Gone bananas

My little man had his first taste of food this week.  Up until now he has been exclusively breastfed, but recently he has been diving for our food and trying to eat it.  I was eating a banana for breakfast and he started grabbing for it so I thought now was just as good of time as any to let him have his first taste.  I took a hunk off of the banana and mashed it with a fork until it was smooth and gave it a go.  Like most babies, he wasn't exactly sure of it, so the faces are priceless, but all in all I think he liked it.  Now I'm looking forward to introducing more food to him in the upcoming weeks.  I just love this stage with babies, but it is so bittersweet because I can't get over how fast he's growing.  My sweet little cuddle bug is getting so big.

kale and white bean soup

Soup is such a great way to stretch a buck and extremely versatile.  You can throw just about anything into a pot with some broth and call it a day.  This was part of my 30 Day Challenge .  I made it early in the week so we could eat it for lunches.  I just love this hearty soup.  It's a bowl full of health with the kale, garlic, onions, and carrots.  This was also made with my own broth which is extremely frugal, tasty, and healthy.  It tastes so much better for you than store bought and much more healthy.  You could add sausage, bacon, chicken, or other protein to it if you wanted but I didn't since I was working with a tight budget and the beans already have protein.  If you don't do beans, try it with some other protein.  Hope you like it.

2 T choice of fat- butter, coconut oil, animal fat, etc.
1 onion diced
4-5 carrots sliced
3 cups white beans (precooked if using dried)
large bunch of kale(stems removed and chopped)
bay leaf
2 cloves garlic minced or crushed
6 cups broth

Heat oil in large stock pot over medium heat.  Add onions, carrots and saute until onions are soft.  Add remaining ingredients, stir.  Bring to a boil and then turn back heat and let simmer for 30-60 minutes.

Keepin It Real

Many of you may think I am crazy for doing this but I feel like this is such an important post that I am going to sacrifice my pride to share with you what I'm about to share with you.  This post was inspired by a conversation that I had with my cousin's wife last Friday night.  We were talking about how moms are basically each other's worst enemies.  We judge, brag, alienate, gossip, and put on facades to make others around us think that we have it all together and are better than others.  Why do we do this?  I suspect it's because of our own insecurities.  We like people to tell us how great we are.  We like the assurance that we are doing something good.  Reality is, most of us, if we're honest are pretty much just like everyone else, barely holding it together day by day.  I mean the Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23.  Working moms, stay at home moms, military wife moms, single moms, you name it, we all have our share of struggles that we deal with on a daily basis. 

I have a friend that was recently attacked by a woman online whom she has never met because this woman felt undervalued because her job as a military wife/mother was much harder than a "regular" person.  Why the need to attack a stranger over it tells me that this woman is probably feeling inadequate and makes herself feel better by telling others how easy they have it. 

With all of my rambling this may seem like I don't have a real point.  I do; I promise!  Hang with me.  After all of these conversations I've had with these women, I started thinking about my own life.  Have I ever purposefully tried to put on a facade and make myself out to be this perfect person that I am not?  If I'm honest with myself, the answer is probably yes.  I often put on a facade at church and I hate it.  My husband is an associate pastor of youth and family at our church.  I often feel the pressure to act a certain way, look a certain way, and do certain things.  There are many times that I am a total crab on Sunday morning not even in the mood to step outside my house, rushing around like a crazy person trying to get there on time but then as soon as we walk in the door, the smile goes on and I feel like I have to be "Perfect Pastor's Wife."  There have been times when I have walked around burdened with such serious burdens but felt like I couldn't share them with others because of our position in the church.  It's sad really. 

But then, I have this blog and you see pictures and posts that make it look like I possibly have it all together.  It looks like my kids are always clean, happy, healthy and we live in happy magical crafty fairy food land.  lol  Ok maybe not exactly that but an altered reality for sure.  This post is to share with you that what you see on the screen is only a small piece of our puzzle.  It's the highlights of the day in the middle of the mess. 


Yes I may have cooked a delicious and healthy meal  but it has left our kitchen looking like this.

 Sadly there's a good chance it may look like this for several days before I get it back together.  Sorry Mom and Grandma!  haha

 Our junk pile on our island.

We may do cute crafts...

 But it ends up looking like this on my kitchen table and usually doesn't get picked up in time for us to eat dinner at the table.

 Living room:  Yes that's a dirty diaper on the floor.

 Yes there's a couch in my hallway piled with stuff.  It's meant for a yardsale or Goodwill but here it sits...a week later.

