An Adorable Hold Up

I was due with out second child, a boy, on November 22 of this year. He, however, decided that November was NOT a cool month to be born in, just like his older sister had. The last day of September, I found myself at the birth center confirming with the midwife that I was indeed contracting, and from there went to the hospital. After receiving steroids to help baby's lungs develop more quickly and magnesium for the brain, which also can slow down contractions. I left the next day only to wind up there again 2 days later to stay after dilating to 4 cm and still having rythmic contractions on and off. I am so thankful to report that we made it to exactly 34 weeks, and our son was born on October 12 at 3:23 in the morning. His birth was followed by a little over two weeks in the NICU, which was one of the hardest things I've ever experienced. My heart goes out to all mommies who go through this, especially those who are there much longer than we were.

There truly is so much I could write about how God prepared us for this and provided for us in it, but it will have to wait for now. Needless to say I have not been doing much sewing or making progress towards starting an Etsy shop. I've realized it's going to be a slow road, and just praying for guidance, but for now, let me give you a peak at what's been holding me up!

Meet James Daniel Walker:

One CRAZY Day...my first freezer cooking experience

 *Check out Money Saving Mom's new ebook, The Money Saving Mom's Budget! Today is the last day to win your own free copy of her ebook on Freezer Cooking!!

What you are about to witness is purely supernatural. That may sound trite and you may think that I'm joking, at least to some extent, but I assure you I am not in the slightest. If you know me well, you will not be hard to convince. If in doubt, just ask my mom or my husband!

I was just starting to think "meal plan" for the first time in at least 2 months, when
I happened to notice that my friend, Julie, had posted about bulk cooking on her awesome blog. I'd heard of freezer cooking or monthly cooking over the previous year but the mere thought made me sweat. I felt like such a rookie at cooking in general (the practical side of homemaking does NOT come naturally to me) that it seemed like this huge, super-organized, impossible for me to do. We also did not have freezer space at the time. All that struggling over daily cooking was not in vain, because I finally have a number of recipes I feel fairly comfortable making, which makes this new endeavor much easier.

When I read Julie's post it suddenly sounded so practical and doable. I really believe it was just purely God's timing when I was ready for and NEEDED it! Suddenly a plan began to take shape in my mind. I started grouping my common recipes into those made with hamburger meat, those made with chopped chicken, those made with no meat, and those made with cut meat.
Then I started grouping them in threes so that I could have one going primarily on the stove top, one in the oven, and one in the crock pot. I told Tom about this, and I could tell yesterday that he was surprised that it actually came to pass (though he did not say so ;).

Yesterday was recipes that use ground beef. I quadrupled my spaghetti sauce recipe for spaghetti and two pasta bakes, I doubled my Crusty Mexican Bean Bake recipe, and made a crock pot of chili (2.5 quarts). It was a crazy day and literally took all day between feeding and caring for my little ones but it was so worth it. Here's what I ended up with. We had spaghetti for dinner and there is enough sauce for two more family dinners (2 more quarts).




Reasons I'm excited about bulk cooking:

1. The most obvious is that it will make daily prep. time for dinner just a matter of re-heating and preparing simple sides, except for one day every 2 or 3 weeks or more.

2. We'll save a lot on dining out because it will be when we want to, not because mommy didn't get dinner together in time or hasn't been able to get to the grocery store yet.

3. Trying new recipes will be without pressure and "for fun" since feeding the family won't depend on it.

4.Preparing meals for other families will be much easier.

5. We'll have leftovers from even the individual meals for either another night and/or lunches.

6. I'll have more flexibility with visiting, having visitors, errands, or anything we may want/need to do besides cooking, except on the big cooking day of course.

I am so thankful to the LORD for this idea and the ability to get it started, and to my husband for putting in an extra freezer for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Graco Carseat Swing Frame - One Stop Shopping

This is the coolest contraption. It's so simple and practical. It's a frame for a swing...only the seat is the car seat. It vibrates and plays classical music or nature sounds as well. I'm so thankful to have discovered it. If the baby is asleep in the car, you can just plop the car seat into the swing when you get home. We always had to put the carrier somewhere anyway so now it has a place. I'm using this so much and highly recommend it if you have a Graco car seat. I can't speak for its durability as we haven't had it long but it also folds flat for travel. There are so many things out there marketed as though you need them all...bouncers/rockers that vibrate, swings, travel swings, etc. It is very helpful to have a small safe place to seat your baby while doing chores and working with other children. We also found the borrowed swing we had last time very helpful for soothing our first. This covers both of those things while giving you a place to store your car seat/carrier! Genius.

