Girl states that she is right, what happens next will shock you...

"Man Finds an Envelope on his front porch, you'll never guess what he found inside", "Brittany Maynard..."Pay it forward...", "DYI best ever home decor, under $1!," " Best 100 life hacks." John Doe's status update: " Today I ate tacos for breakfast, with extra cheese. #freecountry #icaneatewhatiwant

This is pretty much what my "newsfeed" looks like on facebook. Facebook. The social media beast that seems to run too much of our lives. I don't so much care how much time you spend on facebook. Not my business. I spend too much time on facebook. I sit scrolling through the newsfeed as I wait in line at the doctors office. Viewing the same status updates I viewed twenty minutes ago. I like someones picture, I comment on someones status update. At the end of the day I've left a lot of social media footprints. Sometimes, I read an article that is so timely for my present situation, that I thank God for the blessing of allowing someone to share something that would soothe my weary soul and encourage me to love those around me too. Other times, it's an article that discourages me, makes me cry, or plain old ticks me off. Most of the time it's fluff. Something to fill time. Time that is precious, Fleeting.
 Everyone has something to say. Everyone has something to debate or argue about. Something to share. There is no doubt of the power social media has to spread a story within hours of it's publishing. What suddenly frightened me about this is the realization that we as a people are losing our minds. In a time when knowledge is so accessible- its being replaced by fluff.  Scroll through the comments under any article and you will see thousands of people arguing their point. Back and forth they go. Who is right? Is anyone right? Can we even know what is right?
Two trends I'm seeing: 1.) THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG 2.) People no longer feel comfortable standing on their own two feet. They cannot say, "I don't agree with this viewpoint because it is wrong. You may not like it, you may not agree with me but this is what I know to be true. Deep down- everyone knows right is right and wrong is wrong. For those of us Christians out there, I'm not seeing boldness either. I'm not hearing, " I love you but ______is not Biblical. I can back it up with scripture, even if it doesn't say, "______ is for sure a sin." The baby is being thrown out with the bath water. Our younger generations are looking at the older and saying, "We're not so ill informed as you were, we are not so narrow-minded as to actually choose right from wrong. Thankfully, in our enlightened era that we live we have discovered that what once was all black and white- is all grey."
The ironic thing about this grey area of thinking, is that within it, there is still no peace. It's supposed to make us capable of rubbing shoulders with anyone and everyone without our fur getting standing up on end. However, people are creating their own personalized grey areas, in which other people can still stomp on their undecided toes.
In a world such as this, we have one person, one article, with one wrong opinion, shared with millions of other people who don't have an opinion. Or the guts to stand up for their opinion.The result is like a group of teens trying to decide what movie to go to. After about twenty minutes of each one saying yay or nay to different options, someone finally shouts out something that then makes one person say, " Well, I don't like that movie but I think they do and no one else is really making a decision so, ok, I'll go with his choice." So even though the teen who shouted out an option ( out of sheer desperation to just get somewhere- not because he necessarily liked that particular movie choice)- the whole group of teens all end up going to a movie that none of them really wanted to watch.
So, today, I challenge you to seek the truth. Decide to not be swayed by the thousands of voices on social media. Make a stand for what is right. It does exist. We can know it. Then go LIVE purposefully. Truly loving by living truth.

"No longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

17Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22to put off your old self,^f which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

25Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another

Ephesians 4:14-25


He is right and he is right? They can't BOTH be right.

Real. Life.

There's a kitchen underneath it all

Today I can't taste anything. I'm being optimistic that it's a sign that this cold is on it's way out the door. It's been a really long week. We set our clocks back and ever since it's been one continuous night. Luke, Erin and I all got a wretched---and I mean wretched--cold. The kind where you get a fever and it makes your lips peel. Your ears and throat are sore and itchy, your nose is stuffed AND runny ( not sure how that is even possible) and when you cough it feels a little like you are trying to get rid of your lungs. Pretty picture, huh? It's not. I know. Every morning I look at the bags under my eyes and I'm so thankful I can hide from the public, in my cozy house with a cup of tea. Somehow, with as little sleep as I have been functioning on over the last couple years- it's never been bad enough to cause baggy eyes. Well, now it is.

