Organizing the Toys

Pin It It was time.

A couple friends over. A couple pick ups with dad (love you Babe). A few chore pick ups assigned... and the toy bins are a lost cause.

I used to have just the words on the bids. Animals. Tractors. People. For my 2 and 3 year old (who are avid readers, of course). That didn't work so well.

Plan B was to add pictures. We did that and now we have beautiful organized bins and my favorite... NO EXCUSES.

 Oh my! Is that a crying child during the pick up? Couldn't be. I think she is stuck in that bin.

We also made a point to tie this project into one of our favorite verses: "And don't forget to do good and to share. Such sacrifices are well pleasing to God." Hebrews 13:16. After our toys were organized we went through the bins and chose some toys we could give away. That way we could say our verse and learn what it meant at the same time!

Vanilla Coffee Creamer

Pin It Thank you to my friend Amber for having me over, for having coffee with me and sharing her homemade creamer. I went directly home to find a recipe and here is one I liked.

http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/2011/09/french-vanilla-coffee-creamer.html
This was so easy and everyone should make this right now!

The Recipe is:
1 14 oz Can of sweetened condensed milk
14 oz of milk (I used the empty can of sweetened condensed to measure)
2 t. Vanilla
That is it!

Put it all together in a mason jar and shake, shake, shake. It will be an off-white color when you are finished.

This is what is left after a day or two in our house. The recipe makes about twice this much. I am always going to keep a can of sweetened condensed milk on hand so I can whip this up whenever I need it.

Pretzels

Pin It

Here is our Holy Week pretzel recipe. I had a few people ask for it. I snagged it off the heavenlyhomemakers blog that I love, but as always there are little things you change and tweak to make it work for your house.

I want to be a whole wheat flour kind of lady, but I struggle with the battle between health vs. my bread not rising. I know the answer is to find a really finely ground whole wheat flour, but until I do that I will be using up my 50 lb. bag of white flour and feeding the empty calories to my children. Hey, at least they are homemade, right?

This is the heavenlyhomemaker recipe, but cut in half. I can't fit 8-10 cups of flour in my mixer and if I can't fit it in my mixer, I want nothing to do with it. I also added more flour because her recipe still seemed too sticky when I added the amount of flour it called for.

Here is my slightly modified version:

1/2 c. water
1 T. yeast
1 t. honey
1 1/4 c. milk
1/2 stick of melted butter
1/4 c. honey
5-6 cups of flour

Toppings:
Butter
Salt
Cinnamon
Sugar


In a bowl mix the 1 t. of  honey, yeast and 1/2 water. Let it it sit.

Mix butter, 1/4 c. honey and milk in mixer. Add yeast mixture. Slowly add flour until the dough is still a little sticky (if you are using a dough hook a portion of the dough will be on the hook and some will still be stuck the the bottom of the mixing bowl). Let it knead for 5-10 minutes.

Remove it from the dough hook and let it rise for 1- 1 1/2 hours. After it rises remove it and knead it down very well. My dough had a lot of bubbles in it.

Roll out long cords (they need to be a lot thinner then you think. My first batch had no holes in the pretzels because I made them so fat... they were like huge hamburger buns with a twist on top). Make a circle with the dough and cross the ends together twice. Then connect the ends to the bottom of your pretzels (this is why we used them as a Lenten food, because they were our praying hands).

Put them on a cookie sheet (if you have a stone...use that) and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Have some melted butter ready and slap it on there. I let the kids have a little bowl of melted butter to dip their pretzel in and they thought that was very fun.

We also did some cinnamon and sugar pretzels. I put the melted butter on when they came out of the oven and then sprinkled cinnamon sugar over top. You could make a little frosting to dip them in and that would be a party waiting to happen!

Freezing: I froze most of  these right after I shaped them. We eat them all up in about a week or two, but they tasted the same frozen as they did fresh. I put them in the freezer on the cookie sheet and then took them out a   couple hours later and put them in a Tupperware and then back in the freezer.

