Tiny Houses are so chic, right?

Inspiration to my Tiny House Friends.   This is for you, Jen.

I have an idea.  Lets take the thing about our selves or our lives that we are most insecure about, and compare that thing with people who have the 1 thing we feel we are lacking.  I'm sure only good can come of it.

No.  That can't be right.  And when written in this way, seems like such a stupid thing to do.  As women and mothers we constantly compare ourselves to other women/mothers.  But very unfairly.  We choose NOT to see what we have, but to focus on our one (or two) PERCEIVED  weak spots.

Some examples:
I'm too fat.  I'm too thin. I'm too old. I'm too young.  I'm too poor, and my house is small.  I'm too rich and my house is too big (maybe not). The list is endless.

I have 2.  I'm too fat, and my house is too small. (WAY TOO SMALL).  These are pretty common.  The small house one, especially because where I live,   Believe me when I tell you a $500,000 house looks ALOT different than my house.  I have several friends in Tiny Houses (and not the cool kind you pull behind a trailer and see the country from).

Our Houses are too small for our families.  We see $500,000 houses, with 1 or 2 children, and the jealousy and shame hits us.  How can it not.  Where did we go so wrong.  What in the world do these people do for a living?!?! Are they hiring? (haha).  Why can't we provide this kind of home, neighborhood, for our children.  Don't they deserve it.

It makes us cringe when another parent will drop off, or pick up at our house.  Will they judge us? Pity us? Encourage their kids to play with other kids next time? The thought/possibility of the last one brings me to tears.  But do they? I bet some do. Sadly, I'm sure of it.  But they don't all do it.  And those who do, aren't worthy of us, or our kids.  We are good people. Loyal friends. Fun, Funny, Giving, Faithful, just plain GOOD.

But honestly that doesn't matter.  Why are we judging  ourselves.  Pitying ourselves, our lives, our houses, our kids?

If I NEVER saw those other houses.  Would my house feel like enough?  Yes.  I love my tiny house.  I love being crowded around the dinner table, 7 people snuggled on the couch.   Bumping my daughter, my husband, my cat, as I make my way to the bathroom.  I love waiting impatiently outside the bathroom door, (if my daughter doesn't hurry, I may pee my pants).  I love it because it gives me 4 more seconds of interaction with her.   I get to see her, I usually kiss her/hug her/ push her/ smooth her hair/ hip check her, something.  We say something. "I love you" "took long enough" "do we have any cheese?"  I cherish those seconds.  I know it sounds stupid but I do.  I get to spend so much time with them, because we are forced together by our tiny house.

I could have made different life choices.  I could have finished college first, worked a few years, saved some money, and married some successful man.  (that is NOT how it went down).

Guess what I wouldn't have?   No Aurora, No Paula, No Sam, No Carlos, No Selene.  Maybe I could've still had Juan.  But having kids later in life, say 30,  Could have given me Carlos & Selene, if I had JJ (which considering our past, not-likely).

Would we live in Loveland?  Would I have the friends I have now?

We eat dinner together almost every night.  Does a financially successful husband, mean his job more demanding? Force him to Travel? Drain him by the time he gets home? Keep him from Coaching Soccer? Keep him from helping at the Marching Band Cookout? Keep him from playing Volleyball with me on Fridays?  Keep him from my life?  From our everyday lives?

When it comes down to it, I wouldn't trade a SINGLE person in my life for a bigger house.  Especially not the kids and not JJ.  And for what? So I can be physically farther away from my children and husband more often.  Pass.

And if you come by my house, and judge me, or pity me.  I'm sorry. Sorry because you can't see what you're missing.  Love. Family. Togetherness.

Thank you Tiny House.

Making Meatballs, making meatballs, making MEEAAATBALLS

Well this week for my big cook (I'm trying to get as much done as possible before school starts (NEXT WEEK) because once soccer games and football games start, I will be B.U.S.Y!

So, I went to Sams Club and bought 12 pounds of ground beef.  I made a Quadruple batch of meatballs, though I can't be 100% on the amount of meat I put in, because I had to eyeball it from a big package, but I was going for quadruple, but then I tripled everything else (I'm a rebel don't cha know).  So evidence that baking is a science, but meatballs, not so much.

