Saturday Morning Pancake Recipe

In an effort to eat better and cleaner I've stopped buying pancake mix.  We all like pancakes on a Saturday morning, the boys especially.  But who needs the mystery ingredients, right?  So I did what most of us would do when looking for a new recipe, I googled it.   And after searching it out and looking at all different types.  With eggs, with out. With milk, with out.  Super heathy, whole wheat flax seed and flour free, gluten free.  Anyone ever get lost in the googling?    Oh my word!  The possibilities are ENDLESS!  I'm a simple cook and in the end I went with simplicity. 

 I found a basic recipe at ALLRECIPES.com,  I have been using this site for years and just browsing their recipes and articles gets my creative juices going.  I found a simple pancake recipe and I want to share it with you.  I added a couple things to make it my own.  You can kick up the nutritional value by changing what kind of flour you use or subbing butter for applesauce. This recipe really is a great base!  

Good Old Fashioned Pancakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted

I added...

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

2 teaspoons of brown sugar

Gather your ingredients and then...

In a big bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a little well in the center of your dry ingredients and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter. Mix it together until smooth, but I usually have a few lumps left in mine.  The sifting helps a little.

Pour the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.  I have a certain spoon that helps me with this.  Brown on both sides and serve hot.  I made my pancake small to medium size and was able to get about 12 pancakes out of this recipe.  It just depends on how big you make them.  If you have a large crew I would definitely make a double batch.

Like I said a very basic recipe, but it yields delicious results.  Adding the vanilla and brown sugar gives it great flavor.  Of course, you can add blueberries, nuts, or our boys' favorite chocolate chips!  Either way you serve it up, it's going to be good!  We do pancakes a couple Saturdays a month and I think it makes the weekend a little more special.  

If you have a really great pancake recipe or ideas on how to make it healthier share them with me, I would love to hear your ideas!

** Recipe credit to dakota kelly at ALLRECIPES.com 

Home on the Weekends: Cleaning out the Clutter

 I conquered my very unorganized laundry room this week.  For the last couple of months things weren't really being sorted and I have been way behind on folding!  I still am.  But I can't tell you how much better it feels to be organized in our laundry room.  But I still have a few "Hot Spots" that need to be taken out. To be honest I sometimes feel overwhelmed by them and just ignore them all together.    

So what are the "Hot Spots" in our house?  Our closet or the mound of unfolded clothes, our very cluttered bedroom, and our unorganized bathroom.  So where does one go to find inspiration? Well, I went perusing some of my favorite places or blogs rather and found great inspiration in the way of getting organized and cleaning up our "Hot Spots".   These are some of my favorite bloggers and these ladies have some great creative ideas and I wanted to share them with you!

Living well Spending Less--check out blog here

Get inspired to clean out your closet!  I'm tackling this project & I totally love the simplicity of 40 hangers!  After purging our laundry room, I know we have all these clothes and don't wear half of them.  Especially the kids and a certain man, they all have either grown out of them (the kids) or shrunk out of them (the man).  With the twins I save all of Tru's good clothes and pass them down.  But even those need to be sorted through and put away properly.  Anyone else do that?  Put stuff up, but not put them away?  Well this post covers that too...no more excuses for me, huh?

Musings from a Stay at Home Mom-check out blog here

Need inspiration on organizing your bathroom?  This is a great read to get your creative juices going!  At my house we are notorious for a cluttered bathroom, as I'm sure my husband would probably tell you.  Our stuff is all over our vanity and we even have the room to store it.  I think simple, easy ideas make all the difference.  I can do this one for sure!

A Bowl Full of Lemons--check it out here

Oh my goodness!  I found this post on Pinterest and I'm ready to tackle the unorganized pit that is our bedroom.  After reading it,  I'm excited to get our room organized again.  The thing that I usually do is I'll get our room all organized, but not really decorated.  Honestly, our room is just a bed & a couple of dressers.  It hasn't really changed since we first got married.  She gives great ideas on de-cluttering and cleaning up and then shows you how to use functional pieces, like baskets and other pieces, to organize and decorate.  I was in real need of some inspiration in the decorating department. 

What's your "Hot Zone" in your house?  Hopefully, you don't have 3 like some of us do, but if you do it's great to get inspiration and take action!  That's what I'm doing this weekend taking action.  I know I always feel better when our home is organized and not filled with the chaos that clutter brings with it.  It just seems to make things warmer and I always feel like I can conquer the world with a clean home!  

Eating Healthy: Black Bean & Corn Tostadas

We are working on eating healthier and still keep within our budget, as I'm sure most people are.  We are eating more veggies and fruits and cutting back on meats and sugars.  So in my search for recipes I came upon a Black bean and corn recipe that I couldn't pass up.  It's so easy because I usually have these things in my pantry!  I made it and everyone, but the twins, loved it!   I was able to revamp my tostada recipe and make it better and meat free...

