Family
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Lunch box meals for the kids school lunch.
Our girls are starting to get more efficient in packing their lunches. Yes, they are a little more generous with the peanut butter or meat on their sandwiches (but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing). It works best for us if we pre-pack the majority of the items for the girls lunches (and any work lunches) the evening before. After packing the next days lunches we put them into the refrigerator so we can grab them, pop in an ice pack and go the next day.
- Ham & Cheese Sandwich
- Fresh Green Beans
- Pita Chips
- Vanilla or Peach Yogurt
- Strawberry or Lemon Jello
- Homemade Applesauce
- Reduced Sugar Fruit Juice
- Homemade Cookies
Homemade applesauce and fresh green beans are one of the girls favorites to take to school.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
It has been a week full of fun activities and challenges mixed into one big week. I have somewhat settled into a temporary “new normal” over the next few weeks. Here’s to another productive week!
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everydayRead a book to the girls everydayHave each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this weekConnect with each family member at least once a day
Personal Goals
Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – need to work on doing better
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley – almost done with it
Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the houseSpend 1 hour a day de-cluttering and organizing the house
Business Goals
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog postsSpend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk- Finish 2011 Business Taxes – waiting on the accountant
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchEmail Alms & Legs Ministry Team and Complete Meeting Agenda
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – little by little
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes – on hold until our business taxes are complete
- Put money aside for upcoming trips – part of the way there
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – have 1 piece completed
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Connect with each family member at least once a day
- Put together a Schedule / Reference Worksheet for Mom
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley
- Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Spend 1 hour a day de-cluttering and organizing the house
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Finish 2011 Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Write and Email the meeting notes for our Alms & Legs Ministry Team Meeting
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes
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
Still time to change….
Recipe: Apple Peel Confetti Crisps
Making Apple Peel Confetti Crisps with a variety of different apples
This past fall we went apple picking with the family, even though we have eaten all the apples from that day (we picked a bushel of apples which is approximately 40 pounds) whenever I pick up apples at the store the girls have several favorite recipes that we have tried and enjoy. One of their absolute favorites to eat and take to school is their Apple Peel Confetti Crisps.
It was one of those recipes that pop into my head at the last minute and turn out really well (not all of them turn out so well). As I was peeling some of the apples to make applesauce I noticed we had quite the accumulation of apple skins. I didn’t want all the skins to go to waste so I threw all of them into a big bowl, sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon and sugar on them, stirred and put them into the dehydrator for a few hours. What came out were what the girls named Apple Peel Confetti Crisps, a delightful sweet and crunchy apple peel snack.
- Apple Peels
- Dash of lemon juice
- Dash of Cinnamon & Sugar
Put the apple peels into a bowl. Stir in a little cinnamon and sugar for flavor. Put the apple peels into the dehydrator and cook until crispy. Remove from dehydrator and put into a ziplock bag. If you do not have a dehydrator you can set your oven at 250 and stir occasionally (works great if it is a convection oven).
We stored ours in the refrigerator but they should be fine at room temperature too since they are dried. Several kids in the girls class at school wanted to know if I could pack extra Apple Peel Confetti Crisps in the girls lunches so they could have some too. I was happy to hear the girls did share with their friends. One little boy said it was the best apple skin he had ever tasted and the only thing he would do different is add a little more sugar, ha! Loved that the rest of the first graders enjoyed the goodies as much as my girls.
Start with fresh apples
Peel the apple – Karlie taking a turn at peeling the granny smith apple
Stir a little cinnamon & sugar in with the apple peels
Put the apple peels in the dehydrator and let it run for 4 to 6 hours (or until the peels are crispy like the ones pictured above)
Apple Peel Confetti Crisps ready to eat!
New Upromise eCoupons for March 2012
Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of March 2012. Remember to activate your eCoupons to get additional savings. If you have not yet signed up for Upromise you can get more information regarding on our experience or directly at the Upromise website.
This month they have 26 coupons you can activate for bonus savings. Once you activate your eCoupons all you have to do is scan your rewards card or purchase the items at the store and the cash will be added to your account. You don’t even have to carry any coupons to get the rewards!
You can go to their website for more information on the Upromise program, it’s free to join.
Some Things……Just Make You Smile!
