WHY-Wednesday: Why I prepare all my meat in advance.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I am terrified of working with raw meat.

So what happens when I get back from Costco with this?

More than 6 lbs of 88%-12% great-quality ground beef, all for $3/lb.

First off, I wrap it up in a plastic bag and stick it in the fridge until I am ready to work with it, 

hopefully within the next 24 hours.

The kids are down for their naps, so I take it out and do two things:

1.  I put 4 lbs worth of the beef in a pan to cook (each patty is about half a pound)--

2.  And the other 2 lbs in separate ziplock bags to make meatloaf--

This is the first and last time I ever have to touch the raw meat!

While the meat is slowly cooking in the pan, I begin to work on the meatloaf--

***

(Lauren-modified meatloaf recipe from Better Homes and Gardens)

 Meatloaf

(Four servings)

- 1 egg, beaten 

- 1/4 c. old-fashioned oatmeal

- 1 tbsp. onion powder

- 1.5 tbsp. ketchup

- 1/2 tbsp. Dijon-style mustard

- 1/2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

- 1 clove of garlic, minced

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 lb of ground beef

Mix well.

You can shape the mixture into a loaf and place in a 350F oven for about 1 hour.  Another option would be to put it in a slowcooker and let it cook on high for about 3 hour-ishs.

Or you can just do what I do and make hamburger-shaped patties and cook on the stove like you would a regular hamburger.

Top with ketchup.

***

On a side note, I don't buy fresh garlic anymore.  I just use a giant garlic tub that I have stored in my fridge.  For a little less than $5 (at Costco!), you can get this and never have to mince garlic ever again.  Its only ingredients are garlic, water and citric acid, and will last you forever.

In the two separate ziplock bags, I throw in all of the ingredients.

(I do not use measuring spoons or anything for the spices.  Just roughly eye-ball.  We are not baking here.  There is a lot of grace when it comes to cooking, as long as you season well with salt).

Seal the bag shut and mix all of the ingredients until well-combined.

Now it is ready and you can stick it in the freezer for later, or use for dinner that day.

So now the rest of the meat should be completely cooked by now--

4 lbs of cooked ground beef.

Place half of the cooked beef in a separate bowl and let cool.

The remaining beef that was left in the pan is seasoned with taco seasoning.  Let it cook through until all the flavor is absorbed. 

Then take four sandwich-size ziplock bags and place the cooked meat in them.  

You'll have two 1 lb bags of plain ground beef, and two 1 lb bags of taco seasoned cooked beef (there is only one in the picture since the other 1 lb was being used for dinner that night).

Depending on the number of times you check Facebook and change your Pandora station, this entire process should take you about an hour to complete.

A half a pound of ground beef will feed my family dinner for one night.

Therefore, I just gifted myself with 12 days of simpler dinner-prep by doing all this leg work in advance.

Fig picking with friends

Our friends Anna and Aaron have this HUGE fig tree in the back of their hard.  It takes hours for them to just keep up with the fruit (last week alone, they harvested 70 lbs worth of figs).  

In an attempt to help them keep up with the tree before the fruit flies take over their yard for the remainder of the summer, they have opened up their backyard to whoever wants to come pick their fruit, in exchange for a small donation that will be put towards the missionaries our Sunday School supports (if you would like to participate in this, please let me know and I can hook you up with them.  They would be thrilled to have extra helping hands).

Anyway, we decided we would go have fun with them, along with another mutual couple-friend of ours.

Lovely Anna and her baby.

Yes, Julie is pregnant and on the ladder :)

4 lbs worth of figs for us!

Our Little Man having so much fun.

 We then had a picnic dinner with our friends--

Fig pizza, fruit, carrots, and fig cookies :)

Figs, goat cheese, basil, and prosciutto pizza-- very gourmet, and very good.

Emma and her little friends.

I do love these ladies.

WHY-Wednesday: Why I weaned my second-born at 10 months.

(Warning-- if you are weirded out by breastfeeding, I would stay away from this post :p )

I love breastfeeding!

And not only that-- I am a huge advocate of it.

"You must nurse for at least the first 12 months of your child's life" 

-- I say.

I nurse in public, and most of the time don't even cover up.

(I am okay with that-- people need to learn that nursing is natural, and if they are okay with skimpy bikinis at the beach and boobs hanging out of a lady's blouse, then they better be okay with me nursing in public... uncovered).

The health benefits linked to breastfed babies are outstanding.  