Choosy Reusables coming soon on Etsy...

  and it's all for water!

When I had the idea of starting a shop I was deeply convicted that I should use this shop specifically to support the digging of wells in Africa. It was one of the clearest directions from God I've ever received in my life. I've struggled since then with doubt that a little Etsy shop could really make a difference, and how I would find all the time to sew while taking care of small children, but three times I have felt convicted by God, and He has helped me get on top of housework so that my mind and time are more available, and I am plunging ahead in faith! To start, 60% of profit of this shop will be donated to a charity organization working specifically with providing clean water specifically in Africa. I have been looking into different organizations and have settled on The Water Project. I will be starting with giving 60% because I'm not yet sure of all the costs of running the business, and need some wiggle room for new products. However, my desire and conviction that all of the proceeds go to Africa, and therefore hopefully the percentage will increase as the shop is established.

It's going slowly, as I have approximately 2 hours a day to work with as my lovely little toddler naps, but I am not discouraged. It doesn't have to be big, I just have to obey! I'm starting out with selling my own unique cloth wipes, while working on developing a pattern for cloth books, which I am really enjoying! Here is a sampling of what I'll be starting out with:

Introducing "Choosy Wipes!"

 Months ago, when I had been using cloth diapers for a while and had experimented with different kinds of cloth wipes, I found that the straight flannel and even special cloth wipe materials just did not compare to the smoothness and efficiency of whenever I just grabbed one of our micro-fleece stay-dry liners to wipe our baby with! So much so, that I started throwing away all our plain flannel wipes and made a new type of wipe with designer microfleece on one side and flannel on the other. Now I can simply spray and wipe with the soft fleecy side and pat dry with the flannel side!

Some are backed with solid flannel (first image above, and others, which I will be calling Choosy Wipes Deluxe, are backed with matching designer flannel (second image above).

Right now I'm working on sewing up an "inventory" to get started with, figuring out pricing, and waiting on some adorable fabric I ordered! I'll keep you posted on progress and certainly when the shop is finally up and running!

Homemade Play-Dough

Lately, I've been trying to find some more structured activities for my 22 month old. I have a strong desire to teach her, even at this age, and take initiative in that area and not just let our time happen to us. I was looking for ideas and came across this website called Joyful Learning, that seems to be made by a mom who had the same desire. I love how simple it is. I have started using the monthly Bible memory verse, the play dough recipes, and hope to use the sensory tub ideas in the future months. Our first batch of play-dough turned out nicely, though I just used a flavor of JELLO that we happened to have, and though my daughter's little hands cannot yet manipulate it very much she enjoys "squishing" it and having me make a bear, car, cat, or whatever. I try to encourage her to make things as much as she can and so far she enjoys making pancakes and tacos! :) Here she is talking on her play-dough phone! Hope this website is helpful to someone else!

Simple Summer (No Bake) Meals

Food has not been fun for me lately due having aversions to most of it during pregnancy, but little by little I'm able to tolerate more tastes and smells. I'm trying to find simple meals that I can prepare for my family that  require minimal use of the oven in the summer,as it shoots up the cooling bill. Here are a couple that are working so far. I'd love to hear more ideas on this!

1. Get bagged frozen chicken breasts on sale and (have hubby) grill all at once. Use over the next week for sandwiches (toasted bread, sliced chicken, lettuce, tomato and mayo), or mix cube and mix in with stove top pasta dishes or Rice a Roni.

2. Boil entire bag of said frozen chicken and chop while it's hot. Store in a sealed container in fridge to use for chicken salad ( just mix in mayo and sweet pickle relish to taste), or though it requires the oven, chicken crescent rolls though I will definitely be using Pillsbury right now! Try these chicken patties as well. They're a little messy to make but don't require baking.

3. BLT's! (Though we try to keep the bacon to a minimum around here.)

Any ideas??? I'm desperate!

From Chaos to Clean with Time to Spare

I've been through such a transformation when it comes to housekeeping. I give all the glory to God because I have tried and tried for years and always failed. I wanted to share because if it helps anyone else as much as it hs helped me then it is worth the time! I'm just in unbelief and excited about this change in my life.

I didn't realize how much my struggle with "staying on top of the house" was making me feel cluttered mentally. I constantly felt like "I had so much to do," and would not make plans or be afraid to make plans, especially if they involved having people over to our house because I was so overwhelmed already.