Here is the link to the meatball recipe I use. 

Excellent Meatballs- 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/ recipes/anne-burrell/ excellent-meatballs-recipe. html

I don't use veal, i just use double the ground beef. I also don't make the sauce; I use Prego (it's in there).  I love Prego, I buy Traditional or Fresh Mushroom.  I refuse to eat any other spaghetti sauce.  Finally, I use the shredded Parmesan cheese that you would find in the deli, or I shred it myself (this time I shredded it myself).  I don't use grated, like you find in a green container, though I like it and use it for other things. Sometimes I use plain ground pork, and sometimes I use sweet Italian sausage (not the links, but the ground).  This time, I had to buy the links, and cut them open and use the insides, sort of makes me feel like a mad scientist.  

I think cooking a meatball patty in the skillet before you cook the whole batch is genius, and I don't know why I never thought of it. I almost always add salt, but if you ever watched the video of Anne Burrell, she goes a little nuts for salt. 

I use an ice cream/cookie scoop, with the release handle to get uniform sizes.  I use the large one, and I make large meatballs (bigger than a golf ball, but not by much), but any size would work.  I scoop them and my kids ball them, it goes really quick with their help.  Even my 3 year old can help with that. When I cook them, I line them up on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet, and broil them about 10-12 minutes (till they are browned on the top) then I flip them over and brown them on the other side. (the Photo shows 2 already flipped over). About 10-12 minutes more. BROIL, not BOIL.  Pretty close to the heat, 3 inches away-ish.  Just watch them so they don't burn.  Then I put them in a huge pot with spaghetti sauce (I just use Prego Traditional) and let them simmer at least 20 minutes, but if you stir them, they could go for an hour or more.  They are perfection. 

 I freeze them by putting meatballs, and sauce into gallon sized freezer bags, and I double bag them.  They do take a while to reheat, from frozen, because they are so large.  This batch made 60, and I freeze them, for my family of 7 (though we eat as if we were 5½ people) in packages of 15 meatballs.  That’s enough for dinner, and maybe a lunch or two. These are giant meatballs, 1 or 2 per person is MORE than enough.

VERY IMPORTANT:  after you cook the onion and garlic, grind them up in a food processor, All the yummy onion moisture, None of the bits of onion.

Then I made, Salisbury steak.  I add mushrooms to the gravy, when I add the onions, but other than that I do the recipe just like this.

Salisbury Steak -  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/salisbury-steak-recipe.html

I add Mushrooms.  And serve with Mashed potatoes.  The ketchup sounds weird, but it really adds a nice savory depth. I also use "Better than Bouillon"  Its like a paste.  And, in case you didn't know, the secret to the most delicious mashed potatoes is Mary Jane's Crazy mixed up salt, and sour cream.  Real butter of course, and milk.

Then I made Meat Sauce, which is what I use for Lasagna.

MEAT SAUCE

The Meat sauce Recipe is my own. 

2 pounds Ground beef

1 pound of Ground  port (Or Italian Sausage)

1 Chopped Onion

3-4 cloves Garlic ( I love garlic)

1 can Diced Tomatoes

2 cans Crushed Tomatoes

1/2 small can tomato paste

3 T Italian Seasoning

2 T Sugar (it cuts the acidity of the tomato)

Salt to taste.

1/2 C grated Parmesan Cheese ( I use Kraft, in the green container)

Large Jar of Prego, like the Giant jar, with the lid like a mason Jar.

Brown and Drain the meat. Remove from pan.

In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, sautee the onions and garlic.  Add the meat and seasoning in.  Cook about 2 minutes, add the paste, cook about 2 minutes.  Add everything else, except the cheese.  Let it simmer at least 30 minutes, up to an hour.  Add the cheese.  1 C of cheese would be fine too, just taste it.  Let it cook about 5 minutes more.

