Clara

Meet Clara

Two weeks ago my daughter Clara turned 3. Our celebrating included chocolate cupcakes- at her request and everything Ariel. I am so amazed at this precious bundle of energy the Lord has given me. All who know Clara, know how spunky, sassy and sweet she is. Today she had total meltdown because I said she could not watch Mickey Mouse. Last week however she said the most precious prayer I have ever heard from a 3-year-olds' lips. She keeps me on my toes. Here are some of her favorite things: her pink kitty, any one of her five Ariel dolls, fancy dresses, grapes and singing. She is always singing. I so enjoy having a girl in the middle of my precious boys.

My future self

Recently, I read the one billionth article in some women's magazine about how to organize your life. It listed fifteen original ideas from readers for making your life easier. I read the article intently, trying to soak in every idea. I am always looking for a way to make my crazy life easier. Also with three kids and three days of work, I can't seem to catch up with all I need to do. Now several days later, I can only remember one of the ideas- my future self. The idea is every time I do something, ask myself what will my future self think about this. For instance, in the evening before going upstairs to bed- ask myself 'What will my future self think when I come downstairs in the morning?' So far this has prompted me to take a couple extra minutes with everything I do and do it more completely. It has made it nicer to walk into my bathroom in the morning and find a clean floor instead of the kids clothes from the previous night's bath time. So this has lead to a lot of thinking about this future self of mine. What will she be like in a month? a year? Am I doing things now that when I wake up a couple years I will be happy with what my 'past self' did to get there? Just some thoughts......

Hooray for the Crockpot- Mac & Cheese

This is the easiest and best mac and cheese recipe ever! Here is what you need:

8oz package of macaroni- cooked and drained

2 TBS oil

13 oz can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cup milk

1tsp salt

3 cups shredded cheese (I like Velveeta best)

1/4 cup melted butter

- spray crock pot with cooking spray

- toss cooked macaroni in 2 TBS oil in crock pot

- add all other ingredients into crock pot and stir well

- cook 3 to 4 hours on low, stirring occasionally

This has become a staple to a family dinners and everyone loves it! It is easy to double and will easily fit into a large crock pot. Hope you enjoy :)

Things I have been reminded of this week....

1. taking a 17-month-old to a restaurant is still not fun- I have 3 children- I should have learned this already
2. when I tell my 5-year-old that I will punish him if he does something, I must follow through
even if it is hard on me
3. I am still surprised by patients-especially when a 50-something-year-old man decides to become a flosser
4. I still love to laugh with good friends
5. I am not living for the weekends, but I am really glad to see them come around
6. 4 and 5-year-old basketball has to be the most interesting hour of my week

7. God uses the people in my life to bless me and I need to tell them when He does

Horray for the crock-pot!

Mondays are always hard, so when I can, I love to have something cooking away in the crock-pot while I am working. I absolutely love walking in the house and smelling dinner waiting on me. So here is the easiest crock-pot recipe EVER!! Special thanks to my dear friend Jenn for this one ;)

Salsa Chicken

Lightly spray the bottom of crock-pot with cooking spray.
Place 1lb frozen chicken (I like to use tenders) in the crockpot.
Cover with 2 cups of your favorite salsa. It is important that you use a salsa that you like. My family likes Wal-mart brand mild salsa.
Cook on low 7-8 hours. (you do not need to stir)
Remove chicken and sprinkle with cumin powder and a splash of lime juice. That was not part of the original recipe, but I liked what it added to the flavor.
Shred chicken. Perfect for chicken fajitas or with rice and beans.

I know it sounds too easy and like it won't be good- but my family loves it! The chicken does not dry out and we actually fight over the left overs! Hope you enjoy!!

Daylight savings...already?

So next weekend is daylight savings time, but for some reason my children thought it was today! At 5:45 am, my precious 5-year-old was up and wanted me up too. I said absolutely not, in the nicest way possible and told him to lay back down. Shortly there after, my 2-year-old was yelling from her room "I want up!"So we were up way before 7:00 am- I was not a happy mommy. My thoughts immediately went to "don't I deserve to sleep in just one day a week" Then gently the Lord reminded me of Proverbs 31. Now, I know he doesn't expect me up at 3:00 am making my own bread and sewing my own clothes, but Saturday or not He does want to spend time with me. He also wants me to be ready for the day. I am really glad He does give some days to catch a few extra winks of sleep though. Maybe next Saturday my precious kidos will decide to sleep in even though it will be daylight savings time, and maybe I will get up and have some that much needed me (and Him) time :)

'She gets up while it is still dark' Proverbs 31:15a

It never seems to get done...

So I am finally blogging. I am not sure where this will go, but I want to give it a try. Several friends have encouraged me to get going and so here I am. My life is crazy. I work one job three days a week and the other twenty-four hours a day. I love my job as a wife and mom and I truly enjoy my job as a dental hygienist. The problem is the one job that no matter how hard I try, is not ever finished...the laundry. There is always more to do. It haunts every woman- single, married, children or none. In my house though, it seems to multiply. How is it possible that five people can create so many dirty clothes? I guess the answer is that three of them are under the age of five and one of them is over the age of thirty-five and has three different jobs. So it is my job to sort colors, check pockets and collect change. As I type this, the washer and dryer are both full and stopped- ready to be unloaded/reloaded. The laundry room floor can not be seen and my crafty sorting system is overflowing. So as I blog away about the craziness that makes up my life, one thing is for sure- I will always be doing the laundry!