Is it Friday already?

Wow!  This week went by so quickly.  Last Friday I wrote about having such a great week.  I think that because of that post the devil decided to try to steal my joy this week.  However, I didn't let him.

Sure, having the worst sore throat of my life isn't exactly what I would call starting the week out on a positive note.  Being diagnosed on Tuesday with strep throat wasn't ideal either.  But, I can still come up with some positives. 

Because I took extra vitamin D, probiotics, vitamin C, and tried to get more rest I was still able to take care of my family.  I cooked all of the meals, did the laundry and even still taught preschool. 

When I woke up Sunday morning I had a sore throat.  I thought it would go away, though.  Monday, it was even more sore, but I had no other symptoms so I still taught preschool that morning.  I took a nap and went to bed early, but by 3:30 a.m. Tuesday I was almost in tears.  It could barely swallow and I was miserable.  I headed to the clinic at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday morning assuming I had tonsillitis.  I was wrong.  It was strep. 

Thanks to some antibiotics, extra rest and keeping up with my supplements I am feeling much better.  My throat has hurt less each day.  I am so thankful that I was able to still function in spite of the diagnosis.  God is good.

We did still have some good times this week in spite of my sickness.

Thanks to a reader suggestion, my kids had a great time sock mopping our kitchen floor on Saturday.  (Check out the post I wrote yesterday on my preschool blog about our sock mopping fun.)

Joshua lost his first tooth and acted like such a big boy.  I am so glad because I thought he might want it put back in.  You see, a few months ago I cut his hair.  Later he decided he didn't like it and wanted me to put his hair back on.  :-)

Our garden is growing. 

Check out those onions.

The beans are showing promise, too.  

Lastly, I just have to share how lazy fun my husband is.  Instead of getting the ladder to clean the maple seed helicopters out of our gutters he thought he had a better idea.  So, trying to be a good wife, I did what he asked. 

I got on his shoulders and scooped the helicopters from our gutters.  I think he paid for it later.  Oh, how I wish I had a picture of that.  :-)

I am linking this post to Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life because feeling better is definitely a finer thing.

Is it Friday already?

A Few Ideas for Altering Jeans

I would love to say that all of the sewing projects I complete are made with beautiful fabrics and that our home and wardrobes are full of beautiful things I have made.  But, I live in the real world with four children and a husband who are busy and not at all prim and proper.

While there are a fair number of my sewing projects around our home and in our closets, most of what I sew is practical and frugal.  More specifically, I do a lot of mending.

Over the weekend I spent some time altering 7 pairs of blue jeans.  Not glamorous, but definitely functional. 

My son ripped two pairs of good jeans in one week.  The first pair got ripped by a nail near the zipper.  I am so thankful he wasn't hurt.  I still haven't mended those jeans, but I will likely just stitch the holes and let them be play jeans.

The second pair got ripped at the knee from some rough play.  Now, I know some people purposely do this to their jeans or pay good money for new jeans that have rips in them, but my husband and I aren't those kind of people.  So, I decided to turn the jeans into shorts since it is almost summer.

I cut off the bottom of the pant leg with the rip and then used that as a template to cut the same amount off of the other leg.

Then I used my jeans hemming tutorial to hem the jeans.  (You may download and print the tutorial by clicking the link below.)How to Hem Jeans

Now my son has a nice looking pair of jean shorts for summer.

A few weeks ago my children and I went to a few yard sales.  We picked up 6 pairs of nice jeans for my daughter for $13.  She is very skinny, so I knew that all of the jeans would probably need to be altered at the waist.  My daughter doesn't really like belts, so most of her store bought pants get altered.

Thanks to a little elastic and time my daughter now has plenty of jeans to wear and she doesn't have to worry about them falling down.  :-)  If you are interested in how I fixed the jeans I have created a tutorial for you.  You may download and print it by clicking the link below.  The materials needed are scissors, thread, elastic, safety pins, pins, and a sewing machine.

Adding Elastic to Jeans Tutorial

I am linking this post to:
Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple
Trash to Treasure Tuesday at Reinvented

A Few Ideas for Altering Jeans

Enhancing the Nutritional Value of Recipes (AKA Hiding Veggies)

Something I have been doing for the past year is to add pureed vegetables to other foods to enhance the nutritional value of a recipe.  Some of you may think this is sneaky.  However, I think that the more nutrient dense I can make a meal the healthier we will be.

Take this batch of chili for example.  I added shredded zucchini, carrot puree, and spinach puree to take the nutritional value up a notch.  Any tomato based sauce or soup is a great place to add some extra vegetables.

