move the king size mattress to the girls' room. Then back to our room, vacuum and shampoo the carpet, get rid of the head board, and set up the air mattress... The last two steps have to be done in one day. The bunk beds could be done a different day. But it could prove interesting.
As I'm sure you can tell by now, I'm rambling. I'm typing this over a course of a few days... Because. Well. Kids. These verses keeps coming to mind so I had to look it up.
Colossians 3:23-24 23And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
God knows if I'm doing my best or not. What I do, I need to honor him in doing it.
I do hope I didn't confuse you with my rambling on... But every once in awhile I like to do a blog that wasn't preplanned. ;) The next post will be back on what's going on with school planning and such.
I do hope I didn't confuse you with my rambling on... But every once in awhile I like to do a blog that wasn't preplanned. ;) The next post will be back on what's going on with school planning and such.
Have a great week.
~Tabitha
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