Posted on

Sweet Potato Hash

I am one of those people who cooks the same 5 things on repeat. This recipe is one of my family FAVORITES! And I made it at least once a week for half of 2019. Of course, no two times were exactly the same (I have problems with consistency) but every way I have made it has been a hit. Once again I will list some amounts, but you can change up the proportions until it looks good.

Sometimes we eat this with rice, however if you are trying to limit carbs, this can stand on its own too.

Shopping List:
-Chicken Breast (1 or 2 for our family of 4)
-Sweet potatoes 4ish
-Apple (gala) 1/2-1
-Onion 1/2-1
-Garlic Salt
-Olive Oil
-Poultry seasoning

Start by cutting the sweet potatoes apples and onions into bite sized sizes. Coat them in a little bit of olive oil and season with garlic salt and parsley. Mix it ALL (yes, the apples too) on a sheet pan and bake in a preheated oven at 415 degrees fahrenheit for 20-ish minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

While those are in the oven, cut the chicken into cubes and cook in a fry pan in some olive oil and season with poultry seasoning. When they are all done, mix the chicken with the sweet potatoes, onions and apples.

Voila! Delicious sweet potato hash.

Tips:
Like I said earlier, I have done it many times, different ways. To date, these are my favorites:
-Red onions are the BEST when you have apples
-I usually use about half a gala apple to 4 sweet potatoes HOWEVER apples are really optional
-Soy sauce is not a bad addition

Posted on

Blessed Progression

It has been my goal to read scriptures before doing any work and a couple days ago I had just sat down and pulled out my scriptures when my thoughts began going everywhere. Somehow, once again, they turned to my nursery (why is it always the nursery? No clue). 

I looked at the bookshelf there and thought about where it had been just a couple weeks ago–up against a different wall acting as a platform for all our junk. The whole room was a disaster: garbage on the floor, boxes of things we just didn’t want to go through, and everything we didn’t want our company to see. Chaos reigned.

Then I saw it for what it is today and felt gratitude for the progress. The room is still far from where I hope to get it, but it has become such a different, new room. I can vacuum! The bookshelf is now home to important papers, pens and pencils, a sewing machine, etc. and the floor is no longer a dumping ground.

There is more order. 

That order didn’t come from throwing everything away. We were able to completely remove a lot of stuff that we had been carrying around for a while: unnecessary papers, broken crayons, scented wax cubes we’ve had for five years, etc. 

However, some stuff in there now was a part of the mess before but has been put in a place where it can belong without adding to chaos. 

I soon caught my mind wandering and went to the task at hand: reading my scriptures. I looked down and read a verse that reminded me to “remember what the Lord hath done.”

Instantly, I saw that room as me. I remembered the awful, chaotic, full of junk state my mind was in. I thought of the panic attacks, the feelings of anger and despair and loneliness. I thought of the darkness of the depression and the suicidal thoughts. 

But I don’t live in THAT room anymore. With help from some incredible family members, doctors, therapists, friends, and most of all my Savior, Jesus Christ, I have been able to organize some of that mess. I have been able to throw away unnecessary expectations that caused unneeded stress and anxiety.

There are things I cannot throw away, and will never be able to, but I’ve got a bookshelf now with some experiences put where they need to be, some forgiveness finally picked up off of the ground, tools to help me keep it organized.  

There is still a LONG way to go, but I am SO grateful for that glimpse— to see light again, and to finally be able to recognize growth. I am most importantly thankful for a Savior that bought that bookshelf and takes away the garbage.

Posted on

50 Things I Love About You 💕

Happy Valentines Day!! ❤️❤️❤️

Back a few years ago, ok 7 (what?!), I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One of the rules for this mission was to have a companion 24/7, literally. Unless you were using the bathroom or showering etc. you were supposed to be within eye and ear shot of this other human being that you JUST MET. 

I’m sure you can imagine the challenges that might arise from such a situation. But as representatives of Jesus Christ we were on a mission to LOVE and that included our companions. So what do you do if you get stuck with someone you don’t like/can’t get along with? I don’t know. It didn’t happen for me. BUT! In the missionary training center we were advised: WRITE 50 THINGS YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR COMPANION. 

This advice has served me well, far beyond my mission! Having a spouse is not always the easiest, we are two separate souls determined to build a life together, but we are still different. 

Sometimes our differences can blind us, and drive us apart, but not if we are always seeking out the good in each other. 

So for 6 years now, I have written 50 things I love about my husband and given it to him as a gift on Valentine’s Day. I try not to use the same ones over and over and usually when I start the list it is not easy. But the more I think and dwell on the things I love about him, by the end of my list the ideas just fly into the page. 