Perfect meat sauce to go on pasta, or to put in Lasagna.  This made about 15 cups, which is 3 meals.  I portion it into Gallon Sized freezer bags, about 5 cups per bag.  That is just about the right amount for a lasagna.

(To make lasagna, cook lasagna noodles, combine 1 egg, 16 oz Ricotta and 1C grated  parm.  Layer - Sauce; Noodes, Cheese mix, Sauce, Mozz Cheese, Noodles, cheese mix; sauce;  mozz cheese, noodles cheese mix, sauce Mozz Cheese.  Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.  Just watch it. )

Finally, I just used the rest of the meat to make Taco Meat.  I just make jive taco meat with the Old El Paso Seasoning packet.

Happy Cooking. 

Meal Plan

Ok.  Its back to School/ Fall Sports season.  My "Busy Season" at home.  School starts in 11 days, but fall sports is in full swing.  If you think you are busy, check out our schedule:

M:  A, Band 2:30-5:30
       P, Cheer 2:30 - 4:00
       P, Tumbling 7:00- 8:00
       Nay, Baby Ballet/Tumbling  6:00- 7:00
       Me&JJ, Small Group/Bible Study 7:30-9:00 (every other week)
T:   A, Band 4-6
      C, Soccer 5:30-6:30
      JJ, Soccer Coach 5:30-6:30
      S, Soccer 6:30-8:00
      A, Soccer 6:30-7:30
W: A, Youth Group 7:00-9:00
      P, Cheer 2:30-4:00
      P, Youth Group 7:00-9:00
TH: A, Band 2:30-5:30
      C, Soccer 5:30-6:30
      JJ, Soccer Coach 5:30-6:30
      S, Soccer 6:30-8:00
      P, Cheering at Middle School Football Game
F:  Me & JJ - Volleyball, time varies
      A, Marching at HS Game, 5:00-11:00
Sat: Soccer Games, Marching Band Competitions

On top of all that, Juan plays soccer, I'm on the board of my church, and we have to eat, and the kids have homework.

If you think you are busy, KNOW I am.

So what the heck to we do?  How do we EAT??  

Well this year I decided to create a meal plan for 3 months.  To get us through the busy season.  

Ok, I am using Google Drive to share files with you.  here is the link to the .xls file of the meal grid.  That way, you can change it to meet your needs.

Meal Plan Grid

So Far we have completed week 1.  and it worked like a charm.  I spent ALL DAY Sunday cooking 28 pounds of chicken.  I made 14 pounds of chicken using the below pioneer woman recipe:

Perfect Grilled Chicken http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/perfect-grilled-chicken.html

This is what I grill, then freeze.  It is so good and versatile.  Marinating it over night is crucial.  When I freeze it, I put each breast in a Quart Freezer bag, and then another, then I will put several in a Freezer Gallon bag.  So this chicken is triple bagged.  

I made 7 pounds of chicken Thighs, bone it-Skin on marinated over night in 

3/4c brown sugar, 3/4c soy sauce, Juice of 3 limes, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1/4t curry powder, and 2t crushed red pepper flakes.  

Baked in a 400* oven, 15 minutes per side.   yum  yum yum.  It was really delicious.

Chicken Taquitos  http://happymoneysaver.com/freezer-chicken-taquitos-with-cream-cheese/  I think these would be better if they could be fried. I haven't experimented with that though.  My thought was fry, then freeze, then bake.  Or Fry from frozen.  The filling is delish.

Chicken Italian-o - Crockpot recipe - http://overthebigmoon.com/super-fast-chicken-freezer-meals/  I serve it with Rice, or you could use mashed potatoes or pasta.There are several recipes here, and they are meant to freeze raw, and then throw in the crock pot.  It works just as well to throw it in fresh the day before, or early in the afternoon.  I usually double the sauce part, because I like lots of sauce to go over the rice.

It took me most of the day.  JJ did help.  But Yes, I made ALL of that on Sunday. I also baked 2 pounds of bacon, so that Aurora could have BLTs for lunch at band.  She said they were a success. Good to know.  Baked 400*, until crisp, about 12 minutes.

