Books I've Read: July 2015

Earlier this month, I posted my review of Gretchen Rubin's Better Than Before.  I'm attempting to read more by getting a book from the library, which has a two-week due date (and then a two-week renewal).  It's not perfect, but it is a deadline to force myself to read something.  I do look forward to the day when the kids are a little older, and nap time/quiet time morphs into reading time.  For now, here's my other book review for the month...

A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  I read a copy of this from the library.  This is one of those books that pops up fairly often on "If you like dystopian young adult fiction book X, you might like this".  So I finally requested it and read it.  It's actually from the mid-80s, before dystopian YA books were a thing, so good job Ms. Atwood for being ahead of your time.

The book was really well-written.  I liked the word play, and the characters were witty and unique.  The book kept me hooked, and I wanted to know how it all turned out.

But.  [Spoiler alert].  The ending is unresolved.  I'm not a big fan of unhappy endings, but I think I like those more than the make-up-how-it-ended-in-your-head endings.  The scenes were also really choppy.  You'd get a paragraph of plot in the present, and then a few pages of a flashback, and before you know it, you're three chapters later and not much has actually happened in terms of moving forward.  Like I said, the writing was spot on and really smart, which is a great talent.  I would have liked a little bit more of what was happening at the moment and a continuation of the story, instead of so many flashbacks.  I also disliked the little epilogue chapter.  It gave me a bit of hope that the story wouldn't end unresolved, and then dashed that hope again by not really saying anything.

Overall, it got me interested in Margaret Atwood's writing, and I may seek out another book by her.  If it ends like this one though, we're done.

Total books read this month: 2.  Total books read this year: 9.

What I'm Up To Lately...

Here are a few bits and pieces of what I'm up to lately.  None of these are worthy of their own blog post, but they are things I've been doing, and learning.

The garden is in full swing!  Not only have we been harvesting some stuff from our own garden, but we've had several drop offs from church members with yummy stuff they've grown.  We've eaten some of it, but we've also been saving it.

I made refrigerator pickles  (kind of based off of this recipe, but without the sugar and coriander) with several cucumbers.  I did this last summer, and I was really bummed when they ran out sometime in September or October.  They're delicious!  The kids will occasionally have some when we make bean burgers, but otherwise they're all mine.

I also learned how to blanch veggies from this post, which was perfect timing!  We got a ton of cabbage in one week, so I made Polish sausage stew and that ramen noodle salad everyone always brings to pot lucks, but we still had extra.  So I blanched the rest to save for a future batch of stew.  I blanched a gallon ziploc bag full of extra green beans from our garden as well.

I shredded up about 16 cups of zucchini and froze that in 2 cup portions for future muffins and breads.  We actually didn't plant any zucchini this year, and one of the reasons was because we haven't gotten around to getting a chest freezer yet, and I know it's one of those plants that kind of takes over.  So I'll enjoy everyone's extras for now...

On the not so happy front for gardening, we've learned about mildew on our pumpkin plants, which resulted in hacking off about a third of the plant.  And we learned about sap beetles in our raspberries (they like over-ripe fruit), which are harmless, but it's kind of gross to pick berries and then have to wash the bugs out.

We finally got Elizabeth a real bed, and I put it together with just a little help maneuvering pieces from Jesse.  The girls are adjusting to sleeping in the same room, and I love not sharing our room with a baby any more.  It's one of those things that is hard for me to give up in the baby stages, but I'm always thankful when I do.

I ordered most of our homeschool books.  I'll be writing a separate post soon on what we picked and how I'm lesson planning this year.

I still love my coffee.  I use this iced coffee recipe and this chocolate syrup recipe, plus a spoonful of sweetened condensed milk.  I top that all with milk and a few ice cubes, and enjoy during afternoon naptime.

So that's life here.  Food, kids, coffee...sounds about right!

Weekly Goals: July 26-August 1

Miss Elizabeth has always been a momma's girl, but especially lately, with all the busy-ness we've had going on.  She would rather snuggle than sleep, so I'm soaking in lots of baby love lately.

