A new twist on the 12 Dates of Christmas!

I somewhat randomly thought of this idea to wrap a date night up in a gift bag.  We watched 12 Dates of Christmas on Netflix the other night and I was remembering last year when we tried to have 12 dates.  Last year, though, it just consisted of us making a list of 12 things we wanted to do together in December and some included the boys.  This year is much more fun.  No kids allowed and since Aaron is very busy at work I decided to surprise him by putting together all of the bags myself.  Basically, I put all of the items that we'd need for the date (as much as possible...as size limitations obviously exist) in the gift bag and labeled them #1-12.

This idea is especially nice for us since we don't have a large Christmas budget and usually just do $25 of stocking suffers or something simple.  Wrapping up the dates makes spending time together like a gift, which it is.  These 12 dates will give us something to look forward to during the entire Advent season and will encourage us to spend time together. I spent just a few dollars on items for the bags.

We're in a season of life where we don't really have many opportunities to get out by ourselves.  We don't have family in town and haven't found a new babysitter since our previous one started college.  So, date nights at home are important to get us spending time together and remembering to enjoy each other's company. Right now the boys are both down by or before 8pm...so if we work hard to get dishes done before bedtime then we'll have a couple hours free!  Early bedtimes won't last forever, so might as well enjoy them now!

Tomorrow is December 1st and I can't wait to start having dates!!

 

 The corner of our bedroom has 12 labeled gift bags.  I also wrote the minimum amount of time that would be needed complete the date.

 

I will post pics and a description of what's in each bag after we have our date so I don't ruin the surprise (in the off chance that Aaron sees this post).  Stay tuned!  If you want ideas in the meantime, I can e-mail you.  

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Date #1:  Devotions Night

Time:  30 minutes 

Contents:  2 packs hot cocoa, mini marshmallows, bible, and printed out Advent devotion.  

Consensus:  We enjoyed having some focused time to think about Advent.  We liked this devotion okay but decided to do the Christmas Edition of Our Daily Bread for the rest of Advent.  This is a tiny book devotion that is free and many churches have copies or you can order one. We'll each read it during our day and chat about it at night. 

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Date 2:  Poker Night!

Time: 1 hour

Contents:  Poker themed chips, plastic poker chips, poker hand ranking print out, and a deck of playing cards  

Consensus:  A lot of fun. Pandora.  Snacks.  Great company.  We learned some stories about each other and I learned a couple of new kinds of poker that I'd never played before.  

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Date #3:  ??

Time: 2 hours

Consensus:  

What do we put stock in?

Well, Aaron and I are marking this as our worst Thanksgiving ever and hoping to file it away in the books and move on soon. 

I've cleaned up more than my share of throw-up this week, to say the very least.  I've spent way too much time in the bathroom, to say a little too much.  I lost 6 pounds, saw each family member slowly drop like flies, dealt with an unbearable baby, canceled one thing after another due to sickness, and have now officially spent an entire week cooped up in the house. 

So, no, we won't be eating stuffing today, traveling, seeing family, making turkey shaped goodies, or any of the other festive things one traditionally does today.  I'm not the type of person to be depressed.  I try to keep things in perspective.  But, in all honesty, it would be a lie to say this hadn't been a quite depressing and discouraging week. 

But maybe in situations like this, we need to consider that we shouldn't only be thankful for things and stuff and the All American obsession, FOOD (Oh how I love food).  We all love things and stuff.  But in the end, all of those things will fade away.   

What are we thankful for regardless of our circumstances?
That's a hard one.  I remember mentioning to Aaron that even though we are all really sick and it sucks and blah blah, that at least we are together and at least we are in a warm home being sick. 

But what if you didn't have a family?  Many don't.  And what if you didn't have a home?  Many don't.  Do you truly have nothing to be thankful for? I don't believe so. 

A quite thought-provoking passage in Philippians 4:11-13 of the bible shows the apostle Paul talking...

"..I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do everything through him who gives me strength."  

We can be content in every situtaion...not because of the stuff that we have, the people who help us, or the money we possess.  But...we can be content because GOD gives us strength to do everything through Him.  Now that's somethign to be thankful for.

