{Menu Monday} April 22

Here's what we are eating this week!

- Caesar Salad, Spaghetti with Italian Sausage, Artisan Bread, Zucchini
- Rice, Chips and Salsa, Layered Mexican Casserole, Tomatoes and Avocado
- Applesauce, Baked Omelet Squares, Whole Wheat Toast
- Cornbread, Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Caesar Salad, French Bread, Baked Parmesan Tomatoes, Garlic Cheddar Chicken

Linking up at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday

{Did I Pin a Win?} Baked vs. Boiled Hard-Boiled Eggs

It's time for another Pin a Win post! I love doing these because as someone who is still actively pinning stuff and wondering if it really works, I do wish sometimes I could get honest feedback about whether an idea is really great before I take the time and energy to tackle it. Hopefully y'all can trust my words and pictures enough to try these ideas for yourself if you want.

So, this post refers to the gazillion eggs I needed hard-boiled for Easter, both to dye for fun and for 2 family get-togethers worth of deviled eggs (my specialty). I had seen lots of people posting this revolutionary baking method for cooking eggs, and I was skeptical, but knew I had to try it for as much as I need large batches of eggs sometimes.

My Pinspiration:

Source: onelittleproject.com via Susan @DefrumpMe on Pinterest

And here's how it went:

To really test this new idea out, I used fresh eggs for the baked version, and week-old eggs for the boiled version, because if you've boiled and peeled many eggs, you may know that older eggs peel easier than fresh eggs.

I boiled a dozen with my no-fail egg timer and followed these directions for 16 baked eggs:

Place eggs on mini muffin tin holes.
Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.
Place in ice water for 10 minutes.

Two egg-cooking methods, both alike in dignity; in fair kitchen where we lay our scene...

Cooked eggs. Both methods took 30 minutes. No cracked shells from either method.
The baked ones did develop spots on the shells.

Ice bath for each batch.

The spots washed off easily in the ice water.

Then came time for peeling. The baked version actually peeled quite a bit more easily than the boiled version. I think even my husband could have done it without growing frustrated! :-)

Here's the baked version peeled. You can see two tiny brown spots where the shell was touching the pan.
Not a deal-breaker for me.

And here's the boiled version peeled and cut open. You can kind of see how the yolk seems a little dryer, it didn't cut as smoothly. Still, both eggs are similar enough in appearance and texture.

 A closer comparison of the two versions sliced open - baked on top, boiled on bottom.
Neither is green or overly dry. Both yolks came relatively cleanly out of the white.

At this point, I was still not convinced that the baked version was significantly better than the boiled version, but I did see the advantage for doing large batches as opposed to pulling out multiple pans for boiling. And I was surprised by the ease of the peeling, especially for fresh eggs.

And then it was time to empty the yolks from the whites and smash them to get the deviled egg filling. If nothing else convinced me, this did! The baked yolks were perfectly smashable and crumbly, compared to the boiled yolks which can sometimes be just a bit rubbery and chunky. The baked yolk texture was fabulous and made for some truly delicious filling, of which I do not have a picture because they all get gobbled so quickly. ;-)

VERDICT: This pin was definitely a WIN! I have since used the baking method of hard-cooking eggs anytime I've needed more than a half dozen at a time, and I see it sticking around as my preferred method of "hard-boiling" eggs.

Have you tried this method? Are you more likely to give it a try now?

{Menu Monday} dood mornin'

There was a lady who went to our church when I was a girl who has passed away now. If you would say "good morning" to her, she would always reply,"dood mornin' if it is a dood mornin'" in a gravelly, raspy voice that sounded much crosser then she was. And it's how I feel pretty much every Monday morning :-) So, I wish you all "dood mornin'"– if it is a dood mornin' at all. ;-)

• Monday – Marinated Ranch Broiled Chicken, Twice Baked Cauliflower, Butter Rolls
• Tuesday – Baked Chicken, Salad, Cheesy Zucchini Bake, Rolls
• Wednesday – Bacon & Scrambled Egg Bagel Sandwiches, Fruit
• Thursday – Baked Brown Rice, Smoky Grilled Pork Chops, Roasted Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts, Steamed Carrots
• Friday – Broiled Tilapia Parmesan, Rice, Quick Creamed Spinach

Linking up at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday

Cars Themed Birthday Party {with printables}

I know I've talked about it a lot, and it was really fun to put together, and now I can finally share it with you! (Actually, my husband, who takes all our family party pictures and edits them beautifully, said the pictures were actually done a while ago...so oops!)

Okay, so here's the run down.
We had an afternoon birthday party for my youngest son's 2nd birthday party. After watching "Mater's Tall Tales" on Netflix about a billion times, I thought that would be a pretty good theme for his party.

