Holidays

  • Gingerbread Boy Meatloaf (Diary & Egg Free Recipe)

    The girls have been asking me to bake something in the gingerbread man pan this week.  Since we have already made several different cookies (sugar, gingerbread, and shortbread) I decided that we didn’t need any more sweets so we decided to bake a gingerbread boy meatloaf for our meal. If you don’t have to worry about dairy or eggs you can use the same amount of regular milk and eggs in this recipe instead of the non-dairy and egg substitutes.

    Gingerbread Boy Meatloaf Recipe

    Topping:

    • 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
    • 1/2 cup Ketchup
    • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

    Meatloaf:

    • 1 pound Lean Ground Beef
    • 1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
    • 1/2 cup Onion, chopped
    • 1 Garlic Clove, chopped
    • 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
    • 1/2 cup Almond or Soy Milk
    • 2 Egg Substitutes (Ener-G Egg Replacer works awesome!)
    • 1 cup Bread Crumbs

    Preheat over to 350 F.  Spray oil into the bottom of a “Gingerbread Boy”, 8″ x 8″ dish, or 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.

    Press the brown sugar evenly into the bottom of your oiled dish.  Mix together the ketchup and 1 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce.  Spread the mixture over the brown sugar.

    Combine the ground beef, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Mix in the 1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce, non-dairy milk (almond or soy), Ener-G Egg Replacer, and bread crumbs.  Press the meat mixture into the pan shape.  If you like your meatloaf a little sweeter you can another layer of of the topping layer.

    Bake for 1 hour or until cooked through.  Once done flip the meatloaf out of the pan onto a plate or pan and serve hot.

  • Dairy & Egg Free Sugar Cookies

    3D Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies

    My friend Ashley at Reflecting on the Simple Things in Life brought over some amazing Christmas cookies earlier this month.  They were delicious and they were a huge hit with our family!  We have one family member that is not eating dairy and eggs so I adjusted Ashley’s recipe a little bit and the cookies came out delicious and beautiful (you would never know they didn’t have eggs and dairy)!  My Mom gave the girls these super cute 3D Christmas trees which the girls loved decorating and putting together.  Thankful for some time to spend with the family and enjoy special treats!

    Sugar Cookies

    • 1 1/2 cups Non-Dairy Butter (soy or almond), softened
    • 2 cups Granulated Sugar
    • 4 Egg Substitutes (Ener-G Egg Replacer is our favorite and lasts a long time too)
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    • 5 cups All-Purpose Flour
    • 1 teaspoon Salt
    Cream non-dairy butter and sugar until smooth.  Beat in egg substitute and vanilla.  Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.  Place cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
    Next day:  Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter.  Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes.  Cool completely.
    We decorated some of the cookies with sprinkles prior to baking.  The remaining cookies we decorated with icing after cooking.
    Cookie Icing
    • 1 pound Powdered Sugar
    • 1 stick Non-Dairy Butter
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    • 1/4 cup Non-Dairy Cream (coconut, almond, or soy milk)
    • Add Food Color or divide in multiple bowls and create a variety of colors

    Blend together all the ingredients until smooth.  Chose one food color or divide up into multiple bowls and a variety of colors.

    A batch of the girls decorated cookies

  • Merry Christmas!

    Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  May this Christmas Season be a wonderful time packed full of many amazing memories for you and your family.  We have so many things to be thankful for during this special Christmas Holiday!

  • Great Work Girls!

    Great Work Girls!

    The girls completed their extra math work this week and earned pumpkins!  The pumpkins were on clearance for two dollars at Walmart so we figured it would be a fun activity to do together with the Halloween Holiday.  I don’t know which was more fun for them,  scooping the seeds out and dehydrating them so they could eat them or doing the jack-o-lanterns!

    Super excited that they continue to go the extra math with their math learning.  If you want to read more about why we are doing this activity you can see my post on Going the “Extra” Mile with Math It has been very beneficial for our family!

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Jake is home from his month long work trip to India!!!  YAY!!!  I am “over the moon” excited to have him back home again.  Last week I accomplished a lot, but I did take some time off from blogging since it was so busy with my man being back in town.  There are many fun activities as well as long list of projects on the agenda this week, so I am hoping to get through a bunch of them while having fun along the way!

    Last week’s goals

    Family Goals

    1. Read Imagination Station:  Secret of the Prince’s Tomb   by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 7)
    2. Plan one special activity with the family
    3. Play a board game
    4. Prepare for Upcoming Summer Events
    5. Spend some time Monday – Friday having the girls read & do workbooks
    6. Go to Science Camp – the girls LOVED WeDo Lego’s robotics camp at Roper Mountain Science Camp
    7. Prepare for a big weekend
    8. Ride bikes with the kids
    9. Take the kids to VBS

    Personal Goals

    1. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    2. Continue my YouVersion plan(s)

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Pay all upcoming bills
    3. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week – this week was a little crazy with Jake getting home from India and VBS in the evening

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. Work completed for clients

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Payoff the Vehicles – made payments
    2. Pay medical bills in full – making payments

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read Superfudge  by Judy Blume to the girls
    2. Plan one special activity with the family
    3. Play a board game
    4. Prepare for Upcoming Summer Events
    5. Spend some time Monday – Friday having the girls read & do workbooks
    6. Prepare for a big weekend
    7. Ride bikes with the kids
    8. Celebrate July 4th with Family & Friends
    9. Get upcoming plane

    Personal Goals

    1. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    2. Continue my YouVersion plan(s)

    Home (Yard & Pets) Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Pay all upcoming bills
    3. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. Work completed for clients

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Payoff the Vehicles
    2. Pay medical bills in full

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.