Yes, I'm thankful for my things.  I'm thankful for my home.  My husband.  My babies.  My food.  My clothes.  I don't mean to sound rude or ungrateful.  But thankfulness to God goes beyond that.  Christian believers in 3rd world countries don't have a fraction of what we Westerners have and they are more joyful yet. Plenty of people don't have what we have and they're still happy and thankful.  Corrie Ten Boom never married and her life is an amazing testimony of dedication to God. 

So...think deep.  What are you thankful for, regardless of your situation?

I'm thankful for a loving and gracious God who gave me life.
I'm thankful for God's mercy forgiving my sins.
I'm thankful for God's promise of salvation and Heaven that awaits me.  
I'm thankful for the opportunity to live this life. 

Cool Beans: 7 Layer Burritos!!!

This is one of my favorite dinners.  We are having leftovers tonight actually.  Yet another reason to love this...it makes plenty for two dinners (and a lunch probably too)!

What you need:

• Homemade Pinto Beans About 10 cups of dry pinto beans( or 1/3 of your crock pot...they will grow when soaked overnight) or about 3-5 cans.  Doing this many homemade beans in your crock pot will make enough for two dinners plus possibly a container to freeze for later use (unless your family is really big). 

• Spanish rice mix or make it yourself with one cup white rice, 1 can diced tomatoes, 2 cups water, and some seasonings (i.e. herbs, onions, buillon, salt, etc.) 

• Other toppings.  You can use whatever your family likes but here's what we usually include to reach our "7" layer minimum :)

• tomatoes, diced up
• letuce, shredded
• onion, diced
• cheddar cheese, grated
• salsa
• Others could include:  tortilla chips, guacamole, sour cream, etc.  Sky is the limit!

• Tortillas!  I love me some flour tortillas.  Aaron has to have corn tortillas which are pretty terrible for burritos so he ends up making more of a rice bowl and a couple mini burritos.  

This one is definitely in the rotation!

My Daily 7

I recently came across this article while searching for crock pot recipes...

The Daily 7 for a highly successful household
by Stephanie O'Dea

The author, a crock pot diva master, is not fond of spending an entire day cleaning.  So, to somewhat avoid this, she has 7 things that are done (just about) EVERY day to keep the household under control.  Here are her daily 7:

Number 1: Make Beds Right Away
Number 2: Do One Complete Load of Laundry
Number 3: Empty All Garbage Cans
Number 4: Keep Your Kitchen Sink Empty
Number 5: Clean Up After Yourself and Help Children Do the Same
Number 6: Bathroom Wipe-Down
Number 7: Before Bed 10-Minute Clean Up

Though I loved her idea, I decided to adapt her list and make mine to fit our lifestyle and to be baby friendly.  Because having babies and young tots is a unique season (like all seasons I suppose) and you just have to do things a little differently! Surely if you have a newborn (or older baby who still doesn't sleep!!!) your goal might be to just get the dirty dishes in the kitchen or get dirty clothes in the hamper. That's great.  These things should make life easier, not completely stress you out.

Here are my Daily 7:

(Most) every day I should...

1. Make beds before leaving the house every morning. Operation train Mateo to pull up his blankets underway. His bed is really high off the ground but I think he can do it.

2. Wash and dry (or fold previous day's load) at least one load of laundry (M-F ONLY!  The only laundry I will do on weekends is diapers or to clean up emergency messes made.

Empty the kitchen compost and/or recycling bins before Aaron gets home (during nap time ideally).

Rinse and scrub off all dishes that are headed into the sink to keep counters clear.... and leave them on the right side so at least half of the sink is usable.  Then, when baby is occupied, trapped in an exersaucer, or perhaps napping, I can load the dishwasher quickly w/o a little person trying to climb inside.

Clean up after yourself and teach your kids to do the same (I.e. put shoes away as soon as we come into the house, hang up coats, put PJs away in the morning, bring dishes from table to the sink, etc.) Mateo has a little box in the entry closet to put his shoes in when we come in and is getting good at remembering to clear his dishes from the table. I let him clear other (not too messy) stuff from the table as well. Right now he thinks it's kind of fun.  He's not really tall enough to get them in the sink but he can put them on the counter near the sink and that helps!