Toys, more dishes, and flattened cushion forts

SO! With all this loveliness going on- you can imagine that I've been whistling while I work- keeping up with all my little house wife duties and smiling all the way. Seriously. You have to imagine that because it's not real. Reality is. Messy. Smelly. Tired. Unorganized. Fussy. Complainy. Emotional. ( I for some reason decided that it would improve my puffy eyes if I bawled my eyes out watching some--very good and inspiring videos online--it didn't--they got puffier. ) It's  looking forward to nap time, then missing your babies after they are asleep. Then crying when they wake up too early. It's learning to still give when you feel like it's impossible. Learning to calmly correct when your toddler keeps disobeying. It's that time you finally sit down to relax and your toddler spills milk all over himself and down the couch cushions...Oh. yeah. That happened.
 All that to say, that I'm not feeling like a domestic goddess today. I'm also reminded that good health is not something to take for granted. I miss it already and it's only been a few days of living with a common cold. Looking forward to getting out of this house, I'm not really a fan of the hermit life. Before I can do that, I suppose I should go conquer the chaos that once was my house.

My "remorseful" mess maker

My little girl sleeping with all her brothers blankets because hers are all dirty...   :/

Homemade Cheddar Crackers

Luke sharing his cracker with Bear.

I finally made homemade Cheddar Cheese Crackers!


The original recipe I found here but  I had to tweak a couple of things so here is my version.

I don't have a food processor so after I mixed the first three ingredients together in a bowl, I used my blender working small amounts at a time. It really didn't take as long as I thought it would. My blender didn't cut the butter in very well though, so I ended up just doing it with a pastry blender.

 According to the original recipe you should be able to roll out the dough after cutting in the butter. I don't know if because I didn't used a processor, that my dough was more crumbly and dry- but it was not going to roll out. I tried. I added a few tbsps of water till it was just moistened. I then rolled it out  1/4 in. thick and used my smallest biscuit cutter to cut them out.




 On my lighter cookie sheet they needed to bake the full 16 min. but on my darker pan they were done in 14 min. They don't taste good if they get too dark so you want to keep an eye on them.



 Luke loves them- so I was glad for that. He is fairly picky about his snacks (which is so odd because I always thought toddlers just ate anything) but this kid loves flavor. They are crispy, flaky, and cheesy but not quite like a true cracker. They don't quite *crunch* but I suppose there is always room for improving? Overall I was happy with them and will most likely make them again. I stored them in a ziplock bag. 

Whole Wheat Cheddar Cracker

Prep Time:10 minutes, Cook Time: 15 minutes, Total Time: 25 minutes

2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp garlic power
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, and diced

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Place the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix. Blending small batches in blender, blend till no big chunks of cheese left. Pour back into bowl.

3. Add the butter and using pastry blender, cut in butter till it resembles small crumbs. Add 4-6 tbsp of water and toss till moist. Form into ball.

4. Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface. Cut out with cookie cutter.

5. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

Next up! Making some sweet treats--because I like sweet snacks more than salty. :)

Menu's for a Month...albeit the short month. :)

 Finally got back here to post my menus for a month. Had to take a break and enjoy the nice weather we were having. Rain this morning will make for a good "catch up on all the chores I've been neglecting" day.

This was the month of February- so there is on 25 menus and we do leftovers on Saturdays. 
1. Roasted Whole Chicken, with roasted asparagus and radishes, and mashed potatoes
    Dessert: Angel food cake trifle

2. Chicken and wild rice soup with biscuits

3. Lasagna and salad

4. Salmon patties, sweet potatoes fries, and steamed broccoli

5. Broccoli Cheddar soup and bread

6. Belly Busters ( Chili with fritos, sour cream, and cheese)--raw carrots and cucumbers on the side

7. Venison Roast, with carrots and potatoes- bread

8. Spicy oven baked haddock, with sweet potato fries and green beans

9. Chicken Pot Pie ( I usually make this with biscuits on top, Jared requested REAL pie crust and boy, was it good! We couldn't stop eating it! )

10. Italian Pesto Pasta and salad

11. Creamy Peas and Ham

12. Mona Lisa Sandwiches, warm frisee and potato salad
      Dessert: Chocolate Creme Puffs with raspberry marscapone filling

13. Gingered Pork with Bok choy over rice ( This was a new recipe and it's a new favorite. Had it this month too!)

14.  Grown Up Mac n' Cheese, steamed broccoli and cauliflower

15. Cajun Chicken Stew over rice

16. Spaghetti and salad

17. Tacos and Corn cakes

18. Cheeseburger Buns and home fries

19. Cauliflower soup and bread

20. Pasta Figoli and salad

21. Meatloaf, broccoli, and mashed potatoes

22. Homemade Pizza and raw veggies with dip

23. Whitebean Chicken Chili and corn chips

24. Breakfast for dinner! Waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon

25. Beans and rice with salsa, cheese, and lettuce

I don't always make the meal that I planned for the specific day, I switch them around sometimes, depending on my mood. It is nice knowing that I have the ingredients for whichever meal I choose off my list.

