Whatever Wednesday - Family Size

In the past couple of weeks I have heard many remarks about family sizes.

People have yet to question our decision to have two children, but instead I always get the following responses: "oh, a boy and a girl, that's perfect," "two, that's a good place to stop," "you must be done now, two is more than enough for me!"

Recently the Duggar family announced that they are expecting their 20th child. It's unbelievable how many times and places I have heard this brought up. "20!?! Do they know when to stop?" "That's just rediculous, no one should be allowed that many children!" "She had a bad 19th pregnancy, they'll risk another?" "Isn't she too old? The grandchildren are older than her children!"

Why can't we just leave the blessing of children up to God? Let Him make the decisions for us?

Society has warped it's view of children so much that we now find it normal to praise and rejoice single, unwed mothers. Yet when a child is created by a loving, married couple, who already has more than two, they are condemned and questioned.

Should everyone have 20 children? Of course not, we are not all called to do so. If a stable environment has not been prepared to welcome children, abstain. Hubby and I abstained our entire courtship and engagement. Sure it was difficult, but worth it! Not only did it strengthen our relationship, but it was impossible for us to bring a child into an unstable environment.

When a couple takes so much care to make sure they only welcome children into a loving and stable environment, why are they questioned and talked about in such a negative manner? One, three, eight, twelve, or even twenty children need not to be questioned when God is the center of a couple's marriage.

In today's society children are "things" that just happen. Sometimes by accident and other times they are so planned there is no room for God to unexpectedly bless us. Children come from God. Sure my husband and I have had a huge part in creating both of our children, but we were blessed with them only because He wanted us to be. Would we allow our greatest treasure to rot and collect dust? Of couse not! Why then do we continue to treat children in this way? They deserve the very best and the very best is a loving and stable home with two parents who love each other and are open to God's will in all aspects of their lives. Whether God's will is one child or twenty children, it is His plan that is best for our children.

Munchy Monday - Chocolate Mug Cake

My little sister turned 22 today! In honor of her birthday, I made her a cake...and then I ate it.

Sometimes you want just a small slice of chocolate cake, but who wants to heat up the oven, make a huge cake, and somehow keep your fork from helping you devour the entire thing? Alright, eating the entire cake sounds great, but my waistline definitely doesn't need it!

Enter the "mug cake." There are plenty of cake recipes made for your microwave, but I have yet to find the perfect one. There is absolutely no way to use an entire egg and make a small cake still edible! Trust me, I've tried. My new solution: applesauce!

If you make this strategically, you will only dirty a couple of spoons and a mug!

Chocolate Mug Cake
1 Tbl cocoa
8 tsp hot water, divided
4 Tbl sugar
pinch of baking soda
pinch of baking powder
pinch of salt
4 tsp vegetable (or canola) oil
1 Tbl applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla

In mug, combine coca and 4 tsp hot water. Microwave 20-30 seconds or until slightly thickened and very hot. Stir. Add remaining ingredients. Stir well. Microwave 2-2.5 minutes until cake pulls away from sides. Moist areas may remain but will disappear upon standing. If you have the patience and want to invert onto a plate, wait a few minutes for the cake to cool.

Fun Time Friday - Home Depot FREE Kids Workshop

Did you know that on the first Saturday of every month, Home Depot offers a FREE Kids Workshop? We've been bringing Peter for the last several months and it's definitely a highlight that he talks about for at least a week afterwards.

The projects are very simple, although an adult's help is needed, and we always walk away with something useful that Peter can share and we can all enjoy! Along with the materials and directions of the project, Peter has received a Home Depot apron that he wears every time we go and he receives a pin for each project that he completes. I'm sure his apron will soon be filled with pins as we continue to enjoy this free and fun activity!

Check out Home Depot's website for more information: http://www.homeimproverclub.com/kidsworkshops.aspx

Tasty Thursday - Homemade Vanilla Pudding

Who doesn't love pudding?? It's definitely on my list of favorite comfort foods. A couple of years ago I abandoned the pretty little packaged box and ventured out to make my own. It proved to be very easy and extremely tasty!

Vanilla Pudding

2 cups milk (someone try it with a non-dairy milk and tell me how it turns out)
1/2 cup sugar (can substitute 1/2 cup maple syrup for a healthier and maple flavored version)
3 Tbl. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbl. butter

Combine all ingredients and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Do not boil as it will scald the milk, a simmer is best. Chill.

Eat with a spoon, use in a trifle, top with whipped cream, the possibilities and delicious ideas are endless!