These are a super easy lunch (not to mention budget friendly) or even a great bread to serve with dinner. Soup and pretzels? I think so!

Pleasant Words

Pin It Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24


This is our memory verse for this week. In the spirit of humility, I need to say I can hear one of my boys yelling at the other while they are picking up their room right now. Not very pleasant words.

With a lot of prayer and repetition hopefully the Lord will prick our hearts this week to be pleasant in our speech to one another.

Here are a couple of practical ways we helped this verse to sink in:

• Took out the honey and let them get a taste of it on their finger. Yummmm! very sweet. We like honey!
• We talked about where honey came from and how it is made.
• Then we talked about eating dirt, or vinegar, or worms and how those were not sweet like honey. Which one would they rather eat?
• That is one way we can bless other people, with our pleasant words. They are so powerful they can even bring healing to others.
• We colored some honeycomb and honey pages from here  http://www.surfnetkids.com/games/bee_coloring_pages.htm
• When we go to the store this week we will pick up some Honeycomb cereal and talk about our verse when we eat our breakfast.

The words spoken in our home our powerful. What kind of words fill your home?

Mom Books: Loving The Little Years

Pin It Loving the Little Years, Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic

I do love the little years. I am in the thick of it. Some days I want to cry about the little years and I pray the big years will come fast. Actually, I never pray that. I don't want to wish these years by, but sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side as I look at all those obedience little 12 year olds in the church pew.

My first impression of the book was that I was a little dissapointed.  I took a minute to reflect on why I felt that way and I realized it was because I had just poured over some seriously meaty books and this one was quite light and fluffy. Not a lot of scripture; a lot of stories and thoughts. I think most moms are looking for more insight and "how-to's" if they can find a spare minute to read something. It is a book that tells other moms how crazy it is parenting these little ones, but... most moms are already quite aware of that fact (see the pictures below). However, I don't think she meant it to be "the parenting book that changed your life". I wanted to read it for that purpose. I needed an easy read and this was just that. Like a group of women sitting around talking about their crazy week is what it feels like to read this.


I am not sure if I agree with every parenting suggestion that she gives, but she is a women after God's heart and you can tell she is motivated by pleasing Jesus. I will say that one of the last stories she tells about feeding her twins in the middle of the night made me laugh out loud... for a few days. She is witty and entertaining which is why this book is a great "take a break" book. Take it on vacation or to the beach or sit it by the potty and read it if you ever get a minute to do any of those things.

Our Crazy Little Years

This mornings events

Empty out the winter hats. That is a pair of dirty underwear to the far back right. How it got there... we will never know.

Abigail modeling them all for us

Welcome to our home! I hope you can open the door. 

We have been outside twice already. Boots on, coats on, gloves on. Some diaper cream and a hand saw thrown in for good measure.

Breakfast still on the highchair. Should I clean it off if we are going to eat again in an hour? These are real thoughts I have... so gross.

 Our eldest, and most capable child of helping himself, still can't put matching gloves on. Hey, he is happy and warm and proud... oh so proud. Go for it buddy.

Bacon Chowder

Pin It This is my moms Bacon Chowder recipe. It was her grandma's Bacon Chowder. But... as kids we didn't really care who came up with the recipe, we just knew we LOVED it.

Mom gave me this recipe at my bridal shower. It has obviously gotten quite a bit of use.

I make it for my family because it is cheap (minus the bacon, but you can get it on sale) and I can throw a lot of leftovers in there. If you are cooking on a LOW budget you will have a lot of leftover potatoes and carrots.

This was the perfect rainy day meal last night. Mmmmmm... so cozy.

The recipe above is for a BIG BATCH as my mom called it, but it really just fed our family of eight growing up. I cut it in half because we can't destroy that kind of food yet.

So here it is:


1 lb hamburger
1/2 lb bacon
1/2 onion
2-3 potatoes
2-3 carrots
1 c. water
bacon grease
flour 1/3 cup
1-1 1/2 quarts milk
pepper
season salt

Brown the meat with the onions. I like to add a little season salt too. When it is done put in a cup of water and let the potatoes and carrots simmer together until they are soft.

