Author Archives: gretchen

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Chore Charts/Menu Planning Take Two

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This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Gretchen's Menu Planning

Entrust your efforts to the LORD, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 (GW)

By: Gretchen Speer

Is it just me or is time FLYING by these days!  We moved into a new house last fall.  (For a funny little story about settling in click here :) )  While I have had time to get us unpacked and somewhat settled, we are still a little out of whack where our routines are concerned.  After months of chasing my tail trying to keep our house clean it finally dawned on me that I had not done new chore charts for the kids since the summer.  I knew I wanted to try something a little different that I had done before, and after looking through my office this is what I came up with:

182Frames I found on clearance at hobby lobby for $2.99 a piece, card stock, stickers from the dollar isle at target, dry erase markers, and of course, a sharpie.

These came together in just a few minutes since I knew what chores I wanted each kid to have.  For some ideas on what chores work best for what aged, and how to implement them here is my chore charts post from last year.

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Since I had four of these frames I decided to make a menu board too.(Eventually my littlest will need one, but not yet!)  My kids, and my husband,  are always asking me what’s for supper.  It drives me a little bit crazy, so I was hoping this would remedy that.  For the most part they refer to the menu board now, and if they ask me I just point to it:)  I still like to plan my menus two weeks to a month at a time, but I do like having this weekly one up to remind me daily what I’m fixing.

180For some more detailed help on menu planning and grocery shopping, click here.  For a more in-depth menu planner click here.

If you are wanting a quick easy chore chart and menu board these are definitely worth a try.  My kids have done really well with them.  Actually, they have done better with these than they did with the ones I was making before.  I think simple is better for now. :)

 

Crazy Cookies

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 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.  Proverbs 16:24

I happened accross a recipe similar to this on pinterest last spring.  We decided to give it a whirl on Father’s Day last year, and it was a big hit!  It was so rich that Daddy couldn’t handle much, but the kids thought it was awesome.  While we were making them my older DD said “Mom, these cookies are CRAZY!”  We have been calling them that ever since. :)

Here is what you need:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Fudge Brownie Mix

                                     Assorted chocolate candy and cookies.  (We used snickers, milky way, caramels, and kisses.  The last time we made it we used reeses minis, double stuffed oreos, rolos and kisses.)

Step 1

 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  While you are working on the brownie mix, have your kids unwrap all the candy….and don’t let them eat it all! :)

Step 2

  Have the kids press the cookie dough onto the bottom of a 9×13 pan.  Tip: Sit the dough out for a little bit before hand so it’s easier to work with.

Step 3

Have your kids put all the candies on top of the cookie dough

Step 4

Poor the brownie batter on top

Make sure it’s spread over all the candy

Step 5

Bake for around 45 minutes-until the brownie batter is cooked through.

Step 6

YUM!  Can you tell we’re not edge people? :)  I think this would be awesome with some homemade icecream…

Perfect Timing

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“My thoughts are completely different from yours,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  Isaiah 55:8 NLT

When I was engaged to be married my Granny gave me one piece of housekeeping advice:  Make your bed every day.  She said that even if you don’t have time to do anything else you will feel a sense of accomplishment every time you walk past that well made bed.  I have followed that advice and have made our bed every day for most of our marriage.

I now have a little helper.  As soon as he sees me heading for the bed he follows me.  As I start to pull up the sheets he brings me a throw pillow, “Here you go, Mommy.”  I say thank you and tell him, “Not yet bud.”  As I am walking around the bed, he runs after me with the throw that I put on the bed after it’s made.  “Mommy, here you go!”  Again, I thank him and say, “Not yet bud!”

This morning as I was tripping over him to finish. I felt that familiar whisper.  “His eagerness is sweet, but his timing and maturity need to develope-then he’ll understand how to go about it.”

It stopped me in my tracks.

For months I have been pleading for God to use me in a specific area.  ”I’m ready!  I’m willing!  Lets do this!”  Every time I prayed that prayer I got this feeling that I was skipping steps.  His answer was always “You need to grow, you need to learn, you need to be faithful in the small things first.”  I would consider it, shake it off and go on to persistently pray for God to use me in this specific way.  ”I’m ready!  I’m willing!  Use me!!”

I have felt unsettled about what to do with the consistent answer I’ve received, and then in a simple every day task God opened my eyes.  Does that ever happen to you?  Isn’t God just GOOD that way?!

Hold off, be patient, be ready to learn…

I will call a bird of prey from the east. I will call someone for my plan from a faraway land. I have spoken, and I will bring it about. I have planned it, and I will do it.   Isaiah 46:11

We can never stop growing, and learning about our Father.  Every season is preparation for the next. Is there something God is stirring in your heart right now?  Trust that His timing is perfect. His plans far exceed our imaginations, His power far exceeds our abilities and  His goodness far exceeds our expectations.