Months ago I was convicted about how my worry and stress about housework was a hindrance to abiding in Christ and staying in step with the spirit and I was convicted to just let it go, and seek Him every day. That brought so much peace and things were much better than before, but when first trimester of pregnancy struck I was unable to do much of anything, and since emerging from that I believe God has provided this method to help me get back "on top of the house" and better yet, to stay there. (My husband always picks on me for putting it like that and warns me not to fall off because I might hurt myself!)

Second thanks go FLY LADY, who has been the practical means of this change. I had seen the website before and even briefly tried to give it a go, but quickly became overwhelmed and shut it out, which is why I am writing this post. Somehow suddenly I had the urge and the will to look at it again and sift through the abundant information to find out what is the BOTTOM LINE. I personally need to see the big picture FIRST, or the details will confuse me to death. I recently wrote an email to a friend describing the BIG PICTURE as I understand it, and how it has worked for me, so that's what I'll share with you! Again, I hope this will be a help to someone else! To a naturally neat person, this may all seem obvious...but those of you "messies" like me will appreciate it!

Here's my simplified explanation:

First, you start with baby steps which are a few routines you establish.

The first is shine your sink every night. (AKA don't leave dirty dishes...start dishwasher before bed...you probably already do that generally.)

These are the morning and evening routines that I've adopted (there are more I ignore because I don't think they'd help me.)

Morning routines:
1. Make bed
2. Reboot laundry (one load a day THIS HAS HELPED ME SOOOOOOOO MUCH...keeps it from piling up!)
3. Empty dishwasher (this one has also helped SO much! Now I can put dirties in throughout the day and keep it neat!)

Evening routines:
1. Shine sink. (Tom helps with getting dishes away)
2. Spend five minutes decluttering what she calls a "hotspot" (place that gets piled up quickly...for me it's our kitchen table...this one has helped me a lot too! I find if you do it every day you don't need 5 minutes...just a few seconds because it doesn't get so piled up.)

I started with just these and expecting nothing else from myself and found that it helped keep away the piles of dishes and laundry so I was free to think about other things. My house was relatively neat and I had time to spare!

I added one more after I got those established that I do either morning, midday, or evening depending on when it's most convenient. She calls it a "Swish and Swipe" (I had to look it up in FAQ). It is a quick spray down and wipe down of mirror, sink/counter, and toilet in the bathroom. It only takes one minute it because if you do it every day nothing builds up. I use my vinegar/water all purpose cleaner and start with the mirror and work my way down and toilet last and this way I only use one wad of paper towel. I wasn't sure if I could do this every day but the results were so gratifying that I've found it easy to continue almost every day. Never thought I'd enjoy cleaning toilets, but if you KEEP them clean, they never get gross!!!!!!!!

With just the above my house has stayed neat and presentable so that if anyone came over it would be over it would be OK.

As far as weekly stuff, I have made Monday "floor day" where I vacuum and mop the kitchen. Flylady does something unique for this...a one hour once a week once over vacuuming/dusting and such but not moving furniture because she has another strategy for more detailed cleaning (described below).

For de-cluttering and more detailed cleaning each week you are in a different zone. The idea is that sometime during the day, after you've done you morning routines, you spend 15 minutes de-cluttering in just that zone. She has a link to tips on decluttering on the above linked page. Once the area is de-cluttered, then you can spend 15 minutes a day in whatever zone doing the more detailed cleaning/organizing. I personally haven't started implementing this regularly yet, as I've had obvious organization tasks to tackle, but think it is a great way to stay on top of things without spending gobs of time!

The nice thing about it is that you can do what works for you. I just adopted the routines that really helped me and when I start doing zone work I may not use her list of cleaning tasks but I'll just try to spend a few minutes each day doing something that I think needs doing in that zone. Since you're working you could try to just do the zone work a couple of days a week or just an hour on Saturday or something like that.

Hope this isn't overwhelming. It was just TIME for me and it works with my personality because it's a little at a time, and I don't have a long attention span when it comes to such tasks so this works for me! :)

...and I hope it works for someone else too!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Realistic Simplicity

It's been a while! I have a most wonderful reason for not blogging over the past few months. We are expecting baby #2! The first trimester (plus) has not been kind to me.  Pregnancy last time was a very difficult experience, and this time it has been so far as well, though things have been improving over the last few weeks as I am now on two medications and have found some "rules to live by" (aka eat anything you can stomach that has protein...ALL DAY) that have helped me get back to functioning "normally". I've even started cooking dinner again this week (not eating it...just cooking it...that's progress)!