Wash main bathroom counter/sink/toilet seat every night after the boys are in bed and change hand towels. I'm kind of obsessed with this and changing hand towels?!

Find homes for 12 random items each day (those random things that will become clutter...find a home for them- even if it's a recycle bin!) I sure do love a cleared off counter and dining room table.  I find it very therapeutic to declutter and organize/put away stuff. Finding just 12 thing a day (though I don't really count...) helps keep things from turning into chaos.

Now of course these are just the bare bones chores.  Deep cleaning still has to happen (well maybe not in eveyr household) but these will ideally keep that deep cleaning from getting totally overwhelming.

What are you Daily 7? 

Homemade Pedialyte

I'm sure this recipe can be googled, but the triage nurses at our pediatrician gave us instructions to be very exact with the ratios in this recipe to help Alex's tummy bug.

I like this not only because it will save you money but because, when you have a baby/tot who is tummy sick,...the last thing you want to do is throw them in the car and drag them to the store. Because lets be honest...it's hard enough to clean up throw up and blow out diapers when you're at home.  Plus you don't want to spread germs.  The good news is that I bet that ALL of you will have these ingredients in your kitchen already.

Hence you will save money and also a trip to the store with a sick kid.

Homemade Pedialyte

1 quart water
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
4-8 tsp sugar

Note:  I halved the recipe because I didn't think Alex would drink that much in a reasonable amount of time.  Ask your doctor how much and how often to give for your kiddo's particular case.

Baby Wipes

So....many of you know that we use cloth diapers almost exclusively at our house (except if baby is tummy sick or we are traveling overnight....).  It's not as gross as it sounds, they are much easier to use than they used to, and they save us literally hundreds and hundreds of dollars.  Anyways....another costly addition to the diapering process is baby wipes!

Cloth baby wipes?  I think yes. 

Now this is much crunchier than I ever though I'd be...but a kind lady from my Moms Club offered to make me some (maybe I begged her...) when Alex was a newborn.  I was definitely not up for a sewing project then so I was very thankful!!  I quickly gathered up lots of flannel scraps I had from making burp clothes or PJ pants over the years.  This is what she created for us...

 

Double sided square flannel wipes!

 

They fold in half quite nicely...

 

....and even fit into an old wipes container.  There are plenty of solutions out there you can make, but I just add water.   Water + flannel = very gentle on baby and cheaper than dirt. 

 

They don't take up much room in our diaper pail and therefore don't cause any extra laundry.

 

Another washable thing I use (No sewing involved!) are fleece pieces for diaper liners.  Got this idea from the same mom who made the wipes for me!  I like the flush-able liners but they are costly.  Helps with  #2 diaper clean up (ask if you want more details...) and if it's a *really* gross diaper...I have been known on a few occasions to throw the whole thing away.  I buy fleece as a remnant at the fabric store when it's 50% off the sale price so they're really inexpensive.

 

Voila!  It does protect the diaper quite a bit.

Bean and cheese enchiladas

Another "cool beans" recipe, I ended up with this recipe one night when I got too impatient with corn tortillas to make taquitos.  Corn tortillas are gluten free for my husband but are notorious for breaking and are very hard to work with!  So instead of hassling to fry these up individually, I dumped them all in a pan, topped with sauce, and decided to bake.  It's become an easy favorite and beans are oh so much cheaper than meat. (And no- we're not vegetarians).

Here is what you need...

1. Homemade pinto beans (or your fav canned beans).  Substitute black beans if you prefer.
2.  Grated cheese (I used cheddar)
3. Tortillas (I do flour for me and the boys and corn for Aaron)
4.  Enchilada sauce (I like red sauce for this one!)
*Amounts will vary depending on how many enchiladas you want to make.   I used about 4 cups of pintos, 2 cups of cheese, and one can of red enchilada sauce.  This filled 4 medium flour tortillas and about 6 or 7 small corn tortillas.

