anthony

My 3 yo just typed his name by himself (that's the reason this post is titled "Anthony"). He is helping mommy. I love being a mommy.

"Don't ever give up, give more." - Unknown

~Jena

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!! This is my absolute favorite holiday. I love fall...the bright colors, pumpkins, leaves (I love leaves), the crisp cool air (not cold), I just absolutely love fall. I love Thanskgiving because I feel we tend to take things for granted and in general are not as thankful as we should be and Thanksgiving makes us more aware of all of our blessings. Family, I love spending time with family too. I also feel like it is the one holiday that isn't commercialized to the max.

Here are a couple of crafting ideas to start the next year off.

1) We did this for the first time this year. We had a Thanksgiving box. (A friend from my MOPS group gave us this idea last year.) We took an ordinary cardboard box (could be a shoe box or whatever you have around the house, and covered it with brown kraft paper (I love brown kraft paper) - and wrote some "thankful" scriptures on it, cut a slit in the top. Leave it sitting in an easily accessible area with 3 x 5 index cards and a pen. Each day everyone writes one thing that they are thankful for and drop it in the box and you read them on Thanksgiving day. My youngest 2 are not old enough to participate (this year I might be able to ask Anthony (3) what he is thankful for and write it down for him). My oldest 2, Lee (9) & Champ (8), did it at first, but then quit. Frank, my DH didn't do it. I did it sporadically (this was our first year - maybe it will get better). I do plan on doing it again. It makes me aware on a daily (maybe I should say 'regular') basis. You could decorate your box anyway that you want to (with wrapping paper, scrapbooking paper, butcher paper and markers, etc.).

2) Don't want to decorate a box? Get a blank book/journal (found in the stationery section of stores) and each day have each family member write what they are thankful for, date it and sign it. You could do a different journal each year and have a whole collection to look back on over the years (to see if our perspectives have changes, to see how our children have grown - handwritting and ideas, etc.).

3) I have also heard of a 'Perpetual Thanksgiving Tablecloth.' I have always wanted to do this (not sure why I haven't). Get a white, off-white or light colored table cloth (use it for Thanksgiving only). Each year have your Thanksgiving guests sign their name, date and one thing they are grateful for with a permanent fabric marker.

I may try the journal idea this year. The nice thing about the box is no one sees what you've written until Thanksgiving day when all the cards are read. (I do plan on keeping my index cards though - if I don't loose them - and we can look back in a few years on those too, I might could paste them in a journal/book). The nice thing about the journal is it is more compact and easier to store. We'll see. Just a thought, you could give each family member a journal of their own for the year (then no one would see what they wrote until it was time - there would be more books to keep up with though). You just have to try something and keep trying until you find out what works for you.

Here are some ideas...you can be grateful for big things (like your health or home), little things (like your child's smile, a wave from a stranger), you can dig deep (spiritually), there are no rules except you should truly be grateful for it and not just writing something down. My personal preference is to focus on the little things (those are the one's we tend to take for granted the most). Click here to get you jump started.

Call me crazy, but I think this would be a great writing assignment for students.

Are you and/or your family already doing this? What are you doing? How long have you been doing it? If you are already doing this, I have a challenge for you. Write down all the things you struggle with or seem like a burden and find a way to be grateful for it. (Example: a few years ago we lived in an older home and we had ants all summer long every summer. I was grateful for the ants because it made me do my dishes and clean my kitchen the very minute we finished eating. I always had a clean kitchen to wake up to, if unexpected company dropped by, etc. and it became a habit that I still do today.) Let me know what you are doing and if you accept the challenge.

Here's another quote...

"Take a lesson from the grass. No matter how many times it's cut or trampled on, it rises again and continues. So get back up, my friend, get back up and rise again." -Unknown

Have a good one and be thankful for all you have.

~Jena

Weight Awareness Wednesday

Weight Awareness Wednesday...



I was down 2.4 lbs. this week. Yeah!!!!!!!! ;o) My DH laughs and says I'm loosing it just to gain it back during the holidays. Maybe so, but if I didn't loose it in the first place I would be really bad off if I gained it in the holidays.



I am actually not looking to loose much during the holiday season (temptations are just too great - I love to bake and there is always stuff around here, I have absolutely NO will power or self-control), but if I can maintain my weight during the holidays, I will try to start loosing again after Christmas.



Here is another quote for you...

"Failing to plan is planning to fail." - Unknown


Have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving everybody.



~Jena

Success

"The success you achieve tomorrow begins the day before." -Unknown

Just a Thought

"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an unchartered land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit." -Hellen Keller

I love quotes. I just found this one that's new to me and I wanted to share it with you.