Thrush is back and today I refuse to be mad about it

Confession: yesterday I posted the video clip from Despicable Me 2 featuring the song "Happy"- but I was anything but happy ALL day. Not that the whole day was shot, but playing that song over and over again was more of a pep talk than my actual state of mind. 

Long story made short: I was on antibiotics while in labor with Erin, because of that she got thrush, gave it to me, and for the first FOUR months of her life we were both fighting it like crazy. I mean, we did EVERYTHING we were supposed to be doing and more. The "yeasty beasty" refused to go away. I finally demanded the doctor give me an anti fungal pill- and within two days, we were all cleared up. What a happy day that was! For almost two months life was as it should be.

 Well, yesterday I noticed a diaper rash that looked a little too much like a thrush rash, so I checked her mouth- much to my dismay there was some small white patches. Now, this may seem drastic, it seems so to me- but I got terribly mad. As my mom would put it, "Spitting mad." For about 15 min. I sat on my living room floor, seething. Asking why? How? I thought we were all good! What did I do wrong? The thought of having to do all that rigmarole of washing things in bleach, or vinegar, and swabbing her mouth with gentian violet...it just all got to me. Quickly. Then it got worse. All the other little annoyances, stresses, failures, doubts...about anything and everything came flooding into my mind. It wasn't pretty and I didn't like myself. I didn't like that something could cause me to become so crazy mad. I'm usually so laid back and easy going, I love letting things roll of my back---sometimes to a fault maybe. How is this different? How did it go from a happy day, to me noticing the dust in a corner that I didn't get to, the pile of laundry that I keep meaning to iron, the cookies I mean to bake for my neighbors, and all the other things that I'm NOT doing-- or not doing good enough. My life all seemed like an EPIC FAIL. 

So, I wallowed for a while. I just sat and soured. Hating it and loving it. 

I decided to finish up my homework for a women's book study I'm doing, and it was a bunch of, " Evaluate your walk with God..and "Evaluate your parenting"....Oh. In my rage, I wrote down all my feelings. It was a lot of, " I know it should be this...but it's not. I want it to be this...but it's not." I shut my binder thinking, well, the girls tomorrow are going to see another side of me. Guess I will be in the market for new friends. 

Then I read something, and despite all my effort to not let it sink in, it did. Slowly, ever so slowly, my eyebrows began to un-furrow and my mind began to settle down.

"I want to glorify Him with the things I'm good at, and the things I'm not doing well at right now too. 

Excellence is great, but our weaknesses are where Christ shows His power because we are humbled and need Him the most! :)

And being a homemaker, wife, and mama is sanctifying in so many ways, but thankfully God never forsakes us. And you know what? Our homes could be perfectly run, but without the love of Christ, it is empty work. He brings the glory and the calling and ability to love our families through His power- not our own! And you can believe He can and will work in and through our imperfections." -- Mandy from Biblical Homemaking (click link below for her blog page)

There it was. I could not ignore that truth and I sat, humbled. Finally able to pray with un-clenched teeth--what can I say? GOD IS SO GOOD. Peace never seems so sweet, than after a time of out of control self bullying. Not that it changes the fact that, yes, Erin has thrush again, and no, I'm not the perfect wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, neighbor...you know all those titles that I want to live up to. Having my purpose reiterated, being reminded that GOD is the one who gave me that purpose, and not only that but is giving me the strength to live it out--is healing. Calming. 

Today, the sun is out! Luke woke up SO happy. Somehow, the leftover dishes from last night aren't killing me. Oh, and the pile of ironing is STILL there. My goal is to get those things done today. It's also my goal to live today, fully leaning on Christ's strength. Reminding myself that my joy in the Lord IS my strength.

In other news: I tried "oil pulling" last night. By far that is the nastiest thing I've done in a while. For some reason swishing oil around in my mouth for 20 min. made me want to barf. Not sure I'll be one of the many that benefit from this ancient practice...we'll see.

Quote from Biblical Homemaking Blog

http://biblicalhomemaking.blogspot.com/2013/11/women-living-well-book-study-ch-16-18.html

Grocery Shopping Once a Month! Think FOOD, FOOD, FOOOD!!

Not very happy that he cannot eat the mini marshmallows.