Meanwhile, fry bacon in another pan. You can cut the bacon up before or break it up after it is cooked. When it is done throw the bacon in with the simmering veggies.

Save a 1/8 - 1/4 a cup of bacon grease in the pan. Add the flour and about a cup of milk to start. Then whisk, whisk, whisk. You want to get the flour mixed in very well or you will get flour clumps in your soup. Yuck. As the mixture boils it will get thicker and you can add more milk gradually.

It should look like this when you are done. You want a alfredo-like consistency.

Then add it to your hamburger/veggie combo

Add season salt and pepper to taste. 

Bread and soup. You can't beat it. We could eat it every night!

All In a Morning

Pin It It is 9:30 and I just need to reflect.

I got up at 6:00 to do my devotions. Score one for the day. I have been struggling to get in some good quiet time with the Lord before these 7 a.m., early risers run out of their room.

Did my devotions, took a big chunk of time to pray for dad who was going into surgery at 7:30 this morning, and I even got a few minutes to soak up a book before the stampede came running out early at 6:49. 

Made lunch for Just, got bottles ready, cuddled Spencer for 15 minutes, doodled a few Thomas the trains for Jack, and prayed for Papa Horses surgery.

Started bread.

8:00 Spencer came in to confess he woke Abigail by accident. We all went in as a "family" to get Abigail. The boys played and Abigail and I sang.

8:30 Breakfast on the table, clothes changed (not mine sadly enough), conversation with my sister and "yes you can drop the boys off this morning."

Lets see... what else. Jack stuck his finger in the fan. Cuddle, cuddle cuddle. Abigail stood up under the table. Cuddle, cuddle, cuddle. Caught a glimpse of my sheets. Threw them in the laundry and flushed a toilet on the way. All the while, Spencer is quietly working on something at the table. The tinker toys. He almost has a whole tractor thing built. I had no idea he could do that by himself. That was at least 10 minutes of ohhhing and ahhhing, "I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!" And... it quickly came to an end with Abigail's diarrhea blow out.

Another load of laundry started.

Oh, but not before I took my fabulous deal of the day out of the dryer.

(Before picture)

Washed and ready for wear

Keen Sandals for $6 at the consignment store. Exactly Spencer's size. One of my life dreams come true.

9:00 put in a call to my mom. I couldn't wait any longer. No answer. But the phone rings and it is the sister. Nope, she is not dropping the boys off. Some one threw up all over the high chair. "I am so sorry for you. Drop them off when they are feeling better."

Check the bank account. We still have some money.

Wash the dishes, clean up breakfast, pick up the million Styrofoam pads from the carpet cleaners yesterday,

9:30 take a break to check the blog and reflect on this beautiful morning. Jack still has his finger, Spencer grew up overnight and Abigail has some kind of saddness or sickness that I can't figure out and probably won't today.

It is 9:50. Abigail is on my lap and the boys are chatting about their construction project at the table. Blog is done.

Bread is out of the oven.

A typical Bartlett morning.

Used Clothing

Pin It We lived in hand-me-downs growing up. I still remember when my older sister got a new winter coat... she had a grand mal seizure the week before (you lucky dog, Julia). I think my parents were just happy she was alive so they treated her to a new article of clothing. I couldn't wait for the day that little baby would be mine.

Now my kids ask me things like, "who bought us this? Nana Bartlett?", "can we look for that at a garage sale?", "who used to wear this?". I hit the jackpot last weekend in the used clothing department. Justin's cousin has a little boy just a year older then Spencer. She brought me three tubs to go through and I clothed my little man for the next year, head to toe, for $45.

Here is what I got:

• 2 pair of sandals and a pair of shoes
• 4 winter jammies and 1 summer jammie
• 9 long sleeve shirts
• 11 short sleeve shirts
• 1 pair of jeans
• 2 cozy pants
• 2 hooded sweatshirts
• 2 button down shirts

I even got to send a pair of jammies, and some shirts over to my sister, who has a little guy the same size. What a blessing!