~Jena

Weight Awareness Wednesday

The holidays are coming up so lets just be aware of what we are doing. Unfortunately I have a gain of 2 lbs. this week. :o( I guess it is all that Sour Dough Bread (my boys aren't the only ones that like it). Let me know how you are doing, leave me a comment.

I will try to be more aware of what I am eating, how much I am eating and when I am eating it. I have been off my 'diet' so to speak. So I need to get back on track and just be aware of what I am doing. NO mindless eating, NO boredom eating, NO habitual eating! I can do it and so can you!!!!!!

~Jena

Homemade Honey Butter

I have been wanting to give you the recipe for the Honey Butter to go with the Sour Dough Bread, but I have sick boys to take care of. The recipe is easy enough, but I haven't been able to take a picture of it. Oh, well...here is the recipe anyway (without a picture).

Home Made Honey Butter Recipe

1 stick margarine or butter, softened
honey (to taste)

Pour honey into your softened butter and mix together until smooth. Taste, if it needs more honey add more. Refrigerate.

I am really into FlyLady but with sick boys for 2 weeks now, I have fallen way off the wagon. The youngest, Rance age 2, has had a cold for 2 weeks. Anthony, age 3, ran a fever for a couple of day and then just had cold symptoms that turned into an ear infection. He has been on antibiotics for a few days now and was feeling better, until tonight. He kept telling me that he had a tummy ache (I thought it was from his antibiotics), but tonight he threw up and he is running a fever. I guess he has a stomach virus. : o ( Lee, the oldest (age 9, soon to be 10) started running a fever on Monday morning and is still running one. We are going to the Dr. tomorrow.

I knew the nurse jinxed us. When I took Rance to the Dr. last Monday, she said "We haven't seen you in a long time." Then I had to take Anthony on Friday for his ear and yes we are going tomorrow for Lee. Champ is the only one (besides DH and myself) that hasn't been sick. I hope he doesn't get it. (It will be the 3rd time in 10 days.)

Oh, back to Fly Lady...thanks to her (menu planning is the new habit for this month) and to Menus4Moms, I had some meals in the freezer and was able to provide a home cooked hot meal for the family almost every night. I had just gotten started so my freezer is almost out of pre-prepared meals, and my house is not as clean as I would like it, but I will get back on track when everyone is well again.

~Jena

Sour Dough Bread

It's that time of year again! I usually make my home made Sour Dough Bread starting around the first of November and all the way through December. We eat it like crazy (my boys love this), I also give some away, and I usually take a loaf when we are invited to someone's house to eat.

I love fresh home made bread (especially hot out of the oven). It is delicious and I love the way the house smells while it is baking. (Drool)

Check out Pillsbury for hints on baking with yeast.

Sour Dough Bread

6 C bread flour (all purpose will do)

1/2 C sugar

1 T salt

1/2 C corn oil

1 C starter (see below)

1 1/2 C warm water

Mix ingredients in large bowl. Form a ball and place in oiled bowl. Cover lightly with foil. Let stand 8 -12 hours at room temp. Punch down and knead. Divide and form 3 loaves (I actually make 1 large loaf and 4 mini loaves out of this recipe). Put into greased loaf pan. Let rise 8 - 12 hours at room temp. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 -45 min (less time for the mini loaves) or until golden brown. Remove from pan and brush with butter (we use home made honey butter at our house). Can freeze.

Sour Dough Starter

1 pkg. active dry yeast

2 C warm water

1/2 C instant potato flakes

1/2 C sugar

1 t salt

Mix yeast in 1/2 the water. Add remaining ingredients. Mix, then cover loosely. Leave at room temp. for 24 hours. Place in covered container and refrigerate. Feed in 3- 5 days.

Feed Starter

3/4 C sugar

3 T instant potato flakes

1 C warm water

Mix slightly. Cover lightly. Let stand at room temp. for 8 - 12 hours. Take out 1 C starter to make bread. Return remaining starter to refrigerator and feed again in 3 - 10 days and make bread or throw out 1 C starter.

I hope you like it too!

~Jena

From the mouths of babes

I was trying to take a picture to put with a post that I was going to do today (batteries were dead in my camera and no backups), :o(
when my 3 year old said, "Why are you taking a picture of that?"

Me: "So I can put it on my blog."

Him: "Why?"

Me: "Because I want to."

Him: "Why?"

Me: "Why do you ask so many questions?"

Him: "Because I'm a little boy."

Oh, the wisdom that little children sometimes have. ;o)

~Jena

My 3 Year Old is an Expert Driver

Today as we were leaving a fastfood joint, I stopped at a red light. When I began to drive, my 3 year old said, "Mom! You can't go - it's red!" (The light had turned green, but I guess he didn't notice since he was eating his fries.) So now I have a "backseat" (or should I say "carseat") driver.

~Jena