I’m so glad to be on this journey with you Mommas!  Blessings!!

~Gretchen

 

 

Christmas Sugar Cookies

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“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15 NKJV

By: Gretchen Speer

Everyone loves my mom’s sugar cookies-everyone!  I don’t know how many dozen she makes at Christmas time, many for sure.  I remember when my brother and I were growing up getting to help her make the cookies and frost them.  We loved it!  This is a tradition that I have continued in my own home.  Every time I smell a batch of these cookies baking I think of her.  I’m so thankful she spent that time with me, and now I get to do them with my own kids.

My cookies are a little different from my moms b/c of two things.

1) Hers are PERFECTLY frosted in a “I really hate to eat this because it’s so pretty, but who are we kidding, it’s a yummy cookie..” kind of way.  I just don’t have it in me.  I have tried, and they look horrible.  So, my kids frost every single one of them-and the love it!  You know what the best part about eating a cookie that a four-year old has frosted?  There is a ridiculous about of frosting and sprinkle on it.  My DD somehow manages to frost both sides of the cookie-they are awesome.

2) My mom tries to get the most amount of cookies from her dough, and I make humongous cookies so I don’t have to bake all day. There is value in doing it both ways, I like my way b/c I like humongous cookies.  :)

 

 

 

Mom’s Sugar Cookies (x3)

2 1/4 C. Shortening (Crisco sticks-butter flavored)

3 C. Sugar

6 eggs

3 tsp baking powder

3 tsp vanilla

7 1/2 C. flour

3 t. salt

Mix thoroughly: shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla

In separate bowl mix dry ingredients

Blend dry ingredients into the wet gradually. (You may have to stop using the mixer at some point and use your hands.)

Cover

Chill for at least an hour

Roll out with rolling-pin and use cookie cutters of your choice.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes.  (The baking time will vary depending on the size of the cookies.  My humongous ones take over 10 minutes.)

Frosting:

Mix Powdered sugar with small amounts of milk until you reach desired thickness.  Add food coloring if you wish.  (Start with 1 C. of milk and 1/2 tbsp of milk.  You want it thick enough that it doesn’t run off the cookie.)

I think sometimes carrying on traditions brings the burden of doing things exactly like you did with the person who taught you.  As with many things, you have to make adjustments so that it fits you.  There is no doubt in my mind that my kids will make their sugar cookies a little different from I do-and that’s okay!! :)

Merry Christmas Mommas!

 

 

 

Just Say No

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The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV

By: Gretchen Speer

My two-year old is watching Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! right now as I’m preparing to write this.  I was going about my preparation when something that was said in his show jumped out at me and, to my surprise, goes right with what I was going to write about.

“We’re so busy having fun, we’re not having any.”

That statement pretty much sums up where I end up most of the time during the month of December.  There is so much anticipation going into the Christmas holiday.  So many plans, so much “great” food, so much….distraction from what it’s actually about.

Even though I go into it all with the best intentions, I head into January exhausted , bloated, and wondering when it will get any easier to manage.

When I realized that I was actually experiencing some real anxiety about it this year, I decided to do one thing about it:  SIMPLIFY. I have stepped back from a couple things that I LOVE this month so that I don’t have to rush though picking presents for the people I love.  So that I can sit and watch Christmas movies with my kids without feeling sick about all the things I have to do as soon as they are in bed.  I have added one thing that I believe has made all the difference for me, and that is doing the advent readings our church provides. (You can get those here.)  Doing this one thing shifted my focus back to what this season is all about, and is continuing to keep it there.

As we are moving closer to celebrating the birth of Christ here are my personal goals to keep Christ the central focus of Christmas:

Simplify- For me this means less decorations, less baking,  less time shopping- just less in general.

Adjust expectations- I always want to give everybody the PERFECT gift.  I want my kids to be in adorable coordinated outfits for our pictures.  I want to have awesome a perfectly decorated tree  Reality check:  The perfect gift is often out of my budget.  Kids are likely to mess up those adorable outfits two minutes before you go to take the pictures.  And your two-year old WILL remove and hide/break several ornaments before the season is over.

Say No-Like I said earlier, I have already stepped back from a couple of things.  It’s not that those things were bad at all, but they kept me too busy.  I will definitely pick them back up in January, but for now they are on hold so that I can be present with my family as we prepare to celebrate our Savior.

I’m curious, what are the things you do to keep stress from taking over the Christmas Season?  How do you keep Christ the central focus?  Leave us a comment!

Blessings Mommas, and Merry CHRISTmas!! :)