Even formula containers say that breastfeeding is a better option than formula-feeding 

(I am sure they are required to say this, but whatever).

I love the cuddles I get with my babies when I nurse them.

I love not having to carry around (or deal with) bottles everywhere.

(I love not having to wash the bottles).

I love that breastfeeding is free.

So why did I wean Baby Byron before his 12-month mark?

I was tired.

I was tired of the weird bras and hot undershirt tank tops.

I was tired of having to stop eating mid-supper to nurse my cranky infant who just wanted to go to bed.

I was tired of having to revolve my schedule around my child's feedings.

I was tired of having to pump if I wasn't going to be around him during one of his feedings, and therefore having to mess around with the milk afterwards.

I was tired of leaking in the mornings.

I was tired of having to adjust my gym workouts so that they would coincide with "right after" a feeding, instead of a "right before."

I know these are selfish reasons, but the older BB got (and the more he continued to get sick regardless of whether he was being exclusively breastfed or not), the more I became convinced that my son's success in life was not going to directly depend on whether his mama nursed him for a year or not.

Other things would.

A friend's baby shower

Had a great time co-hosting a baby shower for a soon-to-be first-time mama friend last weekend.

When did she grow up?!?!

I put Emma's hair in a pony tail yesterday for the first time to see what she would look like.

Oh my... Did she look so grown up!

I will say that those trademark baby-fat cheeks of hers still gave it away that she is still my little girl.

I wanted her to see what the tail looked like on her, so I took out my little pocket mirror to try to show her in the bathroom.  Of course I was never able to make it work, but next thing I know, Emma is getting out my makeup brush and "putting on" her makeup.

(please disregard the nasty bathroom mirror)

on the cheeks.

on the neck.

on the back of the neck.

under the chin.

and on the shirt.

Cow Appriciation Day 2014

Once again we got to eat free chicken at Chick-fil-a last week for dressing up as cows.  I have slowly accumulated and put together our outfits for us to pull out and use every year for this event.  

I like having family traditions that revolve around food :)

We got up early on Friday morning and enjoyed breakfast with daddy.

Baby Byron's outfit is a size 3-6 mo, so he just wore the top part.

Lovin' his chikin

Barely ate her chicken, but loved her juice.

The kids and I got dressed up again for some free chicken for lunch as well.

It was a satisfying day to say the least!

Beach Bible School

This was the first year of Beach Bible School, led and taught by Memma.

The kids sat around the dinning table each morning for a little lesson, and afterwards a little "hunt" on the beach for their craft activity.

Memma also taught the kids a new song, which I will hear Emma singing at times on her own.

Byron has good memories of his own grandmother doing this when he was growing up, and is very excited about his own children getting to experience this as well.

Walking to the beach for that day's beach hunt--

"We are God's treasure"--

Back at the house to glue the chocolate coins on our booklet--

Thank you Memma for a great Beach Bible School.

Family Beach Vacation 2014

Last week we got to spend the week at the beach with the Morrises.

It was a fun and crazy week, full of memories and pictures to show for it.

Aunt Rebecca with her three babies.

These two little ones.  Forever friends!

With my man.

The daddies with their boys.

The happy surfer.

Ooohhh... to be a little one again.

My favorite people.

Good friends.

More of my favorite people.

The family (minus Rebecca who had already left).

Morris cousins.

He pulls up

Two weeks ago BB began pulling up.

It's been fun watching him become so much more active since--

Always pulling up on furniture, people (people's legs), wall, etc.

He is still not cruising or standing up on his own, but we know that is just around the corner.

He is also very much a talker!

I like what Memma said--

"Emma better get her talking in now while she can"

Byron's talking (think VERY LOUD and all.the.time)--

DA-DA-DA-DA

DOUGH-DOUGH-DOUGH

MA-MA-MA-MA

TA-TA-TA-TA

BA-BA-BA-BA

PPPRRRRRR

Under the bed

WHY-Wednesday: Why I make my own chicken stock?

Well, the short answer to this is because it's cheaper...

and because I know exactly what is going into it.

It's also supposed to be very good for you... like a super food or something.

And when it gets down to it, it is super easy, and FREE!

Now, remember how I told you last week how much I love Costco?

Well, something you must know about me is that I *hate* raw meat.  I've gotten sick by working with it far too many times.  So one of the things I've started doing to deal with this intense hate is buying fully-cooked rotisserie chickens from Costco-- 

This entire chicken costs $5, and if planned correctly, I can feed my family dinner for four days off of it.  It's that big (and good!).