This hamburger macaroni and cheese dish was prepared using my regular macaroni and cheese recipe with a little twist.  When making the cheese sauce, I substituted mozzarella for the cheddar and added two cubes of pureed carrots.  Then I added cooked ground venison.

To make this process easier I will cook and puree (in my blender) a big batch of carrots, spinach, etc.  Then, I fill ice cube trays with the pureed foods and pop them in the freezer for a few hours.  Once frozen, I transfer the cubes to freezer bags.

Adding pureed vegetables to my recipes works for me.  Do you ever sneak add vegetables to any of your recipes?  I would love to hear from you.

I am linking this post to Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

Enhancing the Nutritional Value of Recipes (AKA Hiding Veggies)

Menu Plan for the Week of April 25th.

My daughter and I had another baking morning on Saturday and I just had to share a picture of all the yummy goodies we made.  We made a batch of allergy-free biscuits, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, 2 batches of whole wheat bread which resulted in 3 loaves and 12 rolls, and a double batch of peanut butter cookies (only 3 ingredients).  We had a great time and seem to be making this a weekly theme.

I deviated from our menu a little last week which was about the first time I have done so since I seriously started menu planning in January.  It all worked out for the best, though. 

Supper Meal Plan

Sunday-Leftovers

Monday-Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Cooked Cauliflower, Peaches, Biscuits

Tuesday-Tacos or Taco Salad, Refried Beans, Chips & Salsa, Apple Slices, Carrot & Celery Sticks

Wednesday-Baked Fish, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Fruit Cocktail, Cornbread

Thursday-Crockpot Applesauce Chicken, Baked Butternut Squash, Brown Rice, Salad

Friday-Leftovers or Sandwiches with various sides

Saturday-Homemade Pizza, Salad, Applesauce, Breadsticks

I am linking this post with Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan for the Week of April 25th.

A Great Week

We have had a wonderful week.  Even though today is rainy and dreary, I won't let it dampen my spirits.  We have so much to be thankful for that I thought I would just share it with all of you.

The sunny days have allowed me to get our garden planted.  I am hopeful that after a rainy weekend we will have lots of seeds sprouting next week.  We have planted green beans, onions, butternut squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and some herbs.  I still have to plant green peppers, but they aren't quite big enough yet.  We are blessed with a big garden spot and I am always thankful for our harvests.

In addition to all of our gardening and outdoor fun this week, my husband got some good news.  Some of you may remember that he was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure in January.  He had some blood tests last week and got the results of those on Wednesday.

I am so happy to report that his A1C went from 12.9 to 7.2.  His blood sugar was 488 in January, but now is usually somewhere between110 and 140 which is a big improvement.  He has continued to lose weight and is more conscious of what he eats.  His blood pressure has normalized and he is feeling a lot better.

I am so thankful for his health and the fact that he is determined to make good health choices now.  Having my husband be healthy truly is a finer thing.

Super Bowl Sunday

I am linking this post to Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life.

A Great Week

Hooded Baby Bath Towel Tutorial

Happy Earth Day everyone!  If you missed my post yesterday about ways that we reduce, reuse, and recycle be sure to check it out by clicking here.

Over 10 1/2 years ago when my oldest was a tiny baby, we were given a homemade hooded bath towel.  It has since been used by all four of my children.  (Thanks so much, Lynn!)  

Sometime later I decided to make some for baby gifts. These hooded towels are practical and useful baby gifts that are easy to make.  I decided to write up a tutorial in case there are any of you who would like to make some as well.

The materials required to make one hooded towel are half of a hand towel, half of a bath towel, scissors, thread, and a sewing machine. 

I was able to turn the hooded bath towel I made into a cute towel cupcake with the addition of some ribbon and wash cloths.

If you are interested in downloading and printing my tutorial for making a hooded bath towel please click on the link below. As with all of my tutorials, you are able to sell items made from this tutorial.  However, you are not allowed to sell this tutorial or post it on your blog.  You may link to my tutorial, though.  Thanks!

Hooded Bath Towel Tutorial

I am linking this post to:
Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple
Friday Fun Finds at KoJo Designs
Favorite Things Friday at A Few of My Favorite Things

Hooded Baby Bath Towel Tutorial

Stiving to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Since tomorrow is Earth Day I thought I would share some of the ways I reduce, reuse and recycle items that might normally be thrown away.  I still feel like I could do much better in this area, but I think every little bit we can do helps.  God expects us to be good stewards of His creation and I want to do my part.

