Hello Again!

Back again!  Where was I during this past month?  Taking a break and reworking some things for the blog and our lives in general.  I've got a few irons in the fire that were taking on a little too much heat, as we all do from time to time.  There may have been a little late winter hibernating going on as well.  This family is ready for a break from the daily grind and I never thought I'd say this...summer break!  These pictures are from some stir crazy little boys who are so happy the warmer weather is trying to set in...

 
The one thing I know from taking the time off is I really enjoy this little blog.  I appreciate every read and every comment.  So look for Twinsie Tuesday tomorrow to kick off April!  It's going to be good!

Home on the Weekends: Cold Outside Fun Inside

It's Saturday morning and most us are experiencing some pretty cold weather  I know we are. But you know what?  I like it!  I love Fall and then Winter is a close second.  It's probably because of the family time and the cold weather.  I like to bundle up, hang out with my family and enjoy the Winter season!

But I know Winter has it's ugly side, first thing comes to mind higher heat bills, going out into the cold, and being inside a lot.  We've seen the higher heat bill, I don't enjoy getting out with the kids in the freezing weather ( I do like going out in the cold by myself), and the boys aren't getting their outside time.  Don't get me wrong they want to.  They would brave the cold to play outside, but they come back in with red, chapped faces and little runny noses.

 So I get why people are so ready for warmer weather.  But it's still Winter and you're kids are probably tired of watching the same shows and playing the same inside games, I know mine are.  So here's a few ideas to change things up this weekend...

• Make new rules up for your old board games
• Make puzzles out of card stock or old puzzles 
• Do a scavenger hunt inside
• Break out the big bucket of craft supplies and go to town.  Hello?  Pinterest!
• Make flags (Why? wait for it...)
• Build forts on opposite ends of the house, then play capture the flag 
• Read a book & use voices (I love to use different voices when I'm reading to the kids)
• Cook together kids love to cook with us  & you can make it interesting, maybe use unexpected ingredients & let them choose.  Note: I did not say set them free in the kitchen, I would definitely supervise.
• Hide & Go Seek, yes I said it, we played all the time as kids and you still can

And if all else fails, put your p.j.'s on (that's assuming you're not still in them, it IS the weekend) and turn on a movie!  I personally, love spending time with our family watching movies by the fire and just being together. It's good times.

Got a new game you invented?  Share it!  Have a craft that your kids love to do?  Share it!  A kid friendly recipe? Do tell!  Share your ideas that you've been doing to change things up during these cold days inside!  

A Beautiful Vue: Castles out of Cushions

Nothing is more fun these days, for the twins, than totally pulling all and I do mean ALL of our couch cushions off our couch and building a castle in the middle of the living room!  Watching them brings back my own memories of spreading sheets all over my parents living room to build a fort.  There was something awesome about crawling through tunnels of cushions and having lunch under a sheet tent in the living room.  Our boys like to make a mound of cushions leading up to the couch just so they can scale it.  They'll spend an hour just climbing and jumping into a pit of cushions.  

I love watching them play and pretend.  Yes my living room looks like a wreck for a little bit, but the time it takes to pick up a few cushions is so worth the time they spend laughing and playing.  And isn't that what children are supposed to do?  A happy and healthy childhood where they can be creative in their play, helps them to be happy and healthy grown ups who are  able to have fun and be creative as adults.  

I think our job, aside from raising them up right, is to also make it easy for them to play and laugh and just be kids!  Our boys' childhood is a precious gift and I hope they always have fond memories of being young as they grow up to the men that their Daddy God has called them to be.

Share your favorite childhood memory or what you love about watching your own children grow and play!  

Pumpkin Muffins--They're not just for Fall

I know Fall is over and we're in the middle of Winter here, but I needed a quick and easy breakfast the other morning and I had a can of pumpkin in our pantry that's just sitting there.  Pumpkin doesn't have to only be for Fall.  I picked up this recipe at Smitten Kitchen.  I substituted the oil for applesauce and I added some brown sugar and vanilla...what can I say they go together.  Now this recipe could totally go vegan by taking out the eggs and adding bananas.  Don't believe me?  I found a great site, The Post Punk Kitchen, has a post called Vegan Baking 101.  It has a lot of helpful info. Anyway, the recipe below is simple and delicious!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used half whole wheat & half regular)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice

1 cup (original recipe) to 1 1/3 cup  canned solid-pack pumpkin

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons of brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Put liners in muffins tin.  This recipe will make 12 regular sized muffins.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spice in small/medium bowl.

In a larger bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs,1 1/4 cups sugar, brown sugar, & vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined. Divide batter among muffin cups (each about 3/4 full).

Stir together last tablespoon of sugar and teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle over each muffin.  This part really gives this recipe something extra special!  Don't skip it.

Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

This was a hit with my crew!  Try it out and let me know what you think!

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?