So after I finish using the meat, what do I do with the bones?

Now people-- this is probably one of the most common-known things in the world, but for me it was groundbreaking--  You make chicken-stock with it!

(As a side note-- did you know you should not use actual chicken meat to make chicken stock?  By doing so you strip the chicken from all it's good flavor, and should ideally toss it after the stock is finished)

So anyway...

You place the chicken carcass in the crock pot, fill it up with water (or your leftover whey from when you made your last batch of yogurt), throw in all those onion peels and random veggie pieces you've been storing in your freezer for the past couple of weeks, turn the slowcooker on low, and let it sit over night.

(Another side note-- only season with a bay leaf and some pepper kernels.  Do not season with salt since you don't know what you'll be using the stock in, and you don't want your final product to be too salty or insipid).

In the morning, this is what you'll find--

Let it cool down, drain, and store in the freezer.  

I normally get about three-ish quarts of stock from one chicken.  

I like to use these plastic can containers that are made specifically for freezing.  I will also put some in ziplock bags and freeze them that way.

When ready for use, just get it out of the freezer and let it thaw on it's own.  Or just stick it into the microwave and let it melt a little.  Then just throw the "ice-stock" in the soup/rice/bean/etc. dish you are making and let it finish thawing in there.

Enjoy :)

WHY-Wednesday: Why I love Costco.

One day, 

when the kids are out of the house 

and I get to go back to work just for the fun of it...

I'm gonna go work me at Costco!

I love that place!

I could go there every day and walk their aisles all day long.

Chit-chat with their workers, 

(ask them all sorts of why questions :p),

study all their merchandise,

eat me some $2 combo sliced pizza with a 50 cent drink,

and sample all their goodies.

I would look through all their books,

glance through all their new seasonal inventory,

and pretend I won't get fat if I ate one of their giant muffins.

I'm like a kid in a candy store.

I think it's what a teenage girl feels when she steps into the mall,

or a woman inside of Target.

It's that.much.fun :)

Aside from the fact that Costco is a great company in itself

(11 Reasons To Love Costco That Have Nothing To Do With Shopping),

I love the fact that--

* I run into about half the people I know every time I go.  Now, this would normally be a nightmare for the average person, but not me.  My high school friends can attest to the fact that during my teenage years, if I was to step into a public place with them, they would have to severely warn me:  "Lauren, if you see somebody you know, you do not need to chase them down to say hello"  (yes, chase).

* I love the fact that they carry the *best* of everything.  They don't carry six different ketchup brands, or one hundred different TVs.  They only carry products which have been proven to provide the best customer satisfaction.  If they carry something, you can trust it is the best of its kind.

*  Their customer service is outstanding.  I had a pair of pants I purchased about two years ago after having Emma.  I had lost all my baby weight, but then kept on loosing even more weight.  None of my clothes fit, so I quickly purchased a pair of their pants.  I didn't really like them (they were too short on me), but they did the job until my weight plateaued.  A few months ago, as I was going through my closet, I decided I wanted to get rid of those pats.  So get this-- two years after I purchased them, and with no receipt, they gave me a full refund (in cash) on these already-worn pants.

*  What do they do with everything that is returned?  They try to resell it if able, but most of the time they donate it.  All produce is donated to a farm that picks it up at the end of every day, and a lot of the clothes (like my pair of pants) is donated to charities (I know this because I asked them).

*  Their employees are incredibly kind.  And not the I-have-to-be-friendly-to-you-because-it's-part-of-my-job kind of friendly, but they truly are.  I guess that's what happens when a company treats their workers so well... they are happy!  Mr. Jesse is my "Picture Friend"-- "Heeeey, Picture Friend" we say to each other (he spent hours helping me get our Christmas cards done last year) :)

*  They print good-quality pictures, and will give you multiple copies of it (even if you just purchased one) if you are not satisfied first time around.  For example, when purchasing Baby Byron's passport pictures, the first four they printed had a small defect in the background (I didn't think it was that big of a deal).  So they printed another four pictures without the defect, free of charge.  I walked away with eight perfectly good (in my opinion) passport pictures.

*  Despite purchasing in bulk, my grocery budget remains the same or maybe slightly higher.  Why is this a good thing?  Well, for a little more money, I am getting higher quality food (not all their meat is organic, but all is grass-fed), plus, I always have a full pantry.  Before, when I used to do all my shopping at a regular grocery store, I would only buy enough for one week at a time.  So what happened when the week ended and I ended up using all my week's supplies before being able to go back to the grocery store?  We would go out to eat!  So now, even when I have used up all my weekly planned meals, I always have meat and pantry staples, which make it very easy to whip up a dinner meal in no time.  All this to say, because of their bulk sales, we now hardly every *need* to go out to eat.

