Would you join us in praying for our current car situation? It has only been two months since the starter and brake pads had to be replaced and on Monday night the transmission went out. The cost of a new transmission is defintely far more than the car is actually worth, so we are in search of a used transmission with low mileage, which are apparantly difficult to find. This still might cost more than the care is worth. We were praying our current car would last at least through our second child before upgrading to a mini van of some sort…I am confident that the Lord will supply all our needs as He has providentally done in the past, but I would appreciate your prayers!
Archive | August, 2008
Simplifying Baby Gear
While expecting the arrival of our first little one, I was quite overwhelmed by all the fun gadgets that were available for her entertainment. Everything from a jumperoo, exersaucers, play mats, toys for the car seat, toys for the swing, etc. I had a neighbor friend that received most of these for her little girl (born shortly after Karis) and I found myself struggling inwardly with desiring these items for Karis as well. Sounds silly? Well, they all looked so fun and did keep the little one entertained…
But…the question that I had to ask myself was did I really want my child to have all these gadgets? Would a huge supply of toys really entertain her or rather teach her that she had to be entertained by stuff? This overwhelming load of fun things could just as easily fill her with disatisfaction, and she could grow to need new and better things to keep her satisfied.
In the end we concluded that it was not necessary to invest in an abudance of gadgets…even when you can get them at a good price (using the wonderful tools of craigslist or garage saling!). We wanted Karis to learn to be content with a few toys and also develop the creativity to entertain herself. We also did not want to buy into the consumerism mentality that eventually just leads to increased waste. As we desire to be good stewards of our environment, this is very important to us. I was amazingly surprised by how easily she finds entertainment in such simple things, everything from tin food cans, measuring cups, the lid drawer, books, etc. At 15 months she doesn’t play with alot of toys…in fact, she would more often be found exploring the house.
First Fruits!
We picked our first green pepper yesterday! It is so cute and perfect! Green peppers were surprisingly easy to grow, which is a huge blessing to the newbie over here! Karis was delighted to be able to help mommy pick it! The tomatoes are coming along nicely as well…we will definitely have an abundance! Praise the Lord for the amazing ability to grow some of our own food even in limited space on the deck!
Menu Plan – August 11-16
The devastating problem around here lately has been to figure out how to survive without a blender. My lovely bosch blender broke almost two weeks ago now, and I am stranded waiting for the replacement part. Thankfully they were more than happy to fix it! Great customer service…but alas…no kefir smoothies lately, as much as I have greatly desired something cool and refreshing on some of these hot summer days! Isn’t it funny that when you loss something it makes you so much more thankful to have it?
Well, menu planning is getting a bit easier over here on my stomach. We are at nine weeks now in my pregnancy and our baby is now the size of a grape! Continuing to keep a simple menu…and drinking lots of wonderful raw milk for my protein!
Monday
Prep: soak oatmeal, cook beans for baked beans, cook beans for taco salad and burritos
Breakfast: Fruit Salad, yogurt & granola
Lunch: Salmon Melts, carrots & cucumbers
Dinner: Taco Salad
Tuesday
Breakfast: Oatmeal, apples, raisins
Lunch: Hot Dogs, baked beans (recipe to come), small salad
Dinner: Honey Mustard Sandwiches, green salad (these are really fabulous served as a hamburger with all the toppings- definitely double the mustard mixture!)
Wednesday
Prep: soak oatmeal
Breakfast: Smoothies, toast
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: BBQ Dinner with family- bring baked beans to share
Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal, apples, raisins
Lunch: Tomato Soup & Grilled cheese sandwiches, celery & peanut butter sticks
Dinner: Burritos with all the fixing (homemade refried beans)
Friday
Prep: soak pancake batter
Breakfast: Egg & Salsa Wraps (add spinach, tomato to the mix, skip bacon), oranges
Lunch: Quesilladas, guacamole, applesauce
Fri: BBQ Chicken (with our dinner guests), salad, rice dish
Saturday
Breakfast: Pancakes, oranges
Lunch & Dinner: Homemade Pizza
For more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie.