This is one of the ways we keep children from being a financial burden. They don't care what they wear so if I can get rid of my desires to see them in the latest, cutest thing (any other moms need to stay out of Target? Oh my!) we can keep our kids happy and the clothing budget low.

Another mom-to-mom sale awaits me this morning. It's your turn Abigail!

Going to Work... Packing a Lunch

Pin It I don't know how much cuter little boys could get... especially these four. My older sister and I had our boys a few days apart and the next set a month apart. We call them the twins. Their personalities fit together like puzzles and they LOVE to play together.

One amazing thing is that these boys what to be exactly like their dads. If they work late... then they need to work late. If they golf... they will golf. If they work in the trees... they work in the trees. If they pack a lunch... then "we need a lunch mom".

It is such a strong example of the important role of a father. They don't want to be like me. Don't get me wrong, they like me well enough, but they don't pretend play to do the dishes and laundry. These are REAL BOYS. They want to drive truck, hit people on the head with very hard objects, smash anything breakable, and climb to the highest spot. They must be watched continually.

So what did they do for two days at our house? Well, they went to work and packed a lunch. They woke up, ate breakfast and then left for the backyard (work) with their snacks packed tightly in their lunch pales. Then they came in a few hours later to have their lunch packed and headed back to work.

Thank you Justin for being such a great dad and man to look up to!

Exchange Those Kids!

Pin It We have had friends over everyday this week. There is a slumber party happening as I write this. I have also dropped two of my little ones off at a neighbors for a doctors appointment. I am so thankful to have a house full cousins and friends and have ladies who will let me take their kids so they can run errands, clean, cuddle a new baby, or go to a bible study. Those are all things I have needed to do at one time or another and it is a lot easier without all the troops some days.

It is not my personality to ask people to watch my kids. I don't ever want to inconvenience anyone or worse yet... drop off my little ones and have them be disobedient. The hard truth is... that as my family grows I am going to have to let people help me out or we will have a hard time managing by ourselves. The other problem is that I love to bless others by being available and I need to let them have the same chance to bless me.

Bring on those little ones...

Crown of Thorns

Pin It

One of our last Easter projects was making the crown of thorns that Jesus wore. It was very fun for the boys to cook with me, roll out the dough, paint and then get to smash our finished product. The best part is that provided repeated opportunities to talk about what Jesus did for us on the cross.

Here is how we used this as a tool for remembering the meaning of Easter:

 

Salt and flour dough recipe made up a play dough like substance we could roll out and then bake.

Recipe:

4 c. flour

1c. salt

add water slowly to get a playdough-like consistency.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

We rolled them into three long cords so mom could braid them

Braided and hooked together on both ends

Sticking the thorns into the crown and remembering that Jesus died for our sins. We talked about what some of our sins were and that is why Jesus died... TO FORGIVE US!

Baked and ready to sit on the table to remind us of Christ death during Holy Week.

The goal was to paint the cross on Easter Sunday and then break it to show that our sins are forgiven and Christ is risen. Sunday got a little busy so we did this yesterday, which was still fun to have one last reminder of the joy of Easter.

Everyone needed a turn to wear the crown.

We got out our paints and let everyone go wild.  Willa, our neighbor, was over for the festivities.

We let it dry then headed outside. I don't know if girls would get as excited about the throwing part of it, but it was a key part for my boys. The highlight of their day. "When can we drop it, and CRASH it, and break it and SMASH it?"

The pure joy of breaking something!

Jesus is risen. He is no longer on the cross. Saying a prayer to thank Jesus for what he did!

The Bartlett Masters

Pin It

Every year on our anniversary the Masters in on TV. I didn't even know what the Masters was until the day after my wedding and my husband so romantically asked, "would you mind if I watched some of the tournament today?" Now... there is no going back.

