1- Soccer balls. I love how a large round ball can be kicked around for hours and really wear those kids out.
2- Water. Since I live in a desert I really appreciate the wet stuff.
3. Lawn. Robert planted another patch for us and I can't wait until it is all green and I can mow it!
4. Blocks. Who doesn't have fun building them up?
5. My Sister, she took my older kids over-night and they got to go to the drive-in. I am so glad that my kids will have such fun memories.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Food For Thought
You know what, being a mom is a lot of work. There is the laundry to do, activities to take the kids to and trying to make sure they eat something healthy. I want to focus on the eating part. You see, I live out in the country. I am 4 miles from our little town grocery store and about an hour from a large grocery store. I can't really just run in for something if I've forgotten it. When I lived in town we got really used to those $5 pizzas. In fact, we went and house sat for my parents a few years ago and the first night there I asked Taylor what she wanted for dinner and she told me pizza. Well, it was kinda late and I told her it would take a little while to make pizza and she wanted to know why we couldn't just go buy one. It's not that easy in the country.
Plus, you see, I have this adorable little bundle of joy that loves being held. If it's been too long since I've held her, she lets me know. Lately she hasn't been sleeping as well. I'm not sure if she is going through a growth spurt and her sleep schedule is re-adjusting or maybe she is getting those teeth to come through that she has been drooling over for the last two months. Either way, she isn't sleeping as much and wants to be held more. When she was tinier I was using my slow cooker more. I could throw stuff in during her first nap and by dinner it was ready, that was great. Now, I've run out of ideas, plus for me it's too hot for soups and chili like I was making.
I know a menu would probably help me out some, but I don't use one. I've seen programs where someone gives you a menu for the week and the corresponding shopping list. You go to the store once and you've got the stuff for all these healthy meals. The problem is, most of those lists usually include some kind of fish, and I don't like fish. Then I would have to go through the list and edit it for the stuff I wouldn't be using for that meal and come up with an alternative. Is it worth the hassle and the cost?
Then there are all those pre-packaged meals that are oh so fast, but full of salt and who knows what else. Some of them taste pretty good, but some are not. The thing is, they are fast and easy. Once in a while they are okay, but not everyday. I've also tried making a double batch of something and freezing it, and that works sometimes, when I plan ahead enough to do it.
What do you do? How do you make meal time easier on yourself and good for your family?
Plus, you see, I have this adorable little bundle of joy that loves being held. If it's been too long since I've held her, she lets me know. Lately she hasn't been sleeping as well. I'm not sure if she is going through a growth spurt and her sleep schedule is re-adjusting or maybe she is getting those teeth to come through that she has been drooling over for the last two months. Either way, she isn't sleeping as much and wants to be held more. When she was tinier I was using my slow cooker more. I could throw stuff in during her first nap and by dinner it was ready, that was great. Now, I've run out of ideas, plus for me it's too hot for soups and chili like I was making.
I know a menu would probably help me out some, but I don't use one. I've seen programs where someone gives you a menu for the week and the corresponding shopping list. You go to the store once and you've got the stuff for all these healthy meals. The problem is, most of those lists usually include some kind of fish, and I don't like fish. Then I would have to go through the list and edit it for the stuff I wouldn't be using for that meal and come up with an alternative. Is it worth the hassle and the cost?
Then there are all those pre-packaged meals that are oh so fast, but full of salt and who knows what else. Some of them taste pretty good, but some are not. The thing is, they are fast and easy. Once in a while they are okay, but not everyday. I've also tried making a double batch of something and freezing it, and that works sometimes, when I plan ahead enough to do it.
What do you do? How do you make meal time easier on yourself and good for your family?
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Progress not Perfection....Right?