Step 1: Find ideas on Pinterest.
My basic strategy is not to duplicate every single idea I find, but more to saturate my brain with ideas, and then adapt what I can. Some stuff is just so cute that I have to use exactly what I see. :-)

This is my actual Cars Party Pinterest board. Feel free to browse it for more ideas.

Step 2: Narrow it down.
I decided I liked the playdoh favor idea, and I picked which of the snacks I wanted to have, and decided on a single activity out of the many I saw.

Step 3: Print what's available or design my own.
There were a couple things I was able to find that worked really well with what I decided to go with. I'll share those links in a bit. Unfortunately, many of the things I found, just didn't line up with my "vision", so I set out to create my own things to print. Lucky for y'all, I'm going to share those printables with you too! Keeping in mind that I am not a professional graphic designer, I just do what works for me. :-)

Step 4: Use what you have on hand.
One of the things I picked up at the Rhea Lana's consignment sale was a huge lot of toy cars from the Cars movies. I was able to use these and the Cars-themed rug I also found there as a major part of the decorations.

Step 5: Finish it off with supplies from Dollar Tree and Walmart.
Best idea for keeping a party within a budget is to purchase solid colored party supplies and then print your own themed items to pull it together. So, I got the black plastic table covers and taped yellow strips of construction paper down the middle, used black and red paper goods and streamers and balloons, and then depended on my Cars toys and printed items to nail the theme.

Step 6: Have a great cake.
I found like 7 different cake ideas, but obviously, those were just ideas for my dear sister Elizabeth who is a fantastic cake decorator and always does amazing cakes for our family birthdays. I just love her! :-)

Step 7: Don't overload guests with too much going on.
When you have 5 activities and only 2 hours, it can lead to unnecessary stress for you and your guests. Kids are happy playing with each other, and adults just want to visit! After some waffling back and forth, I went with just a single activity outside of snacks, cake, and presents. And kids and adults alike participated (I wish we had pictures of the adults - they had I think as much fun as the kids getting their "body art"!)

Step 8: If you've planned ahead, you can take a step back and enjoy the day.
Do take time to visit with your guests and enjoy the birthday kid! Be in some pictures. Because your kids may remember their birthday or they may not, and they will not know or remember how hard you worked to make it special. But when they see pictures of you on party day, it will mean so much more if you are smiling and having fun, not stressed and frazzled.

You can see those ice cream servings I pre-scooped.

Calm and collected or caught completely off guard by photographer hubby? You be the judge!

So in addition to cake and ice cream, we also had the following yummy treats:

Rust-eze Bumper Ointment (applesauce cups with printed paper labels)
Mater's Dip Sticks (plain and chocolate-dipped pretzel rods)
Cozy Cone Popcorn (kettle corn in orange construction paper cones)
Luigi's Tires (chocolate covered mini donuts)
Sarge's Survival Mix (Chex party mix)
Sheriff's Traffic Lights (rice krispie treats topped with umm chocolate again and red, yellow, and green M&Ms for the lights)
Lightning McQueen's Lemonade
Fillmore's Organic Fuel (sweet tea - although, about 10 minutes before the party I thought this should be ice water and the sweet tea could be "Allinol" or "Motor Oil")

I designed labels for each of these except the Rust-eze, which I just printed from clipart I found searching Google images. Also, I tried to design a label for the Fillmore's Organic Fuel, but the one here is just way better. :-) This is also where I found the printables for the Flo's V8 Cafe sign and the Ramone's House of Body Art sign.

You can get my printable labels HERE! To spruce up the labels, I also found an image of each of the characters. But I'm sure copyright laws or something would prohibit me from publishing those here, so just feel free to do your own search. ;-)

Want a few more pictures? My wonderful husband does a great job of capturing all of our family events - I'm so thankful for his talent and his willingness to do this for us, even when the lighting isn't the greatest and he's trying out his new fancy lens.

I searched everywhere for checkered scrapbook paper or wrapping paper, but had to settle for fabric,
which actually worked better for the flags and the pennant banner.

And finally, my adorable birthday boy. Such a happy little guy in his Lightning McQueen chair. :-)

{Menu Monday} CrockPot dinners

Happy Monday! I've decided to pull out my CrockPot this week, because I miss the ease of it! Plus, I'm wanting to make a couple things that will freeze well as leftovers for Zack's lunches. So here's what we're eating!

Monday - Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup, French Bread
Tuesday - Beans, Cornbread
Wednesday - Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Fruit, Eggs
Thursday - Slow Cooker Thai Green Curry, Rice
Friday - Hamburgers, Potato Casserole, Watermelon

Linking up at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday

A long and boring post... :-)

image credit

I wanted to do a quick update on my New Year's goals, and the progress I've made. (I hope it won't be too long and boring for you!) These are the goals I shared with y'all back in January. I've definitely gained some ground in some of these areas, while others...not so much! It's good for me to look back at these and see what goals I need to pick back up and start focusing on again.