It has been such a blessing for me! And a great, romantic, Valentine’s tradition.

Posted on

A Plug to be Unplugged

Alright, alright. I know I already posted about how using screens should not inflict guilt, and I stand by that 100%, BUT I want to share something AWESOME that happened in our house a couple weeks ago!!

Maybe I was feeling particularly strong, or maybe my kids had watched a little too much of a very annoying kids show which shall not be named, or I just wanted to be a #meanmom, but I decided to say no. No TV. No iPad. No old iPhone with kid apps on it.

At first the fight was frightening, the wailing and moaning and thrashing on the floor.

But then it stopped! It didn’t even last that long, probably because I deliberately ignored it (woohoo! I usually am not that tough), but really, we were out of it within an hour.

The rest of the day, my kids played so well! The next day, they woke up and went straight to the Lego Duplos where the built towers and cars and, my personal favorite: Mickey Mouse Clubhouses of all shapes and sizes. They worked together and they played pretend for hours. Their “need” for the devices had disappeared!

It was such a nice break from the constant asking for one screen or another. And all it took was me to be emotionally well enough to say no and to calmly deal with the backlash for maybe an hour. It also helped me realize that kids are so resilient, and I haven’t ruined them yet! We can always change things up and improve, no one has to keep life the same day in and day out.

The babes have since gotten sick, and in an attempt to keep them in one place, I put the iPad in front of them for hours, so we are back to square one.

But hey, one day at a time!

Posted on

Blanket Storage

For some reason I find great joy in finding storage solutions that are inexpensive and unpredictable. Necessity began this quest as we moved into a home with NO storage closets, a bedroom with no room for a dresser and an incredibly small clothing closet. I really had to get creative then and I now it is almost a personal quest whenever I need a new solution.

As mentioned in an earlier post, my nursery is still in the works. Up until this last week, all of his baby blankets were “stored” in a pile on the floor. Having grown up in a home where my mother said, “nothing on the floor but the furniture,” that was not going to last. 

I didn’t want to take up any more floor space, as it is pretty limited already. I had considered getting coat pegs but couldn’t decide what wall I would put that on. 

Then I came across this awesome thing!

It was made to hold purses, but I really love it for blankets. There’s plenty of room, it’s off the floor, and I don’t really have to look at them. The best part? It was less than $5. 

Affiliate link in shop!

Posted on

German Pancakes

If your house is like ours, there are never enough edges to go around when German pancakes are for breakfast! But several years ago, probably because I didn’t have a clean cake pan and didn’t want to do dishes, I stumbled upon a simple solution: use a cupcake pan!

We make the recipe just the same, divide the butter between the cupcake tins and fill them 1/2 full.

Now everyone gets edges! And they are fun to dip.

The recipe we use:

• 6T butter
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• pinch of salt
• larger pinch of sugar (optional)

While preheating oven time 400 degrees Fahrenheit, place the butter in 24 individual cupcake tins (quarter tablespoon each) OR two 9” cake pans OR in a 9×13 pan. Put in the oven while you mix the rest of the ingredients.

Pull the melted butter out and fill the pans or cupcake tins 1/2 full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until peaks turn brown.

Tips:
-I let my butter get a little browned because I LOVE BROWNED BUTTER

-I like to put my ingredients in a blender, while that doesn’t make it “poof” any better, it makes the pancake as a whole more fluffy.

-Sometimes I don’t do a full 6 Tablespoons of butter in the 9×13 pan.

– If you want more peaks, pour the batter into different parts of the pan, the peaks will come up where you pour!

Posted on

Moms of 3

How do you do it?

When things were going well, and my kids decided to behave and play well and eat their food, I thought I had figured it out!

But then the last 5 days hit. Daddy was gone a lot. Baby hit a growth spurt and was CONSTANTLY hungry. The two year old learned to hit and he does it a lot. And the 4 year old realized that mom can’t discipline while nursing the baby.

Motherhood is such a rollercoaster. Somedays I just can’t believe how truly incredible my kids are! Seriously, they have hearts of gold and just exude love and kindness and helpfulness.

And then all of a sudden (like the last few days) they are something else.

Today I crashed, emotionally. So, I took myself on a date. Just before dinnertime I handed the baby over to daddy and drove away, not really sure where to go but knowing I needed something.

Roaming the aisles of Hobby Lobby, dreaming of all the things that I would love to have, I tried to be inspired by all the sayings they have on their decor.

It didn’t take long before I realized I wasn’t actually feeling all that inspired, because when I though about what things would FIT in our house, I realized nothing did today. Do we feel “so very blessed” or do we “choose joy?”