*  Their food court!  Need I say more?  A very large, high-quality pizza is only $10.  Our entire family can happily eat out for under $6.  Byron and I have been known to go out there on dates (*shame* I know).  Sometimes, when the grandparents graciously give us a night off, we don't care where we go out to eat, as long as we get to go out to eat and have some alone time.  We'll go out for dinner at Costco, then out for coffee at Starbucks.

****

There are many more reasons why I love Costco, but will leave it at this for now.

If you are thinking about joining, but still are unsure, just know that you can join, and if you are not completely satisfied with it, they will give you a full membership refund at any point before the year ends.

Also, if and when you join, consider having a member-friend (like me!) go with you.  If you are referred by a friend, you will EACH receive $10 in store credit.

WHY-Wednesday: Why I long to be simple.

(This post is written in response to our Sunday morning sermon from Sunday, June 15, 2014 by Dr. George Robertson at First Presbyterian Church of Augusta titled "You are (not) special!")

What does it mean to live a simple life?

Are we simple because of the modest way by which we dress?

Or by the small home which we own?

Or by the fact that we don't go on extravagant vacations?

Or drive fancy cars?

Or have fancy phones?

I am no expert in this, but I have a feeling that simplicity is not an end in itself, but a way of life.

The moment we find ourselves saying that we live simple lives, chances are we are not.

You see, I think simplicity is an attitude of the heart, not a standard of living.

To be immensely satisfied with what the Lord has entrusted us with.

To be grateful and enjoy every season of life.

To marvel at a child's work of art.

To be generous with our time and resources. 

To know and understand what really matters in life.

"'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free" 

 writes Joseph Brackett.

Simplicity makes us free.

And you see...

I long to be free.

Happy Anniversary

Celebrating seven years of marriage!

Thankful for the man I get to call my husband.

What can I say?

It's been a good seven years :)

WHY-Wednesday: Why do I cloth diaper? Part 3/3

Okay, so we have finally made it!

This is where the rubber meets the road.

The nitty-gritty. 

Why do I love to cloth diaper my babies?

*  They are environmentally friendly.  The Earth belongs to the Lord (Psalm 24:1).  We are only it's stewards.  We don't own it and thus, we must protect it.  What are you doing to fulfill your job as caretaker?  

*  They are free.  Aside from their initial cost and the (minimal) cost of water/detergent/power for washing and drying, they are completely free!  

(As a side note to this, you can register for them at just about any baby store, Target, diaper website or Amazon, and receive them as shower gifts). 

*  When it comes down to it, I am not the one doing the washing, my washer is.  I mean-- helloooo?  I even have a dryer, for crying out loud!  The physical effort required to keep up with my diapers is close to none.

*  I have no clue how much it costs to diaper my children.  "I can't wait to get my Tyke out of diapers" you say, "it will be like getting a raise!"  No kidding!  I honestly have no clue what paying for disposable diapers costs.  My guess is about $40 a month, but really, I don't know.

I think I'll just take those $40 each month and buy myself something nice... 

Something like, aaammmm, let's see-- a Vitamix (which I have), or a City Select double stroller (which I also have), or go out on nice dates with the hubby (which I do).

My point is-- are you sure you want to spend that money on poop-catchers?

*  Thy are cute.  

*  They are easy to use and handle.  These are not the diapers Grandma used.  As a friend once put it:  "cloth diapers have evolved faster than cell phones."  They are compact, durable, and easy to sort and put away after each wash.

*  Cloth-diapered babies are easier to potty train.  Granted, I've never potty trained a disposable diaper child, and granted... I've only potty trained Emma, but I'll tell you one thing-- when we did it, it was fast (at 25 months old)!  

I did not know this at the time, but when you potty train, you are essentially teaching your child to learn to make the connection between their brain and their bladder.  When you use disposable diapers, the urine is absorbed immediately, so the child barely knows he's even gone to the bathroom.  

A cloth baby, on the other hand, knows exactly when he has gone to the bathroom.  Because cloth does not give them a dry feeling after they've gone potty, they learn at an early age that when their bladder is full, something comes out.  You have basically potty trained your child while still in diapers.