I may dress my kids and myself fairly well, but my kids wear mostly hand-me-downs

 and my bedroom often looks like it vomited my laundry.

 Another shot by the bed

And there's more behind the door.  WOAH!

Don't even get me started on the playroom.  I forgot to take a picture out there but you get the idea.  It pretty much looks like the other places.  hehe  I'd like to tell you that I've staged these pictures, but nope, I haven't.  This was just a normal Monday.  Does my house always look like this?  No.  You may be thinking, "Ewww that woman's a slob!  Doesn't she know how to clean?"  Sure I do.  I clean a lot but life happens and sometimes you have to make a choice between a clean house and dinner on the table and time with my kids.  I often choose the quality time and food.  :)  So there you have it.  Keepin it real in the Buss house.  This was really on my heart because I don't want anyone to think this blog is a way for me to brag or make it seem like my life is something that it's not.  I blog to show you a few things that we do to keep life fun and hope that it helps inspire you to use the life that God has given you and do something beautiful with it.  Now don't go telling everyone how big of a slob I am ok?  lol  What we can do though is to stop putting on facades and be ourselves.  Stop playing the mom competition game and start being there for one another, carrying each other's burdens and building each other up.

Letter of the Week- F

F panned out to be a F F F FUN week.  Yeah I'm a nerd.  I hope this inspires you to do something fun with your kid.  Here's the rundown. 

 Fish bowl lunch:  grilled cheese sandwich fish, grape and strawberry rocks, spinach leaves for seaweed

 FALL:  collect fallen leaves and do fall leaf rubbing

 Fishing game to go along with our Bible lesson of Jesus performing a miracle to help his friends catch fish:  A blue tote was our boat.  Use a stick or rod and tie fishing wire to it.  At the end of the fishing wire tie a felt worm and hot glue a fridge magnet on the end.  Cut out various colors of fish and put several paper clips on them so you can fish with the magnet worm. 

 Family F:  Simple craft.  Cut out pictures of your family and have your child glue them onto the F.

 Fishbowl handprint craft.  I got this idea from here She named our fish Otto from one of her favorite Dr. Seuss books.

F tracing page from here

Words: An Overflow of the Heart

I am currently in a ladies Bible study called Conversation Peace.  My motivation for going to ladies' Bible study is two-fold:  to delve deeper into God's word and to have time away from my family to rejuvenate with other women.  It's my "me-time" and I'm so thankful to have it because some days I feel like I am seconds away from losing it.  If you are a mom or really anyone for that matter, I'm sure you can relate. 

So far in this study I have really been convicted.  It is all about transforming our speech, and let me tell you, mine could use some transforming.  Ask my husband and kids if you don't believe me.  Now you won't find me cursing like a sailor or telling my husband or kids that they are trash but you will find me losing my temper and yelling...a lot.  You'll find me being short (keep your short jokes to yourself) with my husband when I've had a trying day.  You'll find me bad-mouthing people behind their backs.  Basically you'll find me doing many things that are not in accordance to what God's word says my speech should be like and it's truly shameful.  Sometimes I will lose my temper with my kid and step back and think, "Did I really just do that?  How did that so easily come out of my mouth?" 

This study has been so timely for me because God has already been showing me my problem for quite some time by my mimicking 3 year old.  I have seen her grit her teeth and be rude to our dog, squint her eyes at me and say something ugly, and say things that I think where did she get that from?  It doesn't take long before the finger is pointed right back to the person that she spends the most time with...ME!  OUCH!  So when I found out that our women's ministry was offering this study, I knew I needed to go.  The mirror, that is my daughter, reflecting my behavior was enough to send anyone to their knees to plead for God's transforming power. 

Last week we learned about the power of the tongue, how it directs your path, has the power of life and death, and can destroy or cultivate good.  I got such great nuggets of wisdom in the first week.  This particular Proverb really hit home.  A fool shows his annoyance (or quick temper) at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.  Proverbs 12:16  How many times in a day have I been quick to show my annoyance or temper at my kids, husband, church, dog, etc?  Can I get an amen?  :)  I'm sure you can relate.

This week we are learning about how words are the overflow of the heart.  What you say has a direct correlation with what is in your deepest most inner part or the condition of your heart. 
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him."  Matthew 12:33-35

Jesus spoke much on the condition of the heart.  The Pharisees were always concerned with "doing right on the surface" and Jesus constantly confronted them with the simple truth that the Lord looks past the surface and looks straight to the heart to our motives, intentions, inner thoughts and feelings.  He said to clean up the inside of the cup first and the outside would be clean (Matthew 23:25-26).  What he meant was to work on my heart condition and the outer part of me would take care of itself.  How is my relationship with the Lord?  Am I seeking after him?  Am I storing up good in my heart?  If not, the fruit that I bear or my actions and words will definitely be shown by the overflow of my heart.  