Last Week's Goals:

• Get in better control of my "little shopping trip" schedule.  We only went to the grocery store once this week, and it was the planned trip.
• Finish reading Better Than Before and start reading A Handmaid's Tale.  Done and done!  I won't quite finish the second one before it's due at the library tomorrow, so I'll have to renew it, but I'm over halfway done.
• Strip the cloth diapers.  Done.

This Week's Goals:

• Get plans for VBS squared away (specific stories, crafts, songs for each day).  We're doing a 4-day evening VBS at Redeemer and a 4-hour Saturday session at Trinity, both focusing on the colors of the church year.  Jesse and I need to nail down the specifics this week to get them to the helpers.  We have most of the ideas from talking over the weekend, but none of it is written down yet.
• Do the August church newsletter.
• Get rid of the sugar ants that have invaded our kitchen. They're in the microwave.  It's gross.
• Finish reading A Handmaid's Tale and pick the next book to order from the library.

Oh, and aside from all that, I need to finish the last 4 letters of the week before we officially start school next month, do my lesson planning, help host a bridal shower for my future sister-in-law, and keep up with the garden produce that we keep getting!  So, you know, not too much going on here...

Garden Update: Mid-July

At long last! Another update on our garden!

Our apple trees have apples!  I'm pretty excited for that come fall.  We love applesauce.

Here's our grapevine:

...and a close-up of a bunch of grapes!  They're not ready to eat yet, but they're growing great!

The raspberries are just about done

...although there's still a few last berries to grab.  The kids have basically been gobbling these up as soon as I bring them in, so we didn't end up making anything with them this year.  Snacks of fresh berries are always a good thing though!

Here's an overview shot of the garden.  The bushy area that's overgrown at the bottom of the picture is where the strawberries were.  Since they're done, we haven't weeded that part as much.

We finally got the pepper plants weeded out and they're growing well.  

The jalapenos are almost ready to harvest.

When we were weeding, we took the cages off of the tomatoes, so now they're just big bushes.  We have Romas

And beefsteaks.  The first ones are just starting to turn red.

Can you spot the butternut squash in the next picture?

Our green beans have been growing like crazy!  We've gotten several dinners' worth of side dishes already!

Our first pumpkin is as big as a basketball.  We researched the kind of pumpkin (Howden) and discovered they're more of carving pumpkins and not so much eating pumpkins, although supposedly you can eat any pumpkin.  So we'll probably try one to see what it tastes like.  If nothing else, we have free pumpkins to carve this October.

And finally, our baby watermelon.  

Our peas are done for.  They didn't take root very far down, although I think pea season is pretty much over anyways.  The strawberries are done.  The potatoes are still going strong in the buckets, and the parsley and basil are still growing inside on the dining room table.

We've harvested over 11 pounds from the garden so far this year, and that's been mostly little stuff.  Once we get to the big squashes and all the apples and tomatoes, our total should be pretty high!

Polish Sausage Stew

Growing up, this was my "peanut butter sandwich" dinner.  Whenever my mom made this, I was allowed to have a peanut butter sandwich instead, because I could not stand it.  I'm not sure if this was a rule she instituted beforehand, or if I was just so stubborn about not eating it, but I loved the peanut butter sandwich rule.

My kids are young enough that I still make them eat everything once, but I have a feeling before too long, I'll let them pick one meal that is their "peanut butter sandwich" meal too.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound Polish or smoked sausage, cut into pieces
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small head cabbage, chopped
• 3-4 potatoes, chopped (I used baby reds, but russets work well too)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• sprinkle of salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar (optional)*
• 1 tsp. caraway seeds (optional)

*I'm pretty sure the vinegar is part of what I disliked so much as a child, so I left that out.  Feel free to experiment with it though.  It does add a certain tang to the dish.

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large pot.  Simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender.

On Moving, And Connecting, And Realizing We're All A Little Bit The Same

I saw this picture while scrolling through the latest Postsecret post yesterday.  And it really hit home for me, because a few years ago, I could have written it.  It says: "I wish I had more of a normal childhood.  But I moved so much that I really don't think that I belong...anywhere...anymore...I think I lost myself in one of those moves."