  • Celebrating Father’s Day

    Happy Father’s Day! We love you! XOXOXO

    Happy Father’s Day to my Dad and my Grandpa’s for being there for me throughout my life and for continuing to make a positive impact in the lives of our kids. Happy Father’s Day to my amazing husband Jake Hayes who is a loving husband and a kind, caring, generous, considerate, and awesome Dad to our girls! Thanks for everything you do for us, all your hard work, the laughter, and fun memories you bring into our lives. I love you bunches and am grateful that God has allowed me to share this incredible journey with you! XOXO Happy Fathers Day!

    Sending a Happy Father’s Day message!

    The girls and I were able to spend the week before Father’s Day with my parents and extended family in Kansas.  It was great getting to spend some time with my Dad right before Father’s Day since I don’t get to do that very often anymore with us being so far away.  Thankful that my parents let us invade their house for about 10 days and the great memories we made while in Kansas.

    We were not able to be with Jake for Father’s Day so the girls and I decided to send him a Father’s Day picture.   They helped orchestrate and plan this “chalk message surprise” for Jake.   They were bubbling over with so much excitement that I was afraid they would bust out with the secret before we got it done since we talked to him earlier in the day….they didn’t  though.

    He enjoyed his Father’s Day message from the kids (and the one furry critter that had to be in the picture too).  While Father’s Day is a specific time to “thank” our Dads we are grateful that we can celebrate any time of the year. I am also, thankful that my brother and sister-in-law invited us hang out with them for a few hours on Father’s Day and for the delicious Low Country Broil they made for lunch!

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Last week I was finally feeling better so I was able to get caught up on a few items.  Thankful for some time together with my family while we were all healthy and back to the normal schedule.  We celebrated Valentine’s Day by flying up north to Vermont visit Jake’s Mom and grandparents.  The girls were super excited to play in some snow!

    Last week’s goals

    Family Goals

    1. Read On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls – finished the book with the girls, they are ready to start the next book of the series now
    2. Read Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume to the girls – finished the book, the girls loved it so much they wanted to know if there were any more in this series! 🙂  
    3. Read Imagination Station: Voyage with the Vikings by Marianne Hering
    4. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    5. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    6. Attend After School Activities
    7. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    8. Girls Dentist Checkup
    9. Pick up Brina’s Glasses
    10. Celebrate the Valentine’s Day Holiday
    11. Prepare for the Girls Birthday
    12. Spend Extra Time with Extended Family

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week – didn’t get a chance to walk all 5 days, need to get back into the routine
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Start with my new YouVersion plan(s) – staying up to date with the plan
    4. Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp – working on it
    5. Finish reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan- going through this book with a group of friends

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. Work completed for clients

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. For my January Grocery Budget I am replacing my typical Groceries $40 for 4 with my Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping in order to use up some extra items in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.
    2. Payoff the Van – working on it
    3. Pay medical bills in full – started making payments
    4. Complete 2012 Taxes – started preparing

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls
    2. Read Imagination Station: Voyage with the Vikings by Marianne Hering
    3. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    4. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    5. Attend After School Activities
    6. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    7. Prepare for the Girls Birthday
    8. Spend Extra Time with Extended Family

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Start with my new YouVersion plan(s)
    4. Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
    5. Finish reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan- going through this book with a group of friends

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. Work completed for clients

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Write and Send Out Community Group Email
    3. Email a meeting reminder for Alms & Legs Ministry Team meeting

    Financial Goals

    1. For my January Grocery Budget I am replacing my typical Groceries $40 for 4 with my Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping in order to use up some extra items in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.
    2. Payoff the Van
    3. Pay medical bills in full
    4. Complete 2012 Taxes

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.

  • Be My Valentine: I Will Always “Root” for You Handsome!

    Every once in awhile I like to get a special treat for my man!  It doesn’t have to be for any specific Holiday but this would be an easy way to say “I Love You” during the Valentine season.  For this special treat I picked up a six pack of IBC Rootbeer for Jake and put a sticky note on it that says “I will always “root” for you Handsome!”   I stuck the six pack with the note in the refrigerator, when Jake opens the door to get a drink he will find his cool treat.    He appreciates the thoughtfulness and the treat reminds him that I love him.  I am truly thankful for all he does for our family!

    I will always “root” for you Handsome!