On the blogging plan for the week (Lord willing 
…stay tuned for our homemade toothpaste recipe, tips for simplifying the toy collection in addition to the introduction of a little series on things I am learning about pursuing a healthy pregnancy & natural childbirth! Stay tuned…
F & N: Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
Wow! This recipe is simply delicious! Amazingly simple and frugal without any meat, it is a perfect Summer dinner. We had Aaron’s brother Nathan over for dinner and both the guys loved it. That is pretty impressive for a meatless dish. I figured out the cost per serving to be approximately $0.97! That is definitely hard to beat! A great way to use those fresh vegetables that are in season right now. We served with a fresh ear of corn. Yum! This is definitely a keeper and will be added to our frugal and nutritious dinner meals!
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com, including a few tips from fellow reviewers. I made a few changes and additions to simplify, as original recipe was a little more complicated than necessary.
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice (I squeezed 1/2 of a fresh lime)
- 1/4-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 chopped bell peppers, any variety
- 1 small zucchini, sliced (we didn’t have zucchini so I doubled the yellow squash!)
- 1 red or white onion, sliced
- 1 small yellow squash, sliced
- bread of your choice – focassia or 6 burger buns
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2-3 tsp pesto
Slice up your veggies and soak in balsamic vineger for about 30 minutes, or longer if desired. You can grill veggies on the BBQ (as the original recipe recommended), but I prefer sauteing on the stove top in olive oil -quick and easy! Another option would be to broil them in the oven. Cut your bread in half and layer one side with the mixture of mayonnaise, garlic and lemon/lime juice, followed by a thin layer of pesto. Top the other side with a little mayo mixture and then the crumbled feta cheese (you don’t need very much feta to impart it’s wonderful flavor!). Broil this open faced in the oven for 3-5 minutes or so – keep a close eye to avoid burning! After broiling the bun, layer with your sauteed veggies and you have a wonderful veggie sandwich!
Makes 6 servings.
Here is a picture of my grilled bun!
Simplifying in the Bedroom
This post is a continuation of my simplifying tips series around the house. The more I think about it, this is more of a series on being able to organize in small spaces! As we live in a small condo, this has been my journey since the beginning of our marriage, as this is our first home! It actually makes things alot easier for me, because I am less tempted to buy stuff and consume because storage space is limited. Other than that, simplifying for us has been for the purpose of enabling us to be more generous for the futherance of the kingdom!
Here are just a few tips that I have found helpful for simplifying in our bedroom.
Menu Plan – August 4-9
Well, I am a bit late as to posting my menu plan for this week, but I had to get it together, so why not share it with you all. My little kidney bean (the size of my baby at 8 weeks) is still causing me to feel very nauseous when thinking about food, so I am trying my best to keep our menu’s simple and still somewhat nutritious.
Tuesday
Prep: soak beans for baked beans
Breakfast: Hard boiled eggs, Almond Rhubarb Coffeecake (used whole wheat, increase baking soda by 1 tsp, used rapadura for sweetener, skipped topping – worked wonderfully!)
Lunch: Peanut Butter & Jelly, applesauce
Dinner: Chicken Caesar Wraps
Wednesday
Prep: make baked beans, marinate veggies for dinner
Breakfast: Oatmeal, raisins, coconut flakes, almonds
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
Thursday
Prep: soak rice, thaw chicken
Breakfast: Smoothie, muffin or toast
Lunch: Hot Dogs, baked beans
Dinner: Chicken Curry over Brown Rice, Stemmed Vegi
Friday
Prep: soak pancakes batter, thaw pizza dough & cheese from freezer, make spaghetti sauce
Breakfast: Fruit Salad, yogurt, homemade granola
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Homemade Pizza, Salad
Saturday
Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: Leftovers
For further menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie.
P.S. I will be sharing a little bit about our weekend events tomorrow, as for now…nighty nights!