To prepare these:  

• Warm tortillas in microwave to make them a litlte pliable.  Fill with beans and cheese.  Roll up and place in a greesed pan.
• Top enchiladas with sauce and cheese.
• Cook at 350 until warmed thoroughly and cheese is melted (about 15 minutes)

Some side dishes could include: 

-Steamed veggies

-Rice

-Roasted yellow sweet potato

-Fruit

-Corn

Preschool days....

We've been having a lot of fun learning around here these days.  Perhaps one of the best parts of being a stay at home mom (and parent in general) is getting to watch your child learn.  It really is amazing the zest for learning and practicing new things that a 3 year old has!!

It's funny, because every time I think of preschool I remember that movie Motherhood with Uma Thurman (not a good movie FYI).  She had taken her older baby to the park and there were a few other "snooty" mothers there that began to talk with her.  They scolded her that her baby was not already registered for preschool or on a waiting list for whatever prestigious institution they had chosen...even before their child was born! Seems hard to fathom, but I know that they must to some extent!

When the hubby and I were discussing preschool it came up that neither of us went to preschool and both of us did well academically in school and went on to college, etc.  But as public school employees (past and present) we do recognize the need for socialization, learning to follow directions and function in a classroom setting, and listening to an authority figure/teacher, etc.
We were happy with the opportunities our little guy had for this between Sunday school, Awana, play groups, etc. Plus two 2 1/2 hour days per week at the preschool we considered was $150/month...a pretty penny!!  We thought I'd just continue to work with him at home this year and maybe put him in the Spanish immersion preschool next year if we save up a little money. 

So the story goes that a good friend of mine asked me if I was interested in doing a little homeschool preschool co-op.  I didn't know much about them but with a tiny bit of research and a few standards later I was ON BOARD! 

I immediately rounded up some teacher stuff and math manipulatives we had in our storage room and dedicated a little shelf to materials.  We looked up preschool learning outcomes and standards, mapped out a tentative plan and some goals for the year... and we were ready!! We have a downstairs room that doesn't get a ton of use and was the perfect spot to set up a mini classroom.

 

I really do get excited about teaching math.  Yes, math geek here! Here is Mateo and his little friend sorting shapes.

Fine motor skill practice with dry beans. 

 

Building shapes with straws and play dough to count the sides!

 

Some letter practice.

While some things about the co-op have changed and will probably continue to change, right now there are two 3 year olds, two mamas, and two babies.  It works out really well to have the mom teaching go downstairs with the preschoolers (not toddlers anymore!!!) while the other mom stays upstairs and hangs out with the babies (who are becoming toddlers!!!).  We take turns teaching. Any mom who has two little kids knows how hard doing "big kid" stuff can be with a mischievous baby around.  So...I really enjoy Mateo having some "big kid" time and being able to work with him w/o Alex around.

We meet just once a week for school time and lessons and Mateo is always excited to have his friends over. It's fun to watch them work together on projects, be a team, learn to do cooperative activities, sit at a tiny table, share, etc. etc.  It's a special season, as never again will he have a class of two! 

During the rest of the week I try to have some informal goals in mind from the monthly plan that helps all the mini lessons or informal learning and play time be a little more focused. We checked out lots of counting and shape books at the library i.e. to practice and Mateo wants to count everything, everywhere, all the time.  I love hearing him count in both Spanish and English.  He finds shapes in books, outside, and in his food lol.  Now, since Alex keeps getting taller and can reach more stuff, one of Mateo's favorite places to work on "big kid stuff" is at our kitchen bar. 

 

I do focus on him including baby brother and sharing, but I totally get the frustration of having your puzzle or tower repeatedly destroyed lol. Balance. Sometimes he works on puzzles, does a sorting activity, plays with flash cards, or builds something.  It's high enough that Alex can't reach the counter but low enough that Mateo can climb up there himself and work on "project" whenever he wants.

 

 Mateo having way too much fun telling me about hexagons and how two trapezoids 

make a hexagon too!