Sometimes Easter squeezes into that weekend too, but regardless of the other activities we try to make it a priority for dad to, at least, catch the end on Sunday. In his dream, bachelor world he would sit in front of the TV from Thursday to Sunday. 

The boys love to watch too, but they really want to play. So afterwards we headed out for our own family tournament. These boys are serious about the game! The rules are tweaked a bit. Best ball means dad showed the boys how to chip the balls into the wheelbarrow, how to aim for the tree, how to hit mom... ummm, don't even think about it. 

I pray they will turn out to be quite the companions for their dad as they get older. That they will learn great manners and etiquette from the game, that they will love spending time with their dad, and that they will use their gifts for the kingdom. But... for right now, I am enjoying them hitting the five star course that is right behind the house.

Bartlett Masters

Watch out Sissy! Nana Bartlett's worst nightmares coming to life 

                                  Jack, the man, Bartlett taking a very calculated swing

The man who makes it all happen and his two pros-in-training!

Moving Through the Apple Slices

Pin It

I am trying to use up these apple slices that I canned last year. I noticed that I had barely touched them ( I think I go into hoarding mode and want to save them forever because they are like gold to me). It just hit me that I need to use them all up before the summer and my apple tree starts pumping out the love again. 
I brought some meals to friends and had my lovely bible study ladies over so I thought I would try out some new treats. 


Some other things I am planning on using these for:

• Apple pie
• Baked oatmeal
• Mini apple pies
• Coffee cake

Canning amazes me this time of year. We have almost gone through all our jars of food from last summer (except these precious apple slices). I am already looking forward to full shelves again of peaches, pears, beans, potatoes, peppers, and jam. Even though my belly will be budging this summer, I can hear the fruits and veggies calling, This is the canning sickness. These are just two of my most recent treats:

Apple Cinnamon muffins:
This recipe came from here http://smells-like-home.com/2010/11/apple-cinnamon-maple-streusel-muffins/.  I changes a few things and i didn't add the butterscotch chips (not because I didn't want to...they are on the grocery list).

2½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup old-fashioned oats
8 tbsp.  butter, at room temperature
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cup pureed apple slices ( chopped apples and a 1/2 each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and all spice )
2 large eggs
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
¾ cup butterscotch chips

For the streusel topping (optional):
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp brown sugar

Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and milk. Slowly add flour mixture. Spoon into muffin tins and add the topping. Cook at 350 for 18-20 minutes.

Pumpkin Apple Bread

(DO NOT bake this if you are on a diet... bad news...bad bad news)


I found this recipe at divinecaroline.com and I tweaked it a bit to work with the apple slices.

You will need:

Mix the following ingredients together:

1 cup sugar

Three eggs

1-1/2 cups pumpkin puree

1 cup apple pie mix or (chopped apples and a 1/2 t. each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and all spice)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix the dry ingredients together:

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

Add the dry ingredients slowly to the sugar/egg mixture

Heat oven to 350° F degrees. Butter two loaf pans. Cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

You can just cut up a apple and and add some spices to substitute for the canned apple slices. However, I highly recommend that you try this canning recipe at heavenly homemakers when the season hits. Just beautiful.

Let the Older Women Teach the Younger

Pin It

After my post yesterday my previous Pastor's wife took a minute to write me a note of encouragement. I wanted to share it because it was so valuable to me. I couldn't get the verse out of my mind from Titus 2:4-5:

           Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they

           live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to            

             teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to

           love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and 

           pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their 

           husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

I want to take this encouragement very seriously and understand that the older women are commanded to teach us younger women. We need to heed their advice. I can't get past how much weight the wisdom of a mother, who has raised her children to love and honor God, carries with me. Of course I should listen to what she says! She has ran this race before me and has all the wisdom from the journey just waiting to be shared. I think about how much the Lord has taught me in 4 little years of raising children and I can't begin to imagine the revelations that will come with each new year. I love to sit with older women and pick their brain for any advice that they can give as they sit back and reflect on their parenting years.

