Kids

  • Fresh & Healthy: Community Supported Agriculture (Week 2)

    It is our second week receiving fresh produce from our CSA!  Our family purchased a half of share and will be receiving fresh produce, local honey, eggs and more for 20 weeks.  I plan to give an update on the items we receive from week to week.  Jake picked up this weeks goodies on his way back from Charleston, thanks handsome!!!

    Week 2 of Fresh Goodies from our CSA!

    Garden Veggies & Fresh Eggs!

     

    Items in our Basket this Week:
    • Bundle of Green Lettuce
    • Bundle of Purple Lettuce
    • Bundle of Wild Broccoli
    • Half a Dozen of Fresh Eggs
    • Stock of Collard Greens
    • Bag of Snap Peas – (most of these were eaten right after washing a few barely made it to the fridge)
    • Bundle of Parsley
    • Bundle of Scallions

    I am looking forward to eating these goodies this week!  Thanks everyone for the delicious Collard Green Recipes!!!  I think it was our first time having Collard Greens.  Our family has been eating a lot of salads and lettuce meals (tacos, wraps, etc…) with the lettuce from our garden and the CSA.  Do you have any amazing recipes to share that use a variety of fresh lettuce?

    To find out how you can be a part of a local CSA check out this post – Fresh & Healthy:  Community Supported Farms

  • Family Celebrations: Welcome Home Daddy!

    Jake has been away on a business trip the last few days and all his girls have missed him greatly. He came home to a clean house and a “Welcome Back” balloon tied to a bag of his favorite sunflower seeds that the girls had picked out at the Dollar Tree. Thankfully he had a great trip and made it home safely last night. He brought home a few little treasures for the girls and a Zaxby’s Birthday Cake Milkshake for me, delicious! I am grateful for a family who enjoys spending time together. We are all glad to have him back home!

    Welcome Home Daddy we missed you!!!! XOXOXO

     

    Zaxby's Birthday Cake Milkshake! Amazing - Thanks Babe!

  • Family Recipe: Grandma’s Homemade Ice Cream

    It is the season for Homemade Ice Cream! There is something about spending time with family and friends followed by homemade ice cream.  The fellowship is enjoyable and the food delicious!  I am looking forward to dusting off my ice cream maker, picking up the ingredients and eating the tasty ice cream.  The recipe I am sharing is one that my Grandma Willa has made for years.  We used to make this recipe in the hand cranked ice cream maker, the one you got a work out from before eating the ice cream.  We are spoiled now with electric ice cream makers!

    Homemade Ice Cream Recipe: (makes 1 Gallon)

    • 5 Eggs
    • 1 1/2 Cup Sugar
    • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
    • (beat together)
    • Add: 2 cans of can milk (or use 2 cups cream and 1 carton 1/2 & 1/2 in place of can milk)
    • Pour mixture in container and fill to the line with whole milk
    • Freeze

    If you want a specific flavor instead of vanilla add it to the cream before freezing.  We have added fresh fruit, crashed up candy bars, cookies, peanut butter, or chocolate syrup to the ice cream (strawberries, peaches, butter finger bars, snickers, oreos and more)!  When you are serving a large crowd I have found it is easier to do vanilla ice cream and offer a variety of toppings – hot fudge, fresh fruit (blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, etc…), crushed candy bars, cookies, caramel, sprinkles and whatever else you want to add.

    Now I just need to find a good “excuse” to make homemade ice cream!  Anyone having a party soon?

    Photo by jeffreyw

  • Free Sample: GoodNites Underwear

    GoodNites is offering a free sample of underwear.  Fill out your name, address, and email to receive a sample of your choice.

    • Girls S/M (38 to 65 Pounds)
    • Boys S/M (38 to 65 Pounds)
    • Girls L/XL (60 to 125 Pounds)
    • Boys L/XL (60 to 125 Pounds)

    These are great for keeping in the car in case of a spill or accident!

  • Heart Reflections: Full of Weeds

    The best part about having a garden is the produce!  Whether you have a bountiful vegetable garden or a garden full of beautiful flowers we all know that weeds are eventually going to start poking through the surface!  While the fresh veggies, fruit, and flowers provide many benefits they will only continue to thrive if they taken care of which includes pulling a few weeds.