2013 NEW YEAR'S GOALS

ME:

1. Lose 20 pounds by my birthday (April 28th).
2. Get up 1-2 hours before the boys so I can get some quiet time to myself as well as get a good start on my morning routine (more about this in a future post).
3. Look for specific ways to reach out and bless others.
4. Be a more cheerful mommy!

UPDATE: Well, I'm definitely doing awesome on #1! My birthday is about three weeks away, and I've lost 14 pounds so far! I have even gotten up to losing 16 pounds, but have settled back at 14. So, my new goal will be to lose 3 more pounds by my birthday. That'll put me at losing 17 pounds total, which is just 3 away from my original goal. That would be amazing! I have, however, struggled with goals 2-4. I'm not sure that I can get up 1-2 hours earlier than my boys on a daily basis. Right now, that goal is just not practical. I need that sleep! So, I may put that goal off until baby William gets a bit older. I definitely want to keep working on goals 3 and 4. I know they will get easier as my baby gets older. I'm just still in that newborn phase which is really, really hard!

BOYS:

1. Read books together every day.
2. Less TV and more activity.
3. Continue potty training with Gideon.
4. Continue sleep training with William.
5. Establish a new and improved daytime routine for the boys.

UPDATE: My husband and I have been doing much better with the reading goal. We both LOVE to read, and really want to pass that on to our boys. Right now, our oldest son Daniel (just turned 6) is really enjoying the Great Illustrated Classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. This is our first time to try a book that has several chapters, but every day he looks forward to reading another chapter or two in his book. :-) I've been doing much better with goal 2, and look forward to more days outside once the weather gets warmer. Goal #3? CHECK! Gideon is officially potty-trained! Oh, that took forever and I hated it!! But it's finally over, except an accident every once in a while. Goal 4 is an on-going goal right now. However, William is just a really good sleeper (I am blessed, I know!). Right now, most nights he only wakes up 1-2 times to nurse. I can totally handle that! My other boys struggled more in this area, sometimes waking up as much as 5 times in the night to nurse! Finally, goal 5 is somewhat accomplished. I really try to have the boys in their beds for some rest time every afternoon. It doesn't always happen, but I'm much more consistent now. 

HUSBAND:

1. Try to get a date night twice a month (one has to be outside the home).
2. Start a new hobby/activity together (more about this in a future post)!
3. Work on communication.

UPDATE: These are all a work in progress for sure! We haven't been getting a date twice a month, and in March we didn't go on any! :( As you probably know, this is a hard one! Babysitting for 3 kids is very expensive! We've been trying to rely on family more, but that's hard too as everyone is so busy. This is still a huge priority for me though, so somehow I need to figure it out. Goal 2 hasn't happened yet either. We are gonna start boxing together (yes, I can't believe I'd EVER do that!). We bought a bag second-hand that was never used for a great price, and my husband is going to hang it in the garage as soon as we get the garage organized and cleaned out (see goal below!). And I'm asking for boxing gloves and wraps for my birthday present. (Am I crazy? Yes, yes, I am.) I'm actually looking forward to it though! It'll be great exercise, and something fun we can do together. Goal 3 is a long-term goal! But we are working on it. My husband is not a talker, so I really have to work at drawing him out. But he knows it's important and wants to work on it too. :-)

HOME:

1. Garage, garage, garage! Organize the garage!!
2. Work on the front flower beds.
3. Declutter!
4. Finish the laundry room makeover.

UPDATE: The garage! This is about to become a huge focus. Next weekend, our city has a spring clean-up day. We will be able to dump a truck-load of trash for free! This will really help get the garage project started. Once that is done, I will call the professional organizer to come help me organize the place (I got 4 hours of time as a present from one of my friend's). I look forward to sharing what I learn from her with y'all! Goals 2 and 4 have been placed on the back burner for now. No money! But I do need to at least trim bushes, etc. now that it's getting warmer outside. Goal 3 is a constant issue! Why am I always having to declutter??? I really need to get on the ball with this one and make a list for each room of what needs to be decluttered. Sigh....

Well, that's my update for now. Hope this post wasn't too long and boring! Ha! Just want to share my journey with ya, and I hope inspire you with yours.

Blessings, friends!

Randomness

Man! There's a lot going on in this noggin of mine! And, since pictures from the Cars birthday party are still not edited, I'm just going to share a bit about life, cuz ya know, that's how it goes sometimes!