 

Another favorite place to "play" is at the old kitchen breakfast table.  It's always covered with newsprint paper to draw on.   I like to have play dough with cookie cutters, crayons, colored pencils, construction paper, and coloring sheets handy.  A new favorite is markers.  Mateo also has a new love for pasting and cutting. He pasted a LOT of shape cut outs last week.  Sometimes he will work on something after he finishes eating, or randomly climb up there during the day wanting to play.  From time to time there will be one of those teachable moments and mini lessons where he doesn't realize I'm trying to teach him something.  Those are the best.  The just regular interactions with your kid and watching their creative minds grow and soak up so much information! And we keep it simple. 

 

And of course what 3 year old doesn't like to look at their work?  I'm sure there is something much more glamorous on pinterest, but I just tied some yarn up and used clothes pins to hang up a few things Mateo wanted to display.  I love seeing how proud he is to show his daddy all the things he's been working on.

So, we are having a lot of fun learning these days.  I'm super thankful for a happy kid who has come so far.  From 4 lbs 4 ounces of preemie baby to 29 pounds of very curious 3 year old.  Blessed beyond description and trying to savor these last couple of years having him home.  All too soon he'll be in school and, despite any of the tough things we've encountered on the journey, I'll miss our time together so much.

JoJo's Pizza Dough

If you know my mom at all, you know she loves to cook, bake, prepare foods, and in general create in the kitchen.  While I didn't quite inherit her zeal for being in the kitchen...I do enjoy baking (when cranky babies allow) and having homemade food for my family. 

One of the things my Italian mama always made from scratch growing up was pizza dough. And besides being delicious it's also, of course, less expensive to make it yourself than to buy it.  A bag of flour is about $1.50 and so is one ball of pre-made dough. So...if you feel like making your own pizza dough, here is her recipe....

JoJo's Pizza Dough (makes 2 pizzas)

4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/3 cups warm water

1 tablespoon (fast rising) yeast

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water for a few minutes.  

Add remaining ingredients and mix together/knead briefly.  

Let rise for 30 minutes. 

Divide dough in half and spread onto two greased pans (adding a pinch of extra flour as needed to help with stickiness).

Bake at 450 degrees for 10-20 minutes (check often)

 Today my 3 year old told me he really wanted to make pizza.  He got out his tiny rolling pin and everything.  So.... I switched a few things around on our menu plan for the month and made it happen.  He loves baking projects (which are harder with a baby around) and I'm quite confident that he will bake wonderful treats for his future wife someday. 

 

Here is Mateo spreading out our dough.  Though a rolling pin is not necessary, he sure got 

excited to use his!

 

And the only thing more fun than spreading out the dough is adding (and sampling) the ingredients.  Mateo is learning all about shapes right now so after taking a bite out of his "circle" pepperoni he then declared it was a "crescent moon".  He cracks me up.  But anytime this skinny picky eater gets excited about food and food preparation I try to capitalize on that as best I can. 

Black Bean and Corn Polenta

 One of the "cool beans" frugal recipes I've found is Black Bean and Corn Polenta.  A vegetarian friend shared this one with me a while back and it's become a regular on our monthly menu.  I always plan to make it on a Saturday when I do because it makes quite a bit and we can eat the leftovers with some rice and/or veggies on Sunday.  If at all possible, I try to take Sunday off from cooking dinner.  We all need a break, right?!

Here is what you need:

1 can black beans (or if you really wanna go crazy saving money- make your own beans! Use about 2 cups for this recipe)

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 ready made tube of polenta or make your own for dirt cheap (using 1 cup cornmeal, 1/2 tsp salt, and 3 1/2 cups cold water...boil til thickened)

1 cup frozen corn, thawed 

1 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

2 cups grated cheese

Mix your polenta in the water and salt.  Bring to a boil.

 

Stir constantly until nice and thick.

 

Pour into a large, greased, casserole dish.

 

Add frozen corn as the second layer.

 

Season black beans with oregano and cumin and add next.  (NOTE..if using frozen homemade beans make sure they are fully defrosted and rinsed to get off any excess water)

 

Add red bell pepper and can of tomato sauce next.