So last night Robert was lamenting about some trees that we lost. He had planted a bunch this spring and it looks like mice or some other small animal has chewed them all up. One of the things that I worried about was over-extending ourselves outside. We did that last year and we lost a lot of the things we planted. This year has been better, though. I have my garden in. I was able to harvest peas this year. Our potatoes look great, especially considering we have never grown them before. We do have some lawn in the front. My locust tree is looking good. We have also built a chicken coop, are raising chickens and turkeys, put a fence around the garden, and I have flowers in the planter on our island outside. We have made improvement this year. I think one of our biggest problems is all the weeds we have around here. They are so tall and it would take a very long time to mow them all down by hand. Robert had hooked up a mower thing to the tractor, but the belt broke part-way through so he didn't get everything done that he wanted to. It seems to be especially hard on Robert. He thought he would have more time in the evenings to get some of these things done, but it's just not happening. I wish I knew how to help him more, but there is only so much I can get done outside. Rachel is fine outside as long as it's not windy and if you know anything about where I live, we have a lot of wind, so that puts a damper on things.
I guess I will just have to do the best I can and remember that we are farther along this year than we were last year, especially since we don't have to build a deck this year.
I guess I will just have to do the best I can and remember that we are farther along this year than we were last year, especially since we don't have to build a deck this year.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Monday's Miracles
1. Hoses- I love that I don't have to haul water all over the place
2. Lawn Mowers- I finally learned how to use one
3. The Grill- It won't heat up my house any more than it already is
4. Fireworks
5. Sleeping Bags
2. Lawn Mowers- I finally learned how to use one
3. The Grill- It won't heat up my house any more than it already is
4. Fireworks
5. Sleeping Bags
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Exhausted
I have been so tired lately. I'm not sure what's up. It doesn't seem to matter if I go to bed at 10:30 or 8:30, I just don't feel like I'm getting enough rest. I wonder if the 4 kids under 6 have anything to do with that? Or maybe it's the mental exhaustion of thinking about all the things we have going on and wondering how everything is going to get done? Maybe both.
You see, on top of trying to keep my house somewhat together (I struggle with housekeeping), I now have a garden outside. I love being in the garden. I love watering it, I love planting it, and I even like weeding it. Rachel, however, doesn't always like me being in the garden, so I have to steal snatches of time when I can. We also have the chickens and turkeys, but thankfully Robert mostly takes care of those. Then, there is the dogs and cats. Our kitties are growing so fast that we will be putting them outside soon. I can't wait because the momma cat is driving me nuts. I hope that they catch lots of mice.
Then, there is all the rest of the stuff outside to do. Mow weeds, water trees, hope that rabbits and mice don't kill the trees. We have the grass that we planted this year that we are trying to get established. I am so excited for more lawn. We have the grass that we planted last year that we need to maintain. I finally learned how to run a lawn mower. And someday, we will have lawn in our back yard, also.
Last year we spread ourselves too thin trying to get the "instant yard" without all the needed time and help to get it up and running. We've taken things a little slower this year, and I know it's a process, but you know what, it's exhausting thinking about it all.
You see, on top of trying to keep my house somewhat together (I struggle with housekeeping), I now have a garden outside. I love being in the garden. I love watering it, I love planting it, and I even like weeding it. Rachel, however, doesn't always like me being in the garden, so I have to steal snatches of time when I can. We also have the chickens and turkeys, but thankfully Robert mostly takes care of those. Then, there is the dogs and cats. Our kitties are growing so fast that we will be putting them outside soon. I can't wait because the momma cat is driving me nuts. I hope that they catch lots of mice.
Then, there is all the rest of the stuff outside to do. Mow weeds, water trees, hope that rabbits and mice don't kill the trees. We have the grass that we planted this year that we are trying to get established. I am so excited for more lawn. We have the grass that we planted last year that we need to maintain. I finally learned how to run a lawn mower. And someday, we will have lawn in our back yard, also.
Last year we spread ourselves too thin trying to get the "instant yard" without all the needed time and help to get it up and running. We've taken things a little slower this year, and I know it's a process, but you know what, it's exhausting thinking about it all.
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