Lord, let the overflow of my heart be pleasing to you!  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10

30 day grocery challenge

I preach a lot about healthy eating/real food and the number one thing that I hear back is that it is too expensive to eat healthy.  While it is true that sometimes boxed food can be cheaper than if you were to buy fresh ingredients and cook them yourself, I still don't buy this myth.  It's my firm belief that you can feed your family on a budget without sacrificing nutrition and resorting to unhealthy processed food.  To make sure what I believe is actually doable, I am challenging myself. 

Currently I spend $100/week on groceries and household items.  I am going to attempt to cut this in HALF, so our weekly budget will now be $50 a week to feed 3-4 people (I will cook portions for 4 people).  Eli is not eating solid food but will start before the whole 30 days is over. 

Is this going to be a challenge for me?  OH YES!  Is it doable?  I think so, at least I hope so, or my whole belief system on food and what I've been "preaching" is all down the drain.  So I'm putting my challenge in front of you for all to see and keep me accountable.  I'll put my receipts on here as well as meals and recipes so you can see that I'm not cheating.  We have been eating mostly grain/gluten/legume free,  but for this purpose, my main goal is to eliminate processed foods, so whole grains/beans/etc would be considered ok in moderation.  Every meal won't be spaghetti or beans and rice. 

Oh and one more thing.  This also includes eating out so if we decide to go get ice cream one night and spend $10, our food budget gets cut to $40.  Make sense?  I'm excited about this and excited about the extra $ that we should have in the bank at the end of the 30 days as well.  :)  Stay tuned!  I usually do my shopping Sunday or Monday so I will begin this Monday.

Bacon and apple porkchops

This meal just screams fall!  We recently went apple picking and have been making our share of sweets like apple cake, crisp, etc.  I was searching pinterest for some inspiration to finish off our oodles of apples and came across porkchops with applesauce and bacon.  I thought the bacon and apple combination was a great idea but wasn't too wild about the applesauce.  Apples in a savory dish sounded like a good change of pace from the desserts I had been making with them, and well, we all know how I feel about bacon.  :)  This meal was completely experimental. I started with a general idea of what I wanted it to be like and pretty much winged it.  Ken and I both really liked them.  Tart sweet apples, carmelized onions, salty bacon...What's not to like?  I served the chops with sauted dark greens.  Yummo!

What Bailey ate:  porkchop, strawberries, grapes



Bacon and apple porkchops
Ingredients
boneless porkchops ( I cooked 6 small ones)
2 small-medium apples (peeled and diced)
3 slices of thick cut bacon (sliced into bite sized pieces)
1-2 garlic cloves( 1 large or 2 small) minced or pressed
1 small onion (diced)
drizzle of honey
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Directions
Season both sides of porkchops with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Heat 1-2 T of your choice of fat in skillet (preferably cast iron) over med-high heat.  Place porkchops in skillet and sear both sides.  You are looking for a golden brown color.  Turn back heat to med-low until porkchops are cooked all the way through.  Do not overcook!  While chops are cooking, add bacon to second skillet over med heat.  When bacon is starting to get crisp, scoot it over to the side of the pan and add onions and garlic to the other side.  After a few minutes, onions should start to soften.  Add apples and stir the bacon, onions, and garlic together.  Cook for about 10 minutes until apples are soft.  Heat may need to be lowered.  When porkchops are done top with apple mixture and drizzle with a small amount of honey. 


Linked to The Idea Room

Letter of the week- E

Here is our letter of the week round-up. I'll be honest, it was a rough week for me. Very few naps took place, Ken was gone a lot and I found myself wanting to pull my hair out most days. Looking back on these pictures though, I guess there were some good times. :)

Elephant E

Elephant lunch #1 with apple ears and blueberries (supposed to be water sprayed out by the elephant)

Elephant lunch #2. I got a bunch of new cookie cutters on sale at Hancock's. Yay! Yes I went a little elephant crazy this week.