Black bean & Corn Tostadas

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 a bag of frozen corn (you can add more or less)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 a cup of vegetable broth

Add your favorite taco seasoning, I make my own 

Corn tortillas

Olive oil spray

Toppings:

Lettuce

Tomatos

Salsa

Chopped peppers

Sliced avocado

Beans, corn, & onions simmering in veggie broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. So I lined a baking pan with aluminum foil (for easy clean up) and sprayed the pan with olive oil.  Then lightly sprayed the corn tortillas front & back.  We used a bag of 10 corn tortillas and baked them for 10 minutes, each side or until crisp. While the tortillas are baking mix the beans, corn, and onion in a skillet with the vegetable broth and seasoning.  Let simmer until heated through.  I put our toppings together, although I was out avocados, I missed those!  When the corn tortillas are finished it's time to assemble!  I just put a tortilla on the plate, then a layer of lettuce, the bean/corn mixture, then my favorite toppings, and Voila!  Dinner's ready!

*You can also use the bean/corn mixture over just the salad and you have a great taco salad!

Finished & ready to eat!

This is a quick, healthy, and yummy recipe that the whole family can enjoy.  The twins are not keen on this, so I just whipped up a sandwich and some fruit and they were good to go.  We are working through picky eaters right now.  I always offer them what we're eating and encourage them to taste it, but I don't push it.  Life with little kids is an adventure!  But their spells of pickiness is no reason why we can't endeavor to eat healthy & bring them along too, right!  

Try it out let me know what you think!  Any advice on how to help with picky eaters?  

Twinsie Tuesday: 3 Awesome Things about Raising Twins

1.) They can entertain themselves

Whether it's rolling the trains through the living room, scooting their tricycles around the kitchen, or just running around together in the backyard our twin boys almost always have a playmate in each other.  I say almost always because they do get irritated with one another, but it's over pretty quickly.  Sometimes it's not even that they are playing the same things as much as someone is playing beside them that helps.  I'm sure there's comfort in that feeling.  There are people who have said to me they think the twins must be separate in some things and they do have their time a part, but I think I there's something very special in being born with a friend by your side.  

2.) They teach each other

With our boys, when one learns something the other brother will pick it up pretty quickly.  Sometimes faster because they watched the other learn it.  It's really cool to watch them teach each other.  We saw this when the little boys were learning to walk.  We had one child that had no interest in walking, mainly because he could speed crawl everywhere he went, and we had another child who spent a couple months trying to walk.  So when the little one who had been practicing to walk for so long finally started walking, our speed crawler was up and it by the next week.  As they got older they would teach other to climb cabinets, open the fridge, and all the other FUN things I never even thought about with our oldest singleton.  WE learned to baby proof quick!

3.) They get to learn to share, really early

A very true statement.  With twins learning to share happens immediately.  Starting with us as parents. A singleton baby, even if they're born into a family with older siblings, usually has mom exclusively to themselves.  It's not like that with multiples.  I dealt with a little guilt at first, especially when they were tiny.  As infants, I would find ways to get that one on one time and still do.  They learn quickly to take turns and there's some benefit to that.  It doesn't mean they are perfect at sharing, it just means they're a little more adjusted to it earlier than most kids.

Every age with the twins has been fun and full of new adventures and challenges, but we wouldnt' trade it for anything!  It's not easy, but parenting in itself isn't easy.  It is rewarding though. What's some of your favorite things about raising twins?

4 Things to De-stress a Stressful Day

We have all experienced a stressful day or days.  So here are 4 things I try to do when life gets a little crazy and chaos feels like it's
running rapid.

1. Slow down and Engage
Stop what you're doing when things get a little crazy.  Engage with the people around you.  I find that sometimes the whining or fussing seems like it just grows louder and louder as I'm working through my day.  So ofter I will stop my chores or whatever feels pressing to me and just engage with my boys. The chores can wait and I sit down and we read a book or play with their trains.  Just sitting with them can change the mood in the house from crazy to calm.  Talking with them and being with them helps them relax.

2.  Make time for Quiet Time
This is for me and for the kids.  They need it just as much as I do.  Life is so busy all the time and if we don't slow down it's easy for all of us to feel overwhelmed and stressed.  The boys may not always take naps but they can lay down in their room and play quietly or look at books.  Usually they fall asleep, but if they don't we shoot for an hour.  Granted somedays it takes work to get them settled, but it's more than worth it when we are all enjoying the quiet time.  If your stress is work related make time during your work day and find a quiet place to shut off for 15 minutes.  Five if you don't have that long.  It always helps me reset.