Whatever Wednesday - Little Blue Truck

Everyone has a favorite childhood book. When I'm asked what mine were I immediately think of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "The Napping House," "Where the Wild Things Are," and so many more. Now that Peter is starting to understand stories it's fun to watch him develop an interest in books as well.

Our pediatrician's office has a great program where they give a child a new book at every checkup. I am extremely picky about our books and not one has made it into the donation pile! We recently received "Little Blue Truck" and not only does Peter enjoy it, we love it as well!

The "Little Blue Truck" drives around saying "Beep, Beep, Beep" to all of the local animals. One day a big, mean, dump truck arrives and gets stuck in the mud. When no one will come help him, "Blue" comes to push him out, but he gets stuck too! The animals come to "Blue's" rescue and push him and the "Dump" out of the mud.

Full of rhymes and sounds accompanied by a great lesson in helping others, it is now a treasured book in our collection. If you have not read this book, run to your library, check it out, fall in love, and purchase it!

What was your favorite book as a child? What have been your child's favorite books? Have you found any recently published (in the last 10 years) books that you highly recommend?


"Little Blue Truck" written by Alice Schertle and illustrated by Jill McElmurry. Published by Harcourt Children's Books 2008.

Thrifty Tuesday - Infinity Tube Scarf Tutorial

Have you seen these Infinity Scarves? They're apparently really popular right now. My sister sent me a link to one and asked if I would make one, or two, or three, or...I'm sure she'll keep bringing fabric over and asking for more. Perhaps she'll read this tutorial and start making them herself!

Note: No matter how much this looks like me, I swear it is my sister.

These are actually extremely easy to make. So easy that it's really a waste of money to go out and buy one. Want to know how to make it? It only takes 2 straight stitches!!

Buy 1.5 to 2 yards of 40 inch wide fabric. Check the clearance section, you never know what great things can be found there! Cut in half the entire length of fabric (it will be 20 inches wide). This will actually make 2 scarves. If you don't mind an extra seam, you can buy 1 yard and sew the two pieces together to create a 2 yard strip.

Fold the fabric in half lengthwise, right sides together. You should have a strip of fabric that is now 1.5 to 2 yards long that is folded to be 10 inches wide. Pin and stitch along the long side. I give myself a typical 5/8inch seam allowance.

Turn the scarf right side out. The seam you made is now on the inside. Take both open ends of your tube and pin right sides together. You will NOT be able to pin the entire way around.

Stitch along the pinned edge. Once again, you will not be able to stitch the entire way around.

Push this stitched edge into the scarf. You will be left with a small opening. Hand stitch this closed.

You now have an Infinity Tube Scarf for a fraction of the cost!

You can even wear it as hood! Note: This is a different fabric from the first Infinity Scarf that I made.

Also my sister, not me.

Munchy Monday - Homemade Salsa

Salsa, nothing complicated about it. Then why am I sharing a salsa recipe? Well, because my sister came over and made a HUGE bowl full and we devoured every. last. drop. You know what? Even Peter enjoyed a large amount of it! If it's good enough that my super picky 2 year old will eat it, it's worthy of the blog.

Salsa is completely relative and you can add as much or as little as you would like. Here is what we did.

Nine...yes, NINE Roma tomatoes. Why Roma? They're meatier and super tasty! Why nine? Because we're little piggies when it comes to salsa. Dice as small as you can. The smaller, the better. You want the chip to get as many little tasty pieces of veggies as it can!

One green pepper. Seed and chop just as small.

3/4 of a large red onion. A red onion makes all the difference! There's a trick to cutting these that my sister just taught me today. If you don't care about this whole salsa thing, memorize this onion cutting method. I can't believe I never thought of this!

Peel the onion and cut across, but NOT all the way through.

Cut in the opposite direction to create small, perfectly diced sections. Brilliant! Now why didn't I think of that???

You can add a jalapeno pepper as well, but we decided to keep the salsa as kid friendly as possible.

Mix in a teaspoon of dried cilantro (it's cheaper than the fresh stuff, but that would be great as well!) and 1/4 cup lemon juice. And enjoy!!

How did we eat our HUGE bowl of salsa? By the spoonful, with chips, and I even made a baked potato!

I think I'll make an omelet for breakfast with the small amount that we had left...