So I sent this note in to Postsecret through their Facebook page.

"To the person who posted this secret about moving a lot.  My family moved on average every other year from when I was born until high school.  It's hard to feel like you have no hometown, and you never know how to answer when someone asks "where are you from?" because it requires too much of an explanation.

But it gets easier.  You find that "home" becomes more the people you're with, and less where you sleep at night.  Home is a state of mind rather than an actual state.

I hope you discover all the different meanings of home for yourself, and how many you've gotten to experience because of moving so often.  It's hard because it's different, but that also makes it special."

It got me thinking.  Here's something I thought was pretty unique about myself, something that has profoundly shaped who I am and the set of experiences I call my life.  And another person, another stranger, has experienced the exact same thing.

This is one of the reasons I love technology.  It connects us to people who share our core with us.  Those things deep down that affect us more than we thought they would at the time.  And we never would have known they were out there otherwise.

I have no idea if the person who created this postcard will ever get to see my response.  I hope they do.  If only so they can say "me too."

Book Review: Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books.  A few years ago, back when she was still writing The Happiness Project, I read Gretchen Rubin's blog, although I stopped somewhere in there because my blog list was too long.  I really enjoyed this book though, so I may have to go search her out again.

Rubin's premise in Better Than Before is that everyone falls into one of four personality types when it comes to dealing with expectations.  I'm an Obliger, which means I'm good with meeting external expectations, i.e. what other people expect of me, but I'm not so good at meeting internal expectations that I set for myself.

This means when I'm forming habits, I should be aware of this and give myself some sort of outward accountability.  Sometimes schedules and lists are enough; other times I might need other people.  This is why I can sometimes justify saying "no" to fast food because it's healthier for my husband and our budget, but I can't always resist a coffee/sugar drink for myself.

Throughout the rest of the book after introducing the personality types, she gives several methods for forming habits, because everyone is different.  Basically the point was to do some soul searching, and once you know yourself, you can figure out how to set yourself up for success.  There were a ton of examples, and judging from the book list in the back, everything is based on quite a bit of research, but it's such a conversational book that you don't notice the academia.

Here are a few of my favorite quotations from the book:

"It's simple to change habits, but not easy."

"Leisure must be entered on the schedule as its own activity; it's not something I get only when I have nothing else to do.  Because I always have something else to do."  Oh I need this reminder constantly.  I'm terrible at taking time for myself, even though I really want and need it.

"Stopping halts momentum, breeds, guilt, makes us feel bad about losing ground, and, worst of all, breaks the habit so that the need for decision making returns - which demands energy, and often results in making a bad decision."  This is why it's that much harder to get back into healthy eating and exercising habits for me after every baby.  Each time I've stopped my good habits, and I have to reform them.

"To be happy, even we non-monks need to make time for transcendent matters - such as beauty, creativity, service, faith - but too often these get pushed aside for more urgent demands, and life begins to feel empty and purposeless."

Weekly Goals: July 19-25

These kids crack me up.  We made unicorn horns for U week.  And I promise, Matthew really did enjoy himself.  He has been in a rather picky mood about taking pictures lately though.

Last Week's Goals:

• Catch up on laundry, menu planning, and general house stuff after vacation.  Done!
• Write up a travel tips blog post (done!) and a garden update (coming).
• Finish reading Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin.  Almost done!

This Week's Goals:

• Get in better control of my "little shopping trip" schedule.  I went to the grocery store three days in a row last week.  The first day we needed formula.  The second day our WIC vouchers started (even though I thought they had started the day before).  The third day we were given some cabbage, and I needed a few things to be able to use it before it went bad (recipe coming later this week though!).  Moral of the story: I do not need to go to the grocery store every day.
• Finish reading Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin (I have 2 chapters left).  Start reading A Handmaid's Tale, which I got from the library and only have a week to finish.  I'm hoping library deadlines will encourage me to read more quickly.
• Strip my small size cloth diapers.  I can't tell if they just need to be stripped, or if we've actually worn them out by the fourth kid, but I'll try this first.  Elizabeth is almost big enough for the big ones anyways, although now that I think about it, those need to be stripped too.