    As I was weeding our vegetable garden earlier this week I started thinking about all the delicious food we get to enjoy because we have taken the time to pull weeds.  If we were to allow the weeds to take over the garden the precious vegetable plants would eventually stop producing.  Weeding the garden is not in my top 10 list of fun things to do with my time, however, for the delicious food it is worth the extra time it takes to weed and maintain it.  I am grateful for a garden that we can enjoy and for the abundance that we can share with others!

    Later that day while I was working on other tasks my mind drifted back to the time spent weeding in the garden.

    • How often does my own life and heart get full of “weeds” (distractions, stuff, schedules, shopping,  work, etc…)?   It is important that I have some quiet time every day to evaluate my life and refocus on what’s truly important.  The time spent “weeding” my heart is valuable and essential.  When I don’t take the time to weed through the issues in my heart life tends to weigh me down and fruit becomes less visible, much like in our vegetable garden.
    • Does my day go any better when I have a heart that is overgrown with weeds? No, usually I am more stressed because I am trying to do it on my own strength when in reality I have no control over anything.  Just having my mind and heart focused on what really matters makes the days more enjoyable.   A vegetable garden cannot go days without water during a drought or the plants will stop producing fruit.  My heart is the same, if I don’t take time refresh my heart when the drought comes I won’t be able to withstand the heat and will wither under the pressures life throws my way.
    • Is my attitude better with a weedy heart? When my heart is overwhelmed with clutter it is much harder to live a life full of joy.  A heart that is weeded will receive a fresh wave of energy and will rejoice in every precious day we are given.   A garden flourishes when it is weeded, watered, has good soil, and plenty of sun.  When your heart is weeded the positive fruits are allowed to grow giving you more opportunities to make a positive impact on the lives of others.

    The weeds (busy agendas, work, distractions) are waging a constant battle against your heart much like they are doing in the garden.  Take time daily to be still and focus on what’s really important.  What is in our hearts will eventually become known.  Our actions on the weedy days are not as kind or considerate to the people around us.  Do you have weeds that pop up in your garden and heart?

  • Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Fresh Lettuce, Spinach, Dill, Broccoli, Radishes….Oh MY!

    We are enjoying our garden!

    Here are some of the fresh veggies we were able to eat and share this week:

    Fresh Leafy Garden Lettuce and Spinach, first pick of the week!

     

    Fresh Garden Dill

     

    Fresh Garden Broccoli and Radishes

     

    Another day of picking fresh veggies in the garden. Sink full of fresh garden Veggies - Lettuce, Spinach, Radishes, Broccoli!

     

    Another batch of Fresh Vegetables from our Garden! Love eating fresh salads!

     

    And MORE Coming Soon…..

    3 Baby Summer Squash Growing on one of the plants in the Garden!

     

    Beautiful Flowers Blooming on the Beans! We will miss the pretty flowers but are looking forward to the yummy beans!

     

    Two Big Tomatoes begging for the sun to shine this week so they can ripen!

    Hopefully next week you’ll see the ripened version of some of the produce.

    Looking forward to seeing what we’ll be picking from the garden in the next few days to eat and share!

  • Father’s Day Gifts: $25 Off Bosch Cordless Tools (Amazon)

    Amazon is offering $25 Off Bosch Cordless Tools now through June 20, 2011.  Are you looking for the perfect Father’s Day gift?  Many of the Bosch tools are on sale plus you can add the additional $25 savings at checkout.  Some items are more than 60% off prior to applying the additional $25!  Pictured above is the Bosch PS20-2A 12-Volt Max Lithium-Ion Pocket Driver with 2 Batteries it is normally marked down to 66% off plus take an additional $25 off!

    I have “secretly” been looking for a new tool set for Jake, maybe he’ll get one for Father’s Day this year!  Shhhhh……don’t tell him!  To see the other Bosch tools that qualify for the $25 and more information on the Terms & Conditions please visit the $25 Off Bosch Cordless Tools page on Amazon!

    For additional savings use your Amazon Gift Certificates from Swagbucks to get this gift at a lower price or even free!!!

  • Teaching Our Children: Joy Of Sharing

    Jars of fresh Strawberry Jam / Jelly!