Lesson on Emotions

 

 

Bible story: Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden and the Fall (not pictured)

E is for Emotions

Bailey just loved this activity! We played with it for a long time making different faces and then she wanted to make an entire family, but we might save that for another day. This project was super easy and inexpensive. I have tons of felt laying around my house so this was free for me but even if you don't have felt it is extremely cheap at your local craft store. All I did was cut out a circle for the face and used scraps to make hair, eyes, eyebrows, and different shaped mouths. She had to have bows in her hair per Miss B's request, so I also added some bows. Felt sticks to other felt pretty well so there is no gluing or velcro in this project especially since we just did ours on the floor. It was a great easy project to talk about our emotions and feelings. I wanted to call her Emotional Ella but B didn't like that idea. She thought it looked like her so she wanted to name her Bailey. Oh well.

happy

sad

Surprised or excited

Scared


Mad

5 months

Wow time is flying! I can't believe 5 months have already passed. Eli is truly a joy. This pic is a pinterest recreation and I thought it was just too cute.

Pink (and green) smoothie

Smoothies are one of the most easy, quick, portable breakfasts or snacks that you can make. They are healthy and you can put just about anything in them making them very versatile to suit everyone's tastes. This one is our typical "pink" smoothie: strawberry banana. I also add spinach to just about every smoothie I make to get more veggies in. You can't really taste it but it just boosts the health content up even more. I like my smoothies on the thicker side so I use frozen fruit. If you are using fresh fruit and you like a thicker consistency too, use some ice as well. If you use a lot of frozen fruit and it seems to thick for your taste, add a little water to thin it out. I also rarely use any kind of sweetener because the banana sweetens it up but if you don't have banana and it seems a little tart for your taste you can use a little honey or stevia. Here is my basic recipe but you can customize it to fit your needs. Some other smoothie ingredients are mango, blueberries, blackberries, nut butter, raspberries, coconut milk, etc.

Pink smoothie
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup plain yogurt( I prefer either Greek or my homemade
1 cup loosely packed baby spinach

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Add ice if you desire a thicker consistency and water for a thinner consistency.

Slow cooker chicken taco meat

Doesn't that look pretty! Looks like it took a while doesn't it? NOPE! Ten minutes tops of work on my part. The crockpot did the rest. This was a complete experiment and I was pleased with the results. I used this chicken to make chicken tostadas (sprouted corn tortillas in the toaster oven, topped with lettuce, chicken, cheese, salsa, and sour cream). I really wanted quacamole on it but didn't have any avocados on hand. :( You can also use it to put on salads, tacos, taco lettuce cups, quesadillas, etc. It was a quick and easy weeknight meal.

Ingredients
3 small thawed chicken breasts (I put mine in frozen but I wouldn't recommend it. You'll end up with scum to scrape off. Ewww)
1 partially drained can of Rotel or tomatoes with chilis
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions
Dump chicken and tomatoes in the crockpot. Cook on low for 5-8 hours. Shred with fork. Add seasonings, stir, cook for about another 20 minutes. Eat!

Note: You might be able to dump everything in at one time but I didn't try it. If you experiment with this, let me know.

Letter of the week- D

We didn't do a lot of craft projects this week. It was mostly an activity week. Here are the highlights.

Dog "D" (She went a little wild with the drawing)

Memory Verse


Bible story: Daniel and the Lion's Den (not pictured)

Domino stacking, counting, tipping, etc.

Dinosaur pretend play

Date with Daddy: donuts and feeding the ducks

Tracing page

D is for dinosaur

Beware! The pictures you are about to see may be intense for even the most mature audiences. Please proceed with caution. Here comes the most rare and ferocious dinosaur ever discovered. The pinkasaurous. Ever heard of it? I hadn't either until today. I had the pleasure of taking these rare photos. I'm sure a museum is going to be beating down my door after this post to confiscate them. Here they are.

There she is...beastly!

And a close-up. I was literally scared for my life getting this shot.

Look at those feet! Could have squished me with one stomp.

She finally took a rest so I could get a picture of her vicious tail.

Pinkasaurous and a wild dog in a scary confrontation! Yikes!

Hehe! We had so much fun with this. To go along with our "D" theme this week we made a quick dinosaur costume. It is extremely rough and took about 45 minutes to make start to finish with the help of Bailey. She colored the feet and stuffed the tail. The hat and tail were made out of felt and roughly sewn. If you're looking for a pretty sewing job, don't look here. It was just meant for fun pretend play so I wasn't going for precision. She had so much fun stomping around the house, chasing the dog, and growling for mommy dinosaur to chase after her too. She wanted Baby Eli to get in on the action but he felt more comfortable staying at a safe distance in his exersaucer. Can't say I blame him.

New pics

Look who's almost sitting up. A new perspective on the world.

Outside reading a book

Big blue eyes

Fake smile

Bed head, pjs, messy faces, naked babies...love it!