Fun Time Friday - Fall Placemats

Peter loves to help set the table and he's actually really good at it! I've been trying to teach him the proper placements for the utensils and cups but knew he needed further direction. I used to have a placemat when I was younger that had the outlines of the plate/cup/utensils and I credit it for now knowing how to set a table. I figured we could recreate our own while having fun with paint!

I had Peter do his hand prints on a sheet of construction paper. We used Red, Orange, and Yellow. I purposefully used the darkest colors first so we could see through the lighter colors.

I used an old cereal box to make patterns of our utensils. I took our actual utensils and traced them.

After cutting out the patterns, I traced them on construction paper (we made 4 placemats). I traced our plates and cups as well.

On the plates we made fall trees. The trunk was made with Peter's forearm and hand and the leaves were additional hand prints. After all of the pieces were made I glued it together and we used a sponge to stamp around the border. The placemat was then covered on both sides with contact paper (it could also be laminated).

Tasty Thursday - Pumpkin Puree

Now that Halloween is over, what do you do with those pumpkins that have made such a wonderful decoration? Make your own pumpkin puree in preparation for all those tasty Thanksgiving treats!


I had Peter paint one of our pumpkins (we used a tempera paint that easily comes off with water) that we displayed for Halloween, but I had future plans for this multicolored creation!

After scrubbing the pumpkin clean, I only had a pumpkin puree on my mind!

Cut the pumpkin open, clean out the seeds, and cut into 8 pieces. Place the pieces skin side up in a baking dish with enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes. The skins will turn a beautiful red and a fork should easily go through each piece. Set aside and let cool.

Remove the skins, either with your hands or a knife.

Place in a food processor and puree.

To thicken, create a straining system with cheese cloth to remove some of the liquid.

Store in containers and freeze.

Note: I had a 5 pound pumpkin and made 2 pints of puree.

Whatever Wednesday - Our Halloween in Pictures

My little monkey and his unhappy banana.

Total cost to make: $8.50!

Yes, I put my baby in a pumpkin.

"Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, had a sister and couldn't keep her..."

We carved our big pumpkin and watched it glow!

Day 40, BIG changes, and Homemade Lip Balm

We made it!! Today is day 40 of our 40 Day Challenge! What have we learned and gained from this adventure? I thought we lived a very frugal life but we have discovered that we can be even more frugal with little work! We slowly ate our way through a freezer full of meats that needed to be rotated out, I baked a lot, had to get creative when we ran out of things and when I didn't have wrapping paper for a birthday party, sewed a Halloween costume, and we had fun the entire time! Hubby and I were discussing the past 40 days and we've decided that we will not be going back to the old way. We won't be following our rules as closely as we did, but we saved a lot more money than we ever thought we could!

During the past 40 days I had plenty of time to reflect on my blog. Yep, my blog. My life requires structure and my blog just hasn't had it (hence the random posts that are sometimes consistent and other times nonexistent). So, I have created structure! I will now have themes to everyday to help bring about ideas for myself and consistency to you, my readers.


The BIG reveal

• Mondays: Munchies Monday - All things snack food. Some healthy, some not, but ALL delicious!
• Tuesdays: Thrifty Tuesday - Ways to save money! Do-it-yourself projects, bargain ideas, and anything money!
• Wednesdays: Whatever Wednesday - Who knows where this could go! Fun pictures, cute things my kids say/do, random topics that don't fit anywhere else. The possibilities are endless!
• Thursdays: Tasty Thursday - All things tasty! Recipes for dinner, breakfast, dessert, YUM!
• Fridays: Fun Time Friday - Want some fun ideas for the kids? See what kinds of crazy projects we're up to around here!

It all looks and seems overwhelming, but really, this is my life and my blog is a reflection of my life. Now to just snap pictures along the way!

In honor of our first Thrifty Tuesday, I thought I would share my homemade lip balm recipe. I've been making this for a few years but have finally tweaked the recipe enough and have found the perfect ratios!

Melt beeswax and olive oil in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time at half power.

Using a needle, puncture a hole in the vitamin E capsules and drain into beeswax mixture. Stir.

Fill containers. I have seen many different containers at our local natural food store and online. Ours have now been reused multiple times.

Let cool and then cap.
These would make great stocking stuffers!!

Recipe:
1 oz Beeswax (found in the candle section of your local craft store)
2 Tbls Olive Oil
3-4 Vitamin E capsules

• Melt beeswax and olive oil in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time at half power.
• Puncture a hole in vitamin E capsules and drain into beeswax mixture. Stir.
• Fill containers.
• Let cool and then cap.
• Makes approx. 10 tubes of lip balm.