 

Top with 2 cups grated cheese.

Throw the whole thing in the fridge until you are ready to cook.  Homemade polenta does best, from my experience anyways, when it has a chance to chill.   I tend to prepare this during nap time.  Come dinner time all that's left is to bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

I was pleasantly surprised that the baby, at 10 or 11 months old, seemed to really like polenta and black beans!! The 3 year old... well....he just picks out the polenta....

For 2 adults and a couple of tiny eaters we eat half of this and save half for another dinner.  For a larger family you'd probably want to double it if you hoped for leftovers!

 

This saves really well in the fridge and we just re-heat it in the microwave and make some rice in the rice cooker to accompany it.  MMM.  Looking forward to tomorrow night's "easy" dinner. 

Other favorite sides to accompany this:  Yellow sweet potato fries (or roasted), brown or white rice, steamed veggies,  tortilla chips, smoothies, etc.

Mortgages

I just have to share this website:

--->Mortgage Extra Payment Calculator

It's pretty amazing.  You can fill in the stats for your own mortgage....like loan balance, interest rate, duration of term, and date of first payment.  THEN...you can type in how much extra per month you want to put towards your mortgage.

For our stats, by paying $100 extra per month on our mortgage towards the principal...we'd pay if off FIVE years sooner and end up paying about $24,000 less in interest.  Pretty crazy.

Our mortgage is our only debt.  And we don't like debt.  I especially don't like paying interest.  Sooo... we do pay a little extra per month.  We had been doing $50 per month extra but we are motivated to put even more than that if at all possible.


Mortgages can be beastly.  We thought our 20% down to avoid the PMI (Mortgage insurance) was pretty good though Andy Stanley would tell you to put 30% down payment on a house.  But many put little or no down on their homes making their monthly payments already very high. I would make a terrible loan officer because I'd convince too many people to hold off on the loan and make absolutely no money haha!


Anyways..... if $100 a month seems unfathomable for you to come up with try just $10 extra.  Not a huge amount (2  or 3 coffees maybe) but for us we'd still pay our house off 7 months early and save $3,000 on interest.  I'm a believer in the little things adding up!

Happy Money Saving!!

Alex at one

Tank.  Bam bam.  Travieso.  Just a couple of nick names friends and family have given to Alex.

He shows no fear.  He's rough and he's tough.  He likes to wrestle with his big brother and usually wins. 

He is into everything, (STILL) puts everything into his mouth, and doesn't give up trying to open that one cupboard that isn't locked.  I actually resorted to duct tape the other day.

He will eat anything...even if it's not edible. Including a piece of ceramic (long story).

He loves to hug his big brother.

He loves to play peek-a-boo.  

He is always looking for Da Da while he's at work and stands at the baby gate yelling for him along side Mateo when the garage door opens.

He is happy being with his family and friends and I think we are happy to have him around.  Especially Mateo, who when sad will often say, "I need Owwww Ex.".  And a big Alex hug makes it all better.

He's incredibly squirmy, somewhat rough, has pulled out more earrings than I can remember, and often pokes his brother in the eyes unknowingly or tries to rip off his ears.

He got his first black eye last week.

He weighs 22 lbs and has 8 teeth.

He's happy crawling around the house and climbing on things for now and isn't too interested in walking.  We're OK with that.  Walking means even more chaos. We can wait a little longer.

He still doesn't sleep through the night and graces me with his presence about 4:30 or 5:00 every morning to nurse.  Yay about that lol.

He waves at everybody and says HI. 

He tries to be sweet even when he's sick.

He drives me crazy by his inability to comprehend the word "NO" and his unstoppable diligence in getting into things he wants into (hence the reason why all but one of our kitchen cupboards are locked now.  Have fun coming to cook in OUR kitchen....lol). And hence the reason why our living room curtains are draped up AND the reason I often drag the coffee table to block off areas.  Fun times. 

He melts my heart with his big blue eyes and big cheesy smile.

Happy Birthday to Alex.  Our blessing, whose name means "Defender of Man".  Maybe that's why he tries to be tough.  Thanking Jesus today for his life.