Then Wednesday Night, I made Potato soup, not to eat Wednesday, we Ate it Thursday.  I had hoped for enough for 2 nights, but it didn't happen, I had 1.5x the recipe.  There is enough for lunch on Friday, so hopefully it doesn't get wasted.  

Potato Soup - (It is perfect) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/perfect-potato-soup.html  My only note is i just make a whole pound of bacon for the bacon bits.  I mean, SIX SLICES?!?!?!

I will try to keep you posted on my weekly success/ failure with the meal plan.  We have been using the Kroger click-list.  That is saving time, and keeping me to my list and budget.  

So far, We have had amazing success this first week.  JJ is  picking up next weeks Groceries today.  I will buy some ground beef as Sams Club (whole sale club).  And this weekend I hope to make Meatballs, meat sauce, and some other things.  We'll see.  But then, I won't have any freezer items to cook until September, now's a good time because there is no school, but tomorrow is  Paula's birthday, so I will have to cook Sunday, again.

I hope my plan/ recipes help someone.  Please let me know if you try something, and how you like it by commenting below.

Snow Falling On Cedars

Snow Falling on Cedars

By: David Guterson

Type Of Book: Fiction

Set in 1954, on a fishing island Near Washington State:

Main Characters:  Carle Heine (the murdered),  Kabuo Miyamoto (the accused).  Hatsue (wife of the accused) Ishmael (local reporter & childhood friend ot Hatsue)..

Summary:  A man in a small town is found dead, tangled in his fishing boat.  A Japanese man is accused of his murder, and the book is about the trial.  You get a lot of history of the area, and each character in the story.   There is some scandal, injustice and Heartbreak. 

Did the story draw you in?  At first, but then it got sooooo slow. 

How was the set up?  There was a lot of good background information on the characters, and the area, maybe too much information.

Was it fast paced?  There was not a lot of action in the story, it was pretty slow paced.  At least half of the book took place 15 years prior to the current murder case.

Could I relate?  I could relate, because there were some issues involving/ revolving around an inter-racial relationship.  My husband and I are also from very different backgrounds, but in the present time there is little to no stigma attached to inter-racial couples.  Especially when compared to the time period in this book.  Though some of the sentiments would still hold true for us, especially the different cultural backgrounds. 

Lessons, or points?

Thoughts Provoked?  It does bring to light some of the (possible) injustices that took place during this time period, and also makes you realize that racism, and injustices due to racism are not easily forgotten.

Issues Raised – Japanese/ American relations following World War II, and their Lingering effects.

Did I like It?  I did enjoy it, but I prefer books with a little bit more happening. 

Favorite Part? None.

Would you recommend this book? (to whom?)  I would never suggest this book, but I probably wouldn’t steer anyone away from it, if they were considering it.   There was a little love, and little fight, and a little mystery.  But not a lot of anything. 

Was there a movie Made?  - Yes, but the book doesn’t compel me to run out and see the move.   

Final Thoughts:

For me the book was too slow.  The idea was great, the premise could have been exciting, but there was too much detail.  Too much mundane stuff that I didn’t care about.  Maybe the book was full of symbolism, but it was lost on me.  You were interested in what happened to Carl, but then ends didn’t justify the means. 

Compassionate Kids, a conversation

I recently read another blog post that was going around face book.  It was about talking with your kids about being compassionate.

http://momastery.com/blog/2015/08/18/before-school-conversation/

As I was reading this post to my, soon to be 8th grader, 7th grader, 4th grader and 1st grader, I got a little emotional, and found some words of my own for them.  And I really hope, me holding back tears was enough to get their attention.

As a tiny bit of background, recently my eldest daughter, went on a mission trip on her church.  The lesson she learned, and shared with our family, and the entire congregation was: If God calls you to do something outside of your comfort zone, do it, amazing things can happen.

She stepped out of her comfort zone, and hugged a complete stranger who was crying, an adult leader on this trip.  The hug grew into an enormous group hug.  They found out later the impact this hug had on this adult leaders life, and her relationship with God.  She learned how one small action, can change someones life.

So here were the points I was making to them.