    One of the best parts about being a parent is teaching our children.  When you have opportunities to show them how them demonstrate positive characteristics it helps teach them valuable lessons plus it brings great joy seeing them get excited about sharing with others.  The best part is when they initiate the action on their own, that’s when you know they are “getting it”.  We have been teaching  new words that go along with positive qualities as a family.  One of the words we recently discussed with our girls was generosity.  The old saying “it is better to give then to receive” is true, but unless it is put into action in your life and with the kids will they truly believe it.  Part of our discussion involved finding ways to put the words, like generosity, into practical use.  Here are some of the activities we did with the girls to help them understand the Joy of Sharing:

    • Picking and giving away produce from our garden to every person on our street. The majority of the families on our street are retired, but they are unable to do a garden of their own this year.  Being generous with the neighbors and those in close proximity allowed the girls the opportunity to share and learn more about those who live on our street.  They had a lot of fun and told me that they were going to pray for the garden to grow really big so we can do it again.  Loved seeing their excitement!
    • Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. We had the girls pick out some of their favorite non-perishable food items to put in a bag and had them help carry the items out to our mailbox.  These activity provided us an opportunity to explain why we were giving the food away, who the food was going to, and to give praise that we had the extra blessings to share with those in our local community.
    • Sharing with Siblings & Friends – as a child (and sometimes as an adult) it can be hard to share.  Whether it is a toy, book, food, house or really anything.  We have been encouraging the girls to share with each other and friends.  For example, many times our neighbors grandkids will come over to our house to play after school.  One of the first things I do when the girls get home from school is give them a snack because they each lunch at school at 10:30 in the morning.  When their friends come over from the school bus they are hungry too and it is not polite to eat / drink in front of them.  Sharing their snacks and giving their friends drinks when they come to play is part of being generous.
    • Picking Strawberries & giving away Fresh Strawberry Jam – our family went strawberry picking one weekend.  The following week I made jam while the girls were at school.  They had a lot of fun giving the jars full of fresh strawberry jam to friends.

    One important lesson to be taught is to be generous with the best.  Do we hand our friends the half eaten loaf of bread or give them the freshly baked whole loaf?  Give them the fresh whole loaf.

  • Mailbox Goodies: Mobile Headset, Suave, John Frieda, Shampoo, Magazines & More!

     

    Mailbox Goodies

    One of the best parts about getting the mail is when the mailbox full of goodies, especially when they are free! We got some great coupons for free items, free Mobile Headset, magazines and more stuff in the mail.  Most of these deals are no longer available but I will try to keep you posted of some of the new ones coming up.

    Here are some items we received in the mail:

    • 2 – Free Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo or Styling Product Coupon (up to $3.00 each) – Suave Professionals Quiz (still available)
    • Free John Frieda Precision Foam Colour Coupon (up to $12.99) – John Frieda Facebook Page
    • Free Mobile Headset (pictured below, had to snatch it back from my husband to take a picture) – 1 Sale A Day
    • Free Tampax Products – Being Girl
    • Free Head & Shoulders Shampoo Sample – View Points (still available)
    • $1.00 Off Cheer Coupon
    • $5.00 & $1.00 Zantac Coupons – Zantac (still available)
    • Free Zantac 150 Sample – Zantac (still available)
    • Free Always Feminine Products plus Coupons – Being Girl
    • Free Parent’s Choice Formula – (not sure how we got this one, but occasionally we get baby items in the mail) Although I checked and you can get this one through Parent’s Choice (still available)
    • Free Thriving Family Magazine – been receiving for several months
    • Free Newsweek Magazine – Rewards Gold (still available)
    • Free Forbes Magazine – Rewards Gold (still available)
    • Free Forbes Life Travel Magazine – Rewards Gold
    • Free Plane & Pilot Magazine – been receiving for several months
    • Free Tech Briefs Magazine – been receiving for several years
    • Free Landscape Magazine – been receiving for several months
    • And more free magazines and local coupons!

     

    Free Mobile Headset!

    If you are like me it is nice when you get a mailbox with free coupons and samples in it.  The bills will come as well but when you get a mailbox full of free items it helps make the day a little more enjoyable.  Plus the coupons and samples are a great way to stretch your budget and share with others!