I would love to say yes. But today I didn’t. Today I got angry. I yelled. I slept. I didn’t make breakfast or dinner. Each time I looked at one of those signs my eyes rolled just a little bit.

However! The signs that stood out to me the most said “Let’s Stay Home.”

And even after this no-good, terrible, very bad, bad day, that sentiment is one I feel in my soul!

I love my home. I know my family loves our home. Being with them is still the best place I want to be!

So tomorrow will be better. I know it will.

Affiliate link (I receive a commission) to the sign in the picture: https://amzn.to/2RGgdMi

Posted on

Buttah buttah

Want a great activity for you kids that takes time, burns energy, and ends up with something useful?

Have I got the activity for you!

HOMEMADE BUTTER.

That’s right! You can do this at home, with stuff you probably have. I remembered doing this at some point during elementary school and thought it was fairly simple. When I looked it up last week, my memory was correct! This could not be any easier.

Instructions:

  • Add 1/4 teaspoon salt to 2 cups heavy cream.
  • Shake, mix, churn, dance, etc. until it becomes butter!
  • Pour off the liquid whey and
  • Enjoy!!

I decided to try a ziplock bag but then thought that a ziplock bag might not be able to hold under the strength of a 2 year old boy, so I put his back in the carton for mixing.

It was so much fun! It took up quite a bit of time, and the kids loved tasting it at the end.

Posted on

Intentional Artwork

When we moved to Arkansas, it was just us and our 2 cars so we had to be very selective about what we brought. Although artwork might have seemed like something that shouldn’t have made the cut, there are some pieces around my house that are so meaningful to me and they bring a smile to my face when I look at them.

The pieces I am going to show you are all associated with a time of growth for me. A time when I called out to God and He showed me that He was still there.

This is one of the first pieces I found and held onto. We got this one after I lost my first baby. I didn’t feel much of God’s love at that time, but seeing this reminded me of a time when I felt the closest to Him. It looks like it could’ve been taken in Florida, where I served my mission. So much of my heart is in that place! When I see this in my home I think of miracles, people I love, warm humid air, lots and lots of joy.

This set I made to remind me of all things good! I absolutely LOVE Gordon B. Hinckley and his outlook on life. I was studying some of his words and just knew I needed them in my life!! This quote sums up pretty well his attitude:

“We have every reason to be optimistic in this world. Tragedy is around, yes. Problems everywhere, yes. But … you can’t, you don’t, build out of pessimism or cynicism. You look with optimism, work with faith, and things happen.
Do not despair. Do not give up. Look for the sunlight through the clouds. Opportunities will eventually open to you. Do not let the prophets of gloom endanger your possibilities.”

He would acknowledge the bad, but always focused on the good!

These words remind me of him and have helped remind me to be grateful and that life is good.

These may just look like dried weeds to you. But to me they are the hope of better days to come.

This summer I went to the mountains specifically for a chance to find happiness. I was having such a hard time finding it anywhere those days, but I just knew I could find some there.

I had missed those Utah mountains so much! There is just nothing like cool mountain air with the sound of wind blowing through the pines and a river not too far away.

It was the week after school started so my family was the only one there. It was cool and peaceful (and I wasn’t getting eaten by mosquitoes). The happiness I sought was there! I felt hope for a chance that I wouldn’t be sad forever and that was a moment I wanted to capture for those rainy days I couldn’t seem to escape.

Surrounding myself with meaningful things and allowing those things to change my attitude has been a big help on my down days.

What meaningful things do you keep around that bring you happiness??

Posted on

Mom needs a nap

Or a shower. Or 5 minutes of alone time.

If you’re like me, you’ve had to go straight to screen time for you kids if you want any of the above. If you don’t, disasters strike, like this:

But then there’re the apocalyptic fits they throw when it’s time to the TV off. And every time you look at Facebook there’s another study telling us we are destroying our kids brains with screens, so there’s also a load of guilt.

Is the shower even worth the fight and guilt?

Short answer: YES!! It is worth it. And so is the nap! Those are the little things that can fill our mental/emotional cup. They can provide moments of peace, free from distraction where we can hear the Spirit and our minds can just rest.

If we are constantly running, helping and fixing others, our own minds struggle and one of the ways our minds respond to that neglect is depression and despair. Just like our children: the squeaky wheel gets the grease. And just like the rest of our bodies, where there is pain we tend to fix it.

So, we need rest. Drop the guilt. A little bit of screen time, or a lot a bit, won’t harm our kids as much as an absent mother will harm them. Get well. Be present! And they will be just fine.