The Storm

I'm a highly sensitive introvert.  What that means is that not only do I revel in time by myself, but some days I also find loud noises and visual clutter especially jarring.  Today is one of those days.

Unfortunately, today is also a rainy day in which my cooped-up children want to jump around like kangaroos amidst the seven bins of toys they have dumped out and moved on from.  There is screaming, there is "play with me", there is wrestling, and bickering, and the general cacophony of life.

I can appreciate all this vitality some days.  Today is not one of them.

Today, I long for peace.  A moment of respite to breathe.

I make do.  I invent a race-against-the-clock game in which we pick up everything in 4 minutes and 52 seconds, before the timer chimes in 8 seconds later, alerting us that our time has expired.  It isn't quiet.  It isn't calm.  But it's one less thing to deal with later.

I cope.  I await the calm that will follow this storm.  I know tomorrow will be better.  Tomorrow I will join in the singing and dancing.  Tomorrow I will smile and tell my husband, "They're kids.  They can't be quiet," and we will both gaze fondly at our noisemakers.

Tomorrow.

For today, I write.  I find solace in words.  I find community in sharing something that I can't be alone in.  I find peace amidst the storm.

Travel Tips For Families With Young Children

Traveling with kids is an adventure.  It can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a major undertaking.  Here are some of my tried and true tips to make it a little bit easier.

1. Try to keep some semblance of the normal schedule.  This is probably my most important tip.  Kids thrive on routine and normalcy (at least mine do!), so even though the activities surrounding naps and meals might be different, try to keep those core things that happen every day the same.  For us, that meant making sure the kids got at least one good nap/rest time after lunch (and Elizabeth could nap in her stroller in the morning while we did something), and keeping snacks and bedtime at around the same times as at home.

Elizabeth was in awe of the fish at the aquarium.

2. Plan things that the kids can enjoy.  Jonah has been looking forward to the Lego store since March.  He saved up $20 since then, and was able to buy a Ninjago pack.  We also went to a living history farm, a kids' science museum, and an aquarium.  We did some fun things for the adults too, but traveling with kids is more fun when they're having a good time.

Jonah and Kai (a Lego ninja).

3. Slow pace it.  Take lots of breaks, even if you don't get to do or see everything.  It will make the things you do see more fun.

Hannah and Matthew stopping for a break with Grandma at the farm.

4. Plan extra fun things for the car.  I made a "vehicle bingo" for the boys with pictures of 25 different vehicles they might see, and gave them stickers to mark them off.  This kept them occupied for about 45 minutes (and then sporadically after that).

We also did special treat snacks in the car.  If you can, get things they can open themselves when you tell them to.  In our case, it was squeeze applesauces.  We don't normally get them, and the kids think they're great!  They're also not that messy, which is a plus for me.  We stopped for slushies at Sonic as well.  Promises of treats can get a few more minutes without whining or "are we there yet?"

The last fun thing I did was a baby wipes container with some activities in it for the boys.  I included:

• A handful of Legos to make a car or plane (ones from our big bin of extras so it wouldn't be a big deal if they lost one)
• A dry erase alphabet practicing pad with a marker
• A small coloring/activity book and a pen (they had crayons and a bigger coloring book in their backpacks)
• A few cars

One of Hannah's favorites was sitting on this pony.  She probably got on and off of it about 4 times before we moved on to something else.

5. Find free things to do.  Although we did go to a few places that cost money, one of the first things I checked out was a list of fun free things to do in Kansas City.  Several of those made our list right away, and then we supplemented with things that cost extra.  I'm pretty sure the kids had the most fun watching Grandpa jump into the hotel pool anyways.

6. Pack your clothes in a laundry basket.  You're going to bring the clothes home to wash them anyways.  I pack everyone's neatly folded clothes in stacks in our biggest laundry basket.  Once we get to the hotel, I unpack into the dresser drawers that are available and show the kids which drawer has their clothes in it.  As the days go on, dirty clothes go back into the (now empty) basket, and at the end, we just load it up to go home.