Sometimes loneliness, and being completely ignored/ overlooked can hurt worse than being bullied.  Now I'm not saying bullying is no big deal, because that hurts too, but being so "unimportant" that people "Don't even bother" bullying you, could carry quite a sting.

If you have even 1 great friend, you can get through anything.

Imagine having no one.  You go to school, no one talks to you, you go to lunch, no one sits with you, you go outside, no one plays with you.  How worthless would you feel.  And NO ONE is worthless, and they should NEVER be made to feel that way.  God Loves each any every one of us, and He doesn't want anyone to feel alone.

Now Imagine you have no one, and suddenly, someone wants to be your friend.  How that would change your life!  How everything for you would suddenly change.  Now think about what an amazing opportunity that is for you, my children.  You could change that persons whole life, whole future, with such a small act of kindness.  Why would you not want to do that??  "Excuse me, would you like to change the world?  All you have to do is start a conversation with that person over there?"  "No, thanks. I'd rather be mediocre"

And I told them, as I teared up:  It hurts me to think that there are children suffering, to feel as though they are unimportant, to feel as though no one cares about them.  God cares, I care, if you stopped to think you would care too.  And to think that you could have a chance to help that child.  Please I'm begging, do something.  Help them.  Show them Gods love, show them that the world can be a wonderful place.  You have the power, use it.

Now I can only pray, that the heard me.  That ONE of them heard me (I hope they all did).  That at least one child can be affected by the conversation I had with my children last night.

Please keep in mind that my children are blessed with amazing personalities and numerous friends. My children are cheerleaders, marching band members, soccer players, and my 1st grader is so charismatic, it should be a crime (people are just drawn to him).

And I pray:

Lord, use my children.  They are ready to feel you nudging them.  Push them to the child who needs them.

Amen.

Squeeze in a run

Ok loyal blog readers. I'm going to share a secret with you. I hit the 200 mark, and it makes me want to cry. I have never been small, or super thin. Even in high school I weighed about 140. I got married at 150, and that is a great weight for me, though when other people my height weight 150, they want to cry. As you may know, I work full time (at least), I have 5 children, and my DH is basically a stay at home dad. So how can I possibly work in some exercise time?  I can't. But I'm trying.  I have 3 kids playing soccer (JJ is e coach of the oldest) and one doing cheer. So I have been trying to squeeze in running. I have been doing it during sports practices. Three of my kids have practice at the same time on Thursday. My little man goes with daddy to Big Girls soccer, my gpa takes my big boy to soccer, and I go running with the baby in a jogging stroller while tall girl is doing cheer. Works out great. On Thursday soccer is the same, but no cheer, so Paula plays with Carlos at the playground by Sam's practice while I run again with the baby. On Sunday nights I go running alone on the bike trail. I have been running mostly three days a week for a month. I have not lost a single pound( grrrrr) but I know if I stick with it, eventually I will. I am doing the zombie 5k. I love it. I tried the couch to 5k before and it was pretty dull. At least with the zombie one there is an interesting story line, and the voice question are more than just a computer voice saying "run now". One day these pounds will start to come off, right?  

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zombies-run!-5k-training/id566596422?mt=8

For dinner this week I made the Pioneer Woman's. Perfect potato soup. I made it on Monday for Tuesday and Wednesday. My other meal for he week will be lasagna. When am I going to cook it? No idea. I guess I will try to put it together tonight. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/01/perfect-potato-soup/

Today is my wedding anniversary.  We cannot do anything. We have 2 soccer games tonight, a tumbling class and I have adult tap. My life may be too full, but whatever, keeps the kids busy. 

Children and Their Chores

I have tried Every thing I could find.  Online, in books.  We had chore charts, chore chart iphone apps.  We used jars and marbles to track when the kids were good or bad.  I put in place a rotating chore schedule.  None of that worked for me, because it was too much work to keep it in  place, and follow through on rewards or punishments.

I have an entirely new way.  It is working great, because there is NO work on my part.  We had to change the way we looked at rewards vs. punishments, and rules vs. responsibilities.