It took me a month to go grocery shopping by myself after having Erin. I know it sounds pathetic- but the idea of keeping track of Luke, nursing a newborn every two hours, and remember everything on my list- was intimidating. I like to shop at Aldi, but you have to bag your groceries, which is not exactly easy with a bored toddler who really wants to eat the mini marshmallows you picked up. The perk of going to a more expensive store where they bag your groceries for you, is mighty tempting. In an effort to save time, money, and my sanity I looked into shopping once a month. This month is only the second time I have done our shopping this way, so I still considerate it under trial. However, I am very happy to report that both shopping trips have been extremely successful in that they were both under our budget! Our monthly budget for groceries is set at $400- including things like toiletries and pantry staples. February we spent $275 on everything we needed for the month and March we spent $300. However, we don't buy all our milk at once since we are getting fresh milk from a local farm each week. That calculated in though, if that is all we end up needed to buy for the rest of the month would take us to $315 for this month. February being a short month may have made things a little easier, so this month will be a true test as to how well I planned our menus and spending accordingly.
It usually takes me about three days to plan all my menus for the month, and then a day or so to cut out any coupons that I find and write my list. I'm hoping after a few months this process gets faster! Our menus look something like this:

                               Breakfast: Weekdays: oatmeal with fruit or steel cut oats. Weekends: eggs, bacon, and scones/waffles/ pancakes.

                                   Lunch: Leftovers from the night before if there is enough after packing Jared's lunch--if not Luke and I have sandwiches and fresh veggies steamed or cut up with ranch on the side

                                 Dinner: One or two meatless meals a week, a chicken dish, a fish dish, a beef/venison dish and Saturday are always leftover or what we can make quickly with what's in the frig.

I am a BIG snacker. Ask Jared. Both times in the hospital after having a baby, all I wanted to do was snack. Every time Jared looked over at me I was ordering more food. So it's a bit of a challenge to not buy crackers and pretzels--or chocolate---but I have been forcing myself to bake homemade snacks, and not only do they taste better Luke loves helping and it's so fun to let him- all be it a bit messy! Planning on trying out homemade cheddar cracker and graham crackers this month. We have a Whirlly popper and I've been making a ton of popcorn. So cheap and you can flavor it so many different ways! LOVE POPCORN! Also, nuts and raisins have been a big snack replacement. Never thought I would do that but here I am!

Making muffins!

Looking forward to how this month goes- I will try and update in April with how it went!

Long winter is rough on babies skin, here is my review on some all natural products that I've been using to fight back the dryness!

Old man winter is getting quite old this year! All this sub zero weather is making most of us BEG for spring. We decided to start planning our camping trip for this summer, to get our minds off the cold and I think it's working! We also started working out again, because we really don't want spring to come and not be able to bike to our favorite hot dog/ ice cream shop but that's another story.

Calendula Oil

 I've noticed that in the winter my son gets little dry patches on his stomach and every once in a while on his legs. Nothing terribly wretched looking but enough to notice and dry enough for him to be itchy. Seems to be a slight case of eczema, no doubt brought on by the cold and dryness of our long PA winters! We heat with wood at our house also, making the air even more dry than some.
After I tried different lotions and creams, switched clothes detergent, and started giving him vitamins- to no avail- I did some more searching. Enter my new favorite products: Golden Calendula Oil and Cocoa Calendula Balm! By Buttercup and Jake- see link below for website.
Originally when I was on their website, I was just going to buy the Calendula Oil but after seeing some more products that looked interesting, I purchased a gift set that included the Calendula Balm, Soothing Skin Cream, and lip balm. Lo and behold when my order came in, they had sent a sample bottle of the oil, as a thank you for my purchase. I was super excited!
I love the oil for right after a bath, because it really seems to soak in and lock the moisture on his stomach and face in, without leaving his skin feeling oily. It also it great for before taking him out to play in the snow, no wind burn!
The  Cocao Calendula Balm is very firm, so you kind have to dig at it to get it out. I usually dig a little out and rub it in between my fingers for a couple seconds before rubbing it onto him. I put this on his stomach once or twice a day, and also on my baby Erin's face since she is at that 5 month drooling stage- great barrier against drool! As the name implies, there is cocoa in it which makes for a yummy cocoa smell and for even more kissable baby cheeks!
I scarfed the Soothing Skin cream and lip balm for myself, though because the lip balm is hooked to my purse, Luke often pops if off and uses it too! (He may have eaten a little of it one day, while I was driving and I didn't realize he got a hold of it-- thank goodness they specified that it's "so natural you could eat it!" because it didn't bother me so much that he ate some- as it did that now I had LESS lip balm to USE. :)
 The Soothing Skin Cream is AMAZING. It's very light and velvety feeling when you put it on and my hands stay well moisturized for a mom who constantly has her hands in water!
All told, after a few weeks using these wonderful, natural products Luke's dry patches are barely noticeable and he it not rubbing at them anymore! Two happy kids with kissable faces and an even happier mom with hands not to dry to turn pages for reading bedtime stories.
 All of these products are made by Buttercup and Jake and can be purchased from their Etsy website here: Buttercup and Jake Esty Store