7. Finally, bring headphones (and a headphone splitter to share).  Since we were all in one room, entertainment was limited after the kids went to bed.  We watched Netflix on Jesse's computer with headphones, which was quiet and didn't shine too brightly to keep the kids up.

Menu Plan: July 13-August 2

Sunday's dinner: Roasted chicken, roasted red potatoes, and green beans from the garden.  They all looked yummy!  In reality, the chicken was undercooked, even though I took its temperature (just not in the right places), and the green beans were still a little crunchy because I had the heat too high and they started smoking, so I took them off the burner.  It was my first time roasting a chicken, and I was a little more rushed than the usual Sunday dinner.  Lessons learned.  The potatoes were the best I've ever made them though, so at least one part was a success!

Now that we're back from vacation, I'm back to menu planning.  Since we were pretty close to mid-month anyways, I just went ahead and planned through the end of July.  It was a massive shopping trip, and I have a few busy days of chopping and prepping ahead of me, but it's nice to know that it's all done until next month!

Monday, July 13
Breakfast: Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
Lunch: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Dinner: Gluten-Free Lasagna Casserole
Snack #1: Cheese Sticks
Snack #2: Rice Krispie treats (the kids saw the recipe on the box and have been asking for these for a few weeks)

Tuesday, July 14
Breakfast: French Toast (leftover baked oatmeal for Hannah)
Lunch: Leftover Lasagna Casserole
Dinner: Chicken on the grill, Side Salad, Bread
Snack #1: Apple/Bananas
Snack #2: Rice Krispie treats

Wednesday, July 15

Breakfast: Eggs and Sweet Potatoes
Lunch: BLTs
Dinner: Stuffed Mushrooms, Side Salad, Bread
Snack #1: Cheese Sticks
Snack #2: Energy Bites

Thursday, July 16

Breakfast: Yogurt and Homemade Granola
Lunch: Chicken, Pinto Beans, Mexi Rice
Dinner: Gluten-Free Broccoli Mushroom Alfredo (using this sauce recipe)
Snack #1: Blueberries or other fruit
Snack #2: Energy Bites

Friday, July 17

Breakfast: Eggs and Toast
Lunch: Leftover Chicken, Pinto Beans, Mexi Rice
Dinner: Oatmeal Pancakes, Cinnamon Apples
Snack #1: Yogurt
Snack #2: Popcorn

Saturday, July 18

Breakfast: Oatmeal with Pears
Lunch: Sandwiches/Leftovers
Dinner: Chicken Bacon Ranch Mushroom Pizza
Snack #1: Apples
Snack #2: Trail Mix

Sunday, July 19

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Chicken Enchilada Chili
Dinner: Fish, Baked Potatoes, Corn (or beans if we have more from the garden)
Snack #1: Trail Mix
Snack #2: Canned Fruit

Monday, July 20

Breakfast: Squash Hash and Eggs
Lunch: Leftover Chicken Enchilada Chili
Dinner: Pinto Bean and Ground Turkey Tacos
Snack #1: Cantaloupe
Snack #2: Popcorn

Tuesday, July 21

Breakfast: Squash Hash and Eggs
Lunch: Chicken Pepper Bake
Dinner: Leftover Tacos
Snack #1: Cantaloupe
Snack #2: Energy Bites

Wednesday, July 22

Breakfast: Gluten-Free PB Oatmeal Banana Muffins
Lunch: Black Bean Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries
Dinner: Pear and Sausage Stuffed Squash
Snack #1: Apple/Bananas
Snack #2: Energy Bites

Thursday, July 23

Breakfast: Yogurt and Homemade Granola
Lunch: Hot Dogs, Macaroni and Cheese
Dinner: Eggs, Sausage, Hash Browns
Snack #1: Leftover PB Muffins
Snack #2: Pears

Friday, July 24

Breakfast: Eggs and Sweet Potatoes
Lunch: At my parents' house, where we are dropping the kids for the night while we go to a Twins game for our anniversary
Dinner: Kids at my parents' house, us at the game
Snack #1: Applesauce
Snack #2: At my parents' house