****

WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 1/3

 WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 2/3

Cards

Emma Girl loves her big cousin McNeill (better known as Meel around here).

Now that it's summer, Mc is able to come over and play and delight our little girl with her presence. 

We had a great time with her, in particular making our Father's Day cards.

Pull-up arrangement

It is ironic that I find myself posting a picture of my child with her 86 disposable pull-ups right in the middle of my WHY-Wednesday series on cloth diapering.  But it is what it is.  I hope you know by this that even though I really, really, really do love and encourage cloth diapering, there is a lot of grace involved in this also.

Anyway, so back to the reason why I was planning on posting this picture to begin with.

Emma is only wearing diapers at night.  She is in undies all during the day and at nap time.  We still had her wearing her cloth diapers at night (since I am already doing diaper laundry for BB), but it had started to become more and more of a nuisance.  She is almost thee years old, so laying on her diaper table to get her diaper on is no longer on the top of her priority list.  She would much rather stand up like a big girl when getting ready for bed.

I considered purchasing some cloth pull-ups, and may eventually do so, but for now, I thought it would be fun getting her some cartoon diapers.  She loves choosing which character she'll wear that night, and for $30 that will last two months of night excitement, I consider it worth it.

Anyway, so back to the picture--

Emma was doing her morning "quiet time" the day after we had purchased these pull-ups.  When I went in to get her out of her room, I was so tickled by her arrangement, I had to picture it!

WHY-Wednesday: Why do I cloth diaper? Part 2/3

Did you know that using disposable diapers is not the norm?

At some point over the past 50 years, using disposable diapers has become the "normal thing to do," and anyone who cloth diapers is weird and odd and probably has too much time on their hands (which may be the case, but I'm okay with that :) ).

Even though I was raised very "green," and have always been environmentally friendly, I remember initially dreading telling people I was going to cloth diaper.

You know-- the looks, the rolling of the eyes, the well-intended "oh-you-just-wait-until-you-have-to-rinse-those-dirty-diapers" warnings, etc.

I just couldn't understand it.

Why so much fuss over something that people have been doing for centuries?

Why so much fuss over something I am *privileged* to get to do?

My mom once told me she had gone to see Graciella (our former house-help from growing up) after she had had her baby.  She lived in a small, humble, brick home-- a luxurious home compared to how most lower-class Mexicans live in.

My mom says she held her little girl and noticed she had no diaper.

She had no diaper.

 No cloth, no disposable, no nada.

Did you know that using disposable diapers is not the norm?

****

WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 1/3

WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 3/3

A big sister's little brother

Wouldn't you know...

That Baby Byron's favorite toy is Emma's play lipstick.

He will go find it, carry it around, stick it in his mouth.

Oh, how he loves it!

I think it reminds him of his very special index finger, which he loves to suck on in his crib.

****

He is a big talker.  Words such as:

da-da-da-da

ta-ta-ta-ta

ma-ma-ma-ma

na-na-na-na

ba-ba-ba-ba

He will turn 10 months this week, so we've also begun weaning him.

(I never thought I'd be so excited about this, but I am!  I guess I should be sad, right?  oh well...)

WHY-Wednesday: Why do I cloth diaper? Part 1/3

So here I go...

You knew this day was coming.

You saw it from a mile away.

And you were dreading it.

(Or were you?)

Why do I cloth diaper?

****

Did you know everything we do has a price tag?

I mean, really... think about it--

Cook at home?  Kitchen will get dirty.

Go out to eat?  Will spend more money.

Let the kiddos watch TV?  Hinder them from developing their creative skills.

Don't let the kiddos watch TV?  You go insane as a mother.

Exercise?  You get tired.

Don't exercise?  You don't burn calories.

Clean the house?  Miss out on relaxing.

Don't clean the house?  House stays dirty.  

Buy new clothes?  Spend money.
Don't buy new clothes?  Don't look/feel as nice.

Take a nap?  Miss the chance to do something without kids all over you.

 Don't take a nap?  Remain tired.

Leave your home nice and cool during the summer?  High power bill.

Don't leave your home nice and cool during the summer?  Sweat all summer long.

Save money each month?  Miss out on shopping sprees, going out to eat, etc.

Not save money?  Not build retirement account. 

Use disposable diapers?  Pay $40 a month per child on diapers.

Use cloth diapers?  Dealing with human waste and extra loads of laundry.

When it comes to covering your kiddo's bottom--

what price are you willing to pay?

****

WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 2/3

WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 3/3