We had rules, and you would be punished for breaking them.  No Dessert, no tv for a weekend, something like that.  Now all those things are considered “benefits.”  The benefits available to you.  But each person has “Responsibilities.”  Things they are responsible for doing/ handling.  If they don’t keep up with their responsibilities, the answer is no.  No, you cannot have a cookie.  No, you cannot watch T.V.  No, you cannot go outside.  No, You cannot have friends over.

My oldest child is 11, and the youngest is 1 (born 2003, and 2013).  I can’t pile 100 rules and responsibilities on them, or me.  Their Responsibilities are:

1.      Your Room. (keep your room picked up).

2.      Your Hygiene (Brush your teeth, hair, take a shower)

3.      Your Homework

4.      Your Dishes – rinse any dish you use, and put it in the sink.

5.      Your Job

They are supposed to “Take responsibility” for these things.  They shouldn’t have to be constantly reminded to do them.  Though at first they do.   Anytime they ask for anything, I ask if their responsibilities are handled.  I don’t police them, and go around everyday and make sure this is done.  I do point them out if I happen to see them neglected.  But I can guarantee my children ask for things everyday, so I don’t have to police them.  When they ask to go outside, I run down the list, if all their responsibilities are handled, my answer is yes, if not, the answer is no.

A quick note about the showers.  My girls are expected to take a shower at least every 2 days.  I don’t make them take a shower at 6 so they can go outside, so as long as they had a shower in the last 48 hours, they are ok.

Each one of them also has a permanent chore, to help out at home.  I picked chores that make the biggest difference for me, and that they can do without any assistance.

The Chores are:

Age 11 – take the laundry downstairs and sort it.  She has to do this everyday, but only takes her about 5 minutes.  But believe me, keeping the dirty laundry downstairs and sorted keeps the clutter down.

Age 9 – Put away the clean dishes.  She doesn’t have to wash them, or collect them, or rinse them.  But if there are clean dishes in the dish rack, or dish washer, she has to put them away.

Age 7 – Clean the table.  He has to make sure that the table stays cleared and wiped off.  He is doing the best job of this.

Age 4 – Pick up the baby toys in the living room. My 1 year old has a small toy box in the living room.  If she gets anything out, He will have to pick it up and put it in her toy box.

The baby doesn’t have a chore yet.

The second phase of our family harmony is RULES.  You have to have rules.  But we only have 3 rules.  Very simple basic rules.  Valuable for life.  General life rules.  They are:

1.      Pick up after yourself

2.      Show respect

3.      No food outside of the kitchen. (not really a life rule, but necessary at my house).

These are so generalized, but easy to remember.  You don’t leave your shoes in the living room.  You don’t leave your clothes on the bathroom floor. 

You show respect to other people, their things, and the wishes of your parents.  If you use my things without asking, that is not showing respect.  If you are fighting, or saying mean things to each other, that is not showing respect. 

These simple rules do not mean they don’t have to do anything else.  If I ask them to do something, I expect them to do it.  Set the table, put your clean laundry away, get the baby dressed, help out in the yard.  There are many other things that everyone has to pitch in with to make a family work, but there is no reason to load them down with any additional responsibilities.

If they break a rule, they have to do a cleaning duty.   I use an iphone app, Home Routines http://www.homeroutines.com/  and used suggestions I found at fly lady http://flylady.net/ , to set up zones, and other little jobs that get overlooked.  Below is a screen print of my app.  This weeks zone is the bathroom and my bedroom.  You can see a few of the little things I will assign if you break any of the 3 rules.  As I assign a job, it gets a star, so I know what has been done.  It does take some time to get this app set up with the things applicable to your house, but it comes with some already in it, you just need to tweak it.

 

We have been doing this for about 3 weeks.  I had started out with jobs on a slip of paper to be picked out of a jar, but my bathroom sink got cleaned out 3 times in one weekend, so I had to start assigning the jobs.

I also have read to a younger sibling, and a few free passes.  Each child can have 1 free pass per week right now.  

I hope you find this helpful.  There is a way that works for you.  Find it.  Scour the internet.  Try it out, and make adjustments as you go along.