Saturday, July 25

Breakfast: Kids at my parents' house, us at our hotel
Lunch: At my parents' house
Dinner: Crockpot Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions (this only takes 4 hours on high, so hopefully I can start it when we get home and have it be done in time)
Snack #1: Winona
Snack #2: Canned Fruit

Sunday, July 26

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Leftover Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onions
Dinner: Crockpot Beef and Broccoli
Snack #1: Trail Mix
Snack #2: Applesauce

Monday, July 27

Breakfast: Eggs and Toast
Lunch: BLTs
Dinner: Gluten-Free Veggie Spaghetti
Snack #1: Yogurt
Snack #2: Popcorn

Tuesday, July 28

Breakfast: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Lunch: Black Bean Taco Salads
Dinner: Orange Chicken (doubled)
Snack #1: Apple/Bananas
Snack #2: Popcorn

Wednesday, July 29

Breakfast: Omelets with Ham, Cheese, Peppers, and Onions
Lunch: Taco Salads
Dinner: Leftover Orange Chicken
Snack #1: Leftover Pumpkin Muffins
Snack #2: Smoothies

Thursday, July 30

Breakfast: Eggs and Potatoes
Lunch: Black Bean Taco Soup (doubled)
Dinner: Oatmeal Pancakes and Cinnamon Apples
Snack #1: Leftover Pumpkin Muffins
Snack #2: Oranges

Friday, July 31

Breakfast: Yogurt and Homemade Granola
Lunch: Leftover Taco Soup
Dinner: Pepperoni and Olive Pizza
Snack #1: Canned Fruit
Snack #2: No Bake Cookies

Saturday, August 1

Breakfast: Oatmeal with Peaches
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Mini Meat Loaves, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
Snack #1: Apples
Snack #2: No Bake Cookies

Sunday, August 2

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Chicken Fajitas
Snack #1: TBD
Snack #2: TBD

Weekly Goals: July 12-18

Jonah and Matthew in Union Station, Kansas City, MO earlier this week.

Last Week's Goals (from 2 weeks ago):

• Menu plan based off of what we already have.  Done!
• Do Iron Craft Challenge #13: Words. I didn't end up getting to this one.
• Clean the dish strainer. Done!

This Week's Goals:

• Catch up on laundry, menu planning, and general house stuff after vacation.
• Write up a travel tips blog post and a garden update, which I've been meaning to do for about a month now!
• Finish reading Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin.  I'm really enjoying this book!

Books I've Read: June 2015

No picture this time around, because these were all on my Kindle.  But here's what I read this time around...

The Frugal Life: The Simple Path To Living A Good Life On A Budget by Michelle Stewart.  This was one of the "less than 100 pages" books on my Kindle that I got for free at some point.  Most of this book was pretty common sense, review stuff.  Declutter and sell stuff, meal plan, use coupons, budget.

The one takeaway I got from it was an example in the first chapter about eating out.  The author and her husband realized they were spending quite a bit on meals out and grabbing food quickly on busy nights.  So they made a rule to have one dinner out each month with appetizers and dessert and the works, and if they had busy nights that they didn't have time to cook, they settled on pizza or sub sandwiches or something cheaper that still worked.  We've talked about doing something similar - limiting ourselves to one takeout/treat per week, but we haven't fully implemented it yet, and this reminded me of that.

Overall, this was a quick read, but nothing too exciting.

The Unexpected Joys Of A Tight Grocery Budget by Carissa Casey.  This was literally a five minute read.  The book is broken down into ten super short chapters, each outlining the benefit of a small grocery budget.  This was a good reminder that keeping the grocery budget in check can be beneficial, and there were a few aspects I hadn't thought about for awhile.  I think when I downloaded this book, though, I expected it to be more than it was.  Like I said, it was really short.  I was looking for more specifics and examples, and that wasn't what it was.

A Faerie Fated Forever by Mary Anne Graham.  This one started out innocently enough, and then it just went downhill  The story was cute, and I was mildly interested in seeing what was going to predictably happen, but too much sex.  This was one of those that I got for free on my Kindle once upon a time a few years ago.  I wanted a light fluffy read, and it was that, but it was also smutty.

But hey! I read some books this month!

Total books read this month: 3.  Total books read this year: 7.