3. Talk Happy
Be posistive. Speak good things over your children, yourself, your spouse, and every situation.  I might be having a crazy day, but it's hard for me to feel overwhelmed when my words aren't saying it.  When I give in and start saying I how feel about whatever is stressing me I notice the stress just gets worse and that's when it gets transferred to everyone in the house too.  Because they hear me and my words bring them down.  If it's hard for you to find something to talk happy about, then think on the things you're thankful for and talk about those things.  I think everyone can find something to be thankful for.  Just like bad talk is contagious, so is good talk.  So talk happy!

4.  Pray
It doesn't have to be long and drawn out.  It can be short and sweet.  "Thank you Lord for patience and grace in this situation" as your shuffling your children out the door for school because you're running late.  That was me yesterday.  I don't make a spectacle of myself so everyone around me knows what I'm doing either.  For me praying is just talking to God all day long in my daily goings.  Thanking Him for the little stuff and acknowledging Him in everything I do.    It helps keep me close to Him and when I'm closer to Him I don't feel as stressed.


Stressful days come, but I think it's all in how we handle them that determines how long they last and how they affect us. The best way our kids learn how to handle crazy days is by us showing them how to deal with them.  Do I get it right all the time?  No.  But I can't give up and that's what they see most!

These are just 4 things that I do.  What are some things that you do to De-Stress a Stressful day?

A Beautiful Vue-Winter Roadtrip

My vue on our way home from visiting family.  We left early Monday morning to be back to work and school stuff that needed to preped.  We had a pretty eventful trip in the 6 hours it takes to get home.   Everything from a flat tire at 5:30 in the morning to not one but two car sick episodes.  The word "projectile" was used!   By the end of the trip J and I just had to laugh and joke about it.  But this picture captures a peaceful in between moment, when all the kids slept quietly and we were able to enjoy it.  We made some memories for sure!  Happy Friday!

Motherhood is Calling & it Isn't what You Think!

 

There are about as many different types of people in this world as there are grains of sand.  Deep I know, but truth right?  Well you could say that same phrase about mothers too.  I don't care what the parenting magazines say, there's not 5 different types of mothers and you can't just take a 2 minute quiz to figure it out.   Some mothers are just naturally nurturers who find their passion in doing the mommy stuff and being home all the time. While another mother finds her passion outside the home all the while still caring and loving her children with passion and zeal.   Be careful not to let what others think a mother should look like determine how you feel about your own motherhood.  Mothers look different in every situation.  Don't compare yourself to another woman.  You'll only pick yourself apart and rob yourself of joy that you could be spreading to your family.  Relax and rest in this, if you are somebody's mother then God has equipped you with everything you will need to be the mother He designed you to be.   You just have to believe it.   I think that motherhood isn't just for those of us with children, but for all women.

A mother isn't just someone who gives birth to you or who just sees to the well being of those in her family.  Motherhood isn't tied to blood lines and physical attributes.   Knowing what kind of mother you are boils down to one simple thing...love.  Not the gushy, sweet kind of love, but the I'm here for the long haul, never giving up on you kind of love.  I like the gushy sweet stuff, but that's really the perks of being a mother I think.  The committed love is what motherhood is built on.  It's choosing to put others before yourself in all things.  Motherhood is saying I choose to love you, whether I gave birth to you or whether someone else did.  I choose to love you whether or not you'll love me back,  whether or not you deserve it, and whether or not you do things I think you should.  You don't have to have children to be a mother.  Motherhood is even sometimes the women who come into our lives as adults and guide us gently through the muck and the mundane.  Who spend time with us, sowing wisdom and health into our hearts.   Helping us in the hurts and lifting us up to be better women!  They say "I've been where you are and I've seen that.  You can do it.  Don't give up!  Stay the course."  All the while choosing to love us when we're not their own.   

All mother's have one thing in common, we're women.  So as women lets lift each other up.  Let's commit to only seeing the good in each other, only speaking the good about each other, and only helping each other to rise above the things that hold us back.  Not everyone is meant to be best friends, but we are meant to love and encourage and build each other up.   I know that some of us have had bad experiences when it comes to relationships with other women.  I think most everyone has a mean girl story or that gossipy, backstabby friend who cut you down, but that's when forgiveness can help you heal and love will pull you through.

1 Peter 4:8

 Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].(AMP)

With a new year in front of us this is the perfect time to start fresh in how we think about ourselves and other people.  It will make difference in our lives when choose to love others and ourselves.  It will make us better wives, mothers, friends, workers, business owners, and better women.  Isn't that what we want?  To come up and over things all while bringing others with us.  Life isn't just about being alive, but living it to it's fullest.  True happiness is found in truly loving others and that's what motherhood is all about.