Here is the special treat of a older women's advice to us young mothers:

I just wanted to encourage you as you endeavor to raise your children in the knowledge and fear of the Lord. There is no higher calling! YOu have been given this awesome privilege and responsibility - it is God-given and is to be taken very seriously. I can tell that you believe that, too. I always have believed that my job as a Mother was 3-fold: teach them about and lead them to Jesus; teach them to be responsible people, glorifying God in all that they do; prepare them to be independent of us as parents. In our family we view all of life as ministry. That means that we take Deuteronomy 6 to mean what it says:

   

    Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your  

    strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.       

    Impress them on your children. Talk about them when sit at home and when you walk    

    along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your

    hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses 

    and on your gates.

When we do what this passage says our children will be prepared to share with others the wonderful love of our precious Savior and Friend. In our home we never got into Easter bunnies, baskets or even eggs. I do like the emphasis today with the Resurrection eggs. Be sure to CELEBRATE this very special day. What we have to eat for Easter dinner is really not very important. It's amazing to me how so many Christians get their priorities all mixed up. This turned out way longer than I meant it to, but the Lord prompted me to encourage you today. Keep up the good work!!!!

A special thank you to moms of faith who have ran the race before me. Thank you for all your wisdom and understanding and being willing to teach me!

What Happened to Easter?

Pin It I don't know about you, but I have a new found fire about Easter this season. I know it is because my boys are old enough to understand what Christ did for us and I know it is the trick of the Devil is trying to steal this opportunity right out from under us.

What happened to the message of Easter? What happened to the preparation for this sacred day? I am sick about the thought of my kids growing up to think that Easter is just about candy, eggs and bunnies. What a tool of the Devil.

This season is about so much more and I want to soak up every second, turning my families eyes to the Author of Our Faith and the stories behind how we get to have all our sins forgiven. I feel like I want to dance for joy and throw an Easter party! But, I didn't always feel like that. It was only as I read an studied about what Christ did for me that I wanted to share it with them.

 I know it is hard to be intentional as a mom. Sometimes I think if I just do a good enough job (consistent discipline and training, loving them, feeding them on a regular basis, bathing them) that they will turn out all right. The truth is... I want so much more. I want warriors of the faith, evangelists, servant leaders, biblical scholars. I am not excellent in any of these areas so the devil can gnaw at me telling me I am not capable of this job, but in Christ I am.

So... for Easter we will learn and CELEBRATE. I want this to be a season rich in tradition and faith for our family that my children always remember and look forward too. Here are a few of the fun activities that we have planned for Holy Week as we prepare our hearts for what Christ did for us on the cross.

• Resurrection egg hunt every night. We hunt for the eggs and then tell the story of Easter with each egg.

• Easter Nativity. I found these printouts at  http://catholicicing.com/2011/04/religious-easter-craft-for-kids-make/ . This was so fun! We had some older cousins help us out and we have been telling the story of Easter with it repeatedly.

• Pretzels. This is a tradition food of lent. The pretzels symbol arms crossed in pray as we prepare for Easter. We will eat these for lunch each day this week with grape juice to symbolize the blood Christ shed for us on the cross.

• Memory Verse. "For we know that our old self was crucified with him, so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has dies has been freed from sin." Romans 6:6-7. I know it is seems long, but with consistency a 2 and 3 year old will have no problem memorizing this in a week.
• Nails on the cross. I found a picture of Jesus nailed to the cross and had it blown up and laminated at office max. Then I velcro nails all around the edges. At each meal with will thank Jesus that he died on the cross for our sins and that by his blood we can be forgiven. After they say their prayer of thanks they can stick a nail of the cross. At first, I thought, this might be too scary for my kids, but it wasn't. They understand that men hurt Jesus and that happens when people don't know the love of Christ. They can understand the pain of Christ and feel sorrow about his death even at a young age.

If you can do one thing with your kids this week to teach them what Easter is really about it will be the groundwork for helping them understand how much Jesus loves them and that they need him in their lives. They are not too young. They love the stories and they will be little evangelists for Christ as they tell others!