In spite of all, it has been a great time to get my priorities straight and I've honestly quite enjoyed the reprieve from blogging and even from the things that I blogged about like...simplicity? I have definitely realized that thinking about simplicity too much, or rather thinking about anything too much (besides Jesus :) makes life everything but simple, at least inwardly. Was it taking the trouble to blog about it it that made it so "un-simple" that I needed a break? I'm not really sure, but I have to say, I had long stopped enjoying blogging, and it had definitely become a burden. I'm in a new season now, and this blog will reflect that, whatever direction it takes.

Passion plays a part in it for me, because I have many interests, but only one that remains the same over time. I enjoy trying different things, and usually don't master any of them...I wouldn't call myself a "Jack of All Trades" by any means, but DEFINITELY "A Master of None." My ONLY interest that doesn't change is my relationship with God...because He is my life, my purpose, my everything!

All this is to say, though I still like finding ways to be frugal and simplify my life, it's not the most important things in my life, and therefore, having a blog primarily about that just doesn't work for me, at least not long term.

I went a little overboard the past year trying to make EVERYTHING from scratch, eliminate EVERY unnecessary item from our grocery and shopping lists. It was a little too extreme to be realistic (for me), at least all at once. Life is short.

Winner!

Winner of the Juppy Baby Walker...

Congratulations

aperry !

 I'm about to email you! 

Winner- Choose Boba!!! ;)

 Thanks for your patience on this one everyone. I have been quite sick and chasing a toddler around!

Winner of the choice of Boba or Ergobaby Carrier from CSN Stores...

Out of 1237 entries including early extra entries... Comment # 627 was a tweet by...

eek031880@hotmail.com

Congratulations winner! About to email you!

The Boba Carrier - At Home and Abroad {A Review}

I was blessed with the opportunity to review the Classic Boba Carrier in Breeze during our recent trip to Brazil.

The Boba Carrier is a soft structured carrier, ideal for wearing babies from 15 to 45 pounds. It is an attractive and extremely comfortable carrier. The wide shoulder and waist straps are sturdy and comfortable made with high density foam. The military grade waist buckle is easy to snap and extremely easy to adjust. My husband and I found it very easy to adjust the waist back and forth when we took turns wearing Lydia. All you have to do is snap and pull on one strap and it tightens easy and centers itself on your waist.

One of the the things that make this soft structured carrier stand out among all the others is that it has removable foot straps. The foot straps have given me so much peace of mind. We have worn Lydia for very long periods of time and I did not have to worry about the carrier cutting into her dangling legs because I could easily slip her feet into the straps.

The other outstanding characteristic of the Boba is that the back is designed to be a bit higher than others. This is another key to making the Boba the absolute best carrier available. Even when Lydia tried to lean back, I did not feel the pull uncomfortably in my back AT ALL. I had briefly tried using another soft structured carrier that a friend let me borrow before I received the Boba, and I had found it a bit uncomfortable because Lydia was leaning back and it was pulling on my shoulders. With the Boba I have not felt that even once. It is so perfectly comfortable for myself and my baby! Actually, the whole reason the Boba came into being was because the creators were experiencing this problem with other popular carriers, along with leg discomfort for their baby and therefore the Boba was invented with a higher back to prevent the "leaning back" feeling, and foot straps, to prevent the problem of leg discomfort for toddlers and larger babies. You can read the story here.


I am busting at the seams with wonderful things to tell you about my experience with this product! Whether at home or traveling abroad I have come to see the Boba as an absolute essential, and you know me...I love finding things that I don't need to keep it simple. THIS, however will simplify your life in the having of it. I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to test and review the Boba for this trip. It was priceless.

Even before our trip to Brazil the week before we left I started using the Boba. It made getting ready for our trip so much easier. I had to make so many quick trips in and out of stores for last minute things. It would have been a pain to have to get the stroller in and out and in and out and in addition to that to not have my hands free in the process. Using the Boba made it go so much more smoothly. I quickly discovered that Lydia LOVED being on my back and that I loved having her there. Learning to get Lydia on and off of my back went a lot more quickly and smoothly than I thought it would. I found these videos very helpful!

As we embarked on this trip I was a little nervous because I have a history of back and hip problems that is usually aggravated by travel. I was hoping that carrying a toddler would not make that problem worse. I am here to tell you that I had almost none of the hip or back pain that I've had on previous trips and I wore Lydia a whole whole lot. We carried her everywhere in the Boba. We didn't even take a stroller with us. It was AMAZING how easy it was to get around this way.