Reduce

I think the biggest way that I have reduced the amount of trash we produce has been to cloth diaper.  I wanted to cloth diaper my oldest two children, but for various reasons never did.  When my third child was 1 year old I made the switch.  There were times with him that I used disposables after I started using cloth, but I was determined to keep it up.


When I had my fourth baby I used a couple of packs of disposables that I had been given for the first 2 to 3 weeks.  Since that time he has only been in cloth diapers.  I have loved using cloth and have written quite a few posts about the cloth diapers I have made.

In addition to cloth diapering, we use cloth napkins and try to use wash cloths and towels instead of paper towels as much as possible.  

Other ways I have tried to reduce the amount of packaging we consume is to plant a garden each year.  We had a good garden last year and I am hopeful we have a great harvest this year.  In addition to gardening, I also do a lot of canning which eliminates a lot waste because I reuse the jars year after year.


I love to hang clothes on the line.  It is a great way to reduce the amount of electricity we consume.  I also make most of our cleaning products and some of our body care products.  This reduces the amount of waste we produce because I am able to reuse the containers each time they need refilled.

Reuse

This is a category I enjoy because as a crafter I am always looking for frugal sources for craft materials.  Reusing and repurposing items allows me to use my creative energies in a way that is good for the environment. 

I have also been known to wash out plastic baggies and aluminum foil, and reuse all sorts of bottles and containers.  I had good role models for this because I remember my grandma washing aluminum foil and my mom saving bread wrappers. 

Here are some posts of ways that I have reused items fpr crafting, decorating, and more.

T-Shirt Grocery Bags

Decorated Oatmeal Container

Name Tags from Detergent Bottles

Repurposed Spice Rack

"Plarn" Clothespin Bag

Fabric Covered Can

 

Baby Pants from an Old Shirt

Repurposed Clothing

Crinkly Baby Toy (Chip Bag Inside)

Old CD Valentine's Card

Desk Makeover

Mod Podge Pill Bottle

Repurposed Microwave Cart

Plant Markers from Mini Blinds

Fabric Scraps as Pillow Stuffing

Plastic Bottle Scoop

Reusing Cereal Bags

Cleaning with Holey Socks

Reusing Empty Containers

Recycling

This category is pretty easy.  If it can be recycled we should do just that.  However, I like to find ways to reuse items first if possible. 

This time next year it would be great if I had a post to share full of all new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle.  It is definitely a goal of mine.  

What ways do you reduce, reuse and recycle?

I am linking this post to Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

Stiving to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Menu Plan for the Week of April 18th.

Before I get to my menu plan for the week, I wanted to share a picture of all of the baked goods my daughter and I made on Saturday morning.  Some went in the freezer and some are already gone.  :-) 

We made 3 mini loaves of allergy-free banana bread, 3 pans of cinnamon rolls, breadsticks and pizza, allergy-free biscuits, muffins, and 2 loaves of whole wheat bread.  I loved having my daughter help me bake and all of us are enjoying the results. 

Supper Meal Plan

Sunday-Leftovers

Monday-Grilled Pork Chops, Macaroni and Cheese, Cooked Broccoli, Strawberries

Tuesday-Chicken and Noodles, Baked Butternut Squash, Pears, Bread and Butter

Wednesday-Roast, Potatoes, Carrots, and Onions; Applesauce, Bread and Butter

Thursday-Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Cooked Cauliflower, Peaches, Biscuits

Friday-Breakfast for Supper:  Waffles or Pancakes, Bacon and Scrambled Eggs  My husband will be gone to a golf match which is a good thing because he doesn't like breakfast for supper.  :-)

Saturday-Vegetable Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Orange Slices

Menu Plan for the Week of April 18th.

Blue Skies and Sunshine

Spring is my favorite season for several reasons.  Everything is budding and blooming, we can spend hours a day outside without being too cold or too hot, and with the increased sunshine, all of our moods seem to improve.

Last Saturday, the kids and I met up with my brother and his wife at a local park to walk some trails and enjoy the beautiful day.  We had a great time, and I think everyone slept well that night. 

My children have enjoyed playing outside each afternoon this week.  On Wednesday they played so well together with rocks and water.  I love that they can find joys in the simple things and don't need to be "entertained" at all times.

Thanks to the beautiful weather our garden spot was dry enough for me to be able to plant most of it this week.  I still need plant a few things, but I am happy to be ahead of schedule this year.

The flowers and trees that are flowering have been a beautiful and welcome sight this week. 

I am so thankful for God's many blessings this past week.  Blue skies, sunshine, and a wonderful family truly are finer things.

I am linking this post to Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life.

Blue Skies and Sunshine