My smiley face greeting
One busy morning as I was getting items ready for work and making breakfast I noticed that the girls were a little more pre-occupied than normal. I heard whispers and giggles but from what I could see they weren’t being bad just mischievous. Soon I finished up what I was working on, moved onto the next task and they started eating breakfast. As we hurried off to do the activities for the day I noticed the item they were working on together out of the corner of my eye.
A smiley face….. They had taken their dry erase board and made a smiley face out of their nerf darts as a special surprise! As soon as they saw me pause at the edge of the room and glance at their artwork they burst into more giggles. “What do you think Mom!? Do you like it?” I love that the girls took the time to put together a silly “nerf smiley” face just to cheer me up. Even though life has a way of staying busy (to the point of crazy at times) it is moments like these that make me smile and count the amazing blessings I have been given. Take a few extra minutes to treasure your little ones today – give them an extra tight bear hug, talk with them, or read a book to them….these days are precious!
Giveaway: “Wits & Wagers Family” Game by North Star Games
I am thrilled to announce a new giveaway on Blessings Multiplied! The winner of this giveaway will receive a copy of Wits & Wagers Family by North Star Games! As a Mom, wife and friend I am always looking for ways to entertain my family and guests. After playing Wits & Wagers Family several times with my family (see my review) I know many of you will enjoy this game too! This game has quickly become a favorite with our family. Here’s how to enter the giveaway:
- Sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied. Sign up to receive Blessings Multiplied via email or like on Facebook.
- You can get a bonus entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below sharing what types of game you enjoy playing.
All comments must be made by March 31st at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing.
You can learn more information about this great book and my review on Wits & Wagers Family by North Star Games.
*A special thanks to North Star Games, specifically Dominic Crapuchettes and Luke Warren, for the providing this game for the giveaway!
CONGRATULATIONS to Our “Dining On A Dime Cookbook” Winner!
The name has been drawn for the giveaway!
CONGRATULATIONS to
Kristina Nunez
for winning a copy of
Dining On A Dime Cookbook by Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper!
Thanks for making a comment in honor of our Giveaway!
An email has been sent to you with more information*
Enjoy Reading Your New Cookbook & Saving Money!
Don’t forget to enter our next Giveaway (the next giveaway will be announced later this morning)!
*Giveaway must be claimed within 5 business days of the prize being announced. Failure to claim the prize within the allotted time frame means you forfeit the prize.
Introducing……the Newest Members of Our Family – “Shipwreck” & “Overboard”
Our newest family members “Shipwreck” and “Overboard”
When we first moved into our house (almost 10 years ago) we set up a fish tank and put in two red ear slider turtles. One was called “Slider” and the other was named “Rigel”. They lived for about 8 years each. It has been almost 2 years since we have had little friends in that fish tank. My neighbor had mentioned several times that I need to go by the Wednesday Pickens County Jockey Lot sometime. I had a Wednesday off one cold and rainy day so I decided that it would be the day to check it out. That’s when I found these two little guys, the only thing I bought that day.
Karlie & Brina get to pick out 1 box to open…..they have to use their “reading” skills to chose the best option!
When the girls came home from school we had two boxes on the kitchen floor one had the word “turtle” written on the top and the other one had the word “nothing”. After their homework they had the opportunity to pick which box they wanted to open for their surprise. They were able to sound out the words and decided to pick the one marked “turtle”.
The girls decided to pick the box marked “turtle”, good choice kiddos!
Peeking into the box to see what is in the box……followed by squeals of delight!
“Shipwreck” and “Overboard” in their little tank
When I brought the turtles home they were the size of a quarter.
Trying to escape already
The girls were excited to see the new family members. It took us a couple weeks before we came up with their names but everyone agreed on “Shipwreck” and “Overboard”. It has been quite entertaining to have these two little guys around. They have a lot of personality and are constantly re-arranging their tank.
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Lunch box goodies
About once a week I pack a special treat for the girls. This week in their little container I put two Hershey Bliss Milk Chocolate Meltaways and one of each color of M&M’s. The girls love getting these goodies and enjoy sharing with their friends as well. Here’s what they had today:
- Peanut Butter & Homemade Strawberry Jam
- Fresh Red & Green Peppers
- Fresh Strawberries
- Pita Chips or Quaker Granola Bar
- Yogurt
- Banana Muffin
- Juice Bag or Container
- 2 Hershey Bliss Chocolate Meltaways
- 5 M&M’s
Special treats in their lunch today
Fresh fruit & veggies