The verdict is that traveling with a toddler is easy IF you have a Boba Carrier. I cannot imagine our trip without it. I seriously don't think it would have been possible. We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked. When we weren't walking, we were in and out of taxis, combis, buses, metros, trains, etc. We developed a system where we would wear her on the front for metros and buses and such forms of transportation so that we could protect her as those can get pretty crowded. We could also sit down while wearing her on the front. Invariably whichever of us was wearing Lydia would be offered someone's seat! Then, when we were walking long distances, we'd put her on our backs as this seemed overall more comfortable with a toddler. Our friends' baby is 10 months old and a good bit smaller, so she is more comfortable on the front all of the time.

In Brazil we spent two weeks in Belo Horizonte with our friends who are missionaries working with the children in that city's largest slum at a place called The Lighthouse. We also took a few days with our friends to go to Rio de Janeiro. While in Belo, at the Lighthouse, we were trying to help out as much as we could with the ministry there. Even there we wore her a lot to help us be able to do more things and because she just loved it!

 

I mostly took care of Lydia but was able to help out with one group of girls a couple of times and to do a little work in the kitchen. How was that possible? The Boba! Here's a picture of me kneading bread for well over 20 people with Lydia on my back! Honest truth: It did not hurt!

 I had to take various trips to the store for food, milk, etc. and I always went walking with Lydia on my back. It was such an adventure. It's a very hilly place too so it was a great workout.

In Belo Horizonte on the weekend we visited a local park to see the monkeys. We took a bus most of the way and walked the rest. Lydia napped in the Boba for a good part of the time but she woke up in time to see the monkeys!
 

 Also while in Belo Horizonte, we went out for Acai, as it is served very deliciously at a little shop near the Lighthouse. There we discovered a FABULOUS use of the Boba that ended up being a LIFE SAVER throughout the whole trip, especially when we went to Rio. In spite of the fact that Brazil is incredibly baby friendly, there are many small stores and shops that do not have baby chairs, and if they do, they do not have straps. They are just a smaller, higher chair. We discovered, however, that we could keep Lydia perfectly secure by strapping her into any chair with the waist buckle of the Boba. Here's Lydia enjoying acai this way. More pics of this to come...

 Then came the trip to Rio. As I've said, I don't think it would have been possible without the Boba. We required a good deal of luggage as we were carrying a pac n' play. How we would have managed with all that at the bus station and to and from if we'd been using a stroller or our arms, I have no idea! Then while in Rio, of course we were walking an incredible amount, out and about seeing the sights, and eating out of course since we were away from our "home away from home." Here are some pics of Lydia at the famous Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro!

Under the Christ the Redeemer Statue.

Here we have the hood attached and hanging because Lydia had just been napping. Normally we kept it attached and neatly rolled up. I love how easy it is to do!

Just a little happy! ;)

This typical high chair at a nice restaurant did not have straps. Never fear...

The Boba kept her nice and secure!

 

Sleeping baby ready to leave Rio. This hood snaps on and off and if you want to leave it on it has attached bands that make it easy to roll up.

The verdict after a very thorough trial of the Boba is that of all the baby equipment available today, I think it is the most practical and the most worth investing in. It's right up there with the crib and changing table in my opinion, especially if you plan to do any traveling. Even here in the States, there are so many places where a stroller is cumbersome to use. I find that Lydia is much happier in the Boba than in a stroller as well. 

I recommend the Boba over other popular soft structured carriers. My friends in Brazil have another brand, and they tried the Boba and found it to be more comfortable and simple to put on. As I mentioned before, I had tried another kind of carrier briefly and felt a bit uncomfortable with Lydia leaning back. I also find the waist much easier to attach with the Boba. The buckle is mega quality and easy. And again, no other carrier as adjustable detachable foot straps!

Back at the Lighthouse in Belo Horizonte when Lydia and I were resting in our room, she started whining and I asked her what she wanted. We had the Boba laying on top of a suitcase. She walked over to the suitcase, picked up the Boba, walked over to me with it and lifted it up to me with a grunt. When I didn't immediately do anything about it because I was trying to find the camera to catch the adorable moment in a picture (at which I was unsuccessful), she sat down and started trying to put it on herself!

Please take a moment to go to Boba's website and learn more about this product! If you're trying to decide what kind of carrier to get, I recommend you stop your search here! If you are not sure about investing in a carrier, I encourage you to do it. It will be money well spent!

Wordless Wednesday: Our Family in Brazil

Our friends Laura and Felipe Matias that we spent the last three weeks with in Brazil blessed us with the our first professional family photo shoot! I had hoped we could have this done when Lydia was a toddler. Not only is Felipe an amazing missionary and leader, but he's also a gifted photographer! You can see more of his awesome photos here and here! Thanks so much Matias family! We miss you!