Something about me...
In addition to being an amazing wife, wonderful mother, fabulous friend, inspirational blogger, and uncompromising Christian (okay, I can keep striving, right?), I also teach natural childbirth classes? Yep! For nearly 4 years now, I have taught Bradley Method Husband-Coached Childbirth classes. (You can see what that's all about here.) I love it really. I get to meet so many lovely couples, get to know them and become friends, have a bit of adult interaction once a week, and share a passion with people who are seeking out my knowledge and experience.
Lately, I've been updating my class to include a slideshow (particularly helpful for when I have a non-English-fluent student), and I gotta say I can't wait to get started with a new class next week. :-) I've also been doing my own research into common pregnancy and postpartum issues like diastasis recti (crunches are the enemy of your mummy tummy!), pelvic floor disorder (kegels aren't enough, and may actually make things worse!), and how to squat properly. Revolutionary things that are taking up a lot of space in my mind.

Okay, moving on...

Painting

We have an "artist" named Jonah B. and this was his latest handiwork and the last straw.

My husband and I painted our ginormous living room last weekend. The things I thought I loved about this house when we bought it suddenly became the things I despised! Arched doorways are beautiful, and rounded corners are safer for kiddo noggins, a corner fireplace is eye-catching, and highly textured walls look very sophisticated.

But HOLY COW!! The taping to separate colors and painted areas is just torture! Plus, except for the rooms we've already painted, all the walls are painted with a single layer of sprayed-on, builder's flat paint, which sucks up primer and paint like it has a straw!

On the plus side, I got to see my hot hubby doing manly stuff like this. :-)

And we did eventually finish - these pictures were taken before the second and final coat of paint. And no, there is still nothing back on our walls. Maybe this weekend? I hope?

Prayer
I think Lauren's post from yesterday was fantastic, don't you?? If you haven't read it, read it. And then read it again. And then try it. I know I am gonna give it another go since she made so much sense! Here's another idea I had as I was thinking about it: what about all those old hymns, beautiful poetry, moving and heart-felt. For example:

from "Abide with Me"

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.


Words: Henry Lyte (1847)

from "I Need Thee Every Hour"

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
Refrain

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.


from "Precious Lord Take My Hand"

Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light:

Words: Thomas A. Dorsey (1932)

from "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" (A favorite of mine for Easter)

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

A New Fave!

I know you've seen this on Pinterest - I know I have! It's kind of a motto in our little DefrumpMe group, especially for Audrey. :-)  But I found a whole host of other adorable printables - like I seriously downloaded SEVEN creations this evening alone - at Sweet Blessings. Really cute stuff - I love the quotes!! 

A couple more examples...

              




Well, there ya go! I know, some total randomness, right? I'll try to pull together a real post next week. Okie doke?

Oh, and Happy Easter and Resurrection Sunday!!

Prayer {A Testimony}

Today I want to share a testimony with you, one from my own life. I was very blessed to grow up in a church full of truth and deep Biblical training and teaching. I also grew up with people who have a true intimacy with God and walk daily with Him. But somehow, in spite of being a well-trained, reborn child of God, I missed how to make that consistent connection for myself. Somehow, in spite of all the good teaching and examples, I find myself naturally reverting to a law-based mindset. God will be pleased with me if I'm: doing enough; praying often enough; reading a chapter in my Bible every day; not missing any church; teaching extra Bible studies; being a Prov. 31 wife and mother; have the right attitude; working hard enough; not doing bad things; doing the same things as so-and-so; on and on. I'm sure you know the drill. We often substitute seeking God's face and finding His will for us with the "easy" cop-out -- just do what is expected of you! Or at least, I do. I love God and want to do His will, and it is often very hard for me to separate that from doing the will of His people around me.

{source}

So obviously, one of the parts of the Christian life that has long been a source of confusion to me is prayer. I know that it is a powerful tool for Christians, and that the Bible is full of commands to do it. But with few exceptions, it has always felt somewhat forced to me, like I am just letting God know what I'm thinking (which He already knows) without really knowing what to expect from it. I often end up trying to follow some formula or acronym I've heard and leave the time feeling like I'm missing the whole point. I know that prayer can move mountains if you are praying in God's will -- but that has always been the tricky part! WHAT is God's will??? Does He desire that my sick friend get better? Is it actually in His plan that we go through really hard things for the lessons they will bring us? Does He have a bigger picture in mind here with this situation? How do I pray for something that is dependent on someone else's choices? What am I supposed to pray?!?! I know that God always wants to hear my heart, and I can pour it out to Him (Psalm 62:8), and I should. But I was missing that transforming, intimate interaction most of the time. The part where God talks back and tells me what to think and pray for.

Because of all these things, over the past few years, I have really struggled to grow closer to God. I find myself not even able to discern His voice from all the other expectations crowding in sometimes. Most of the time, to be honest. And because it's such a struggle, I go through spurts of not even trying anymore. Why spend my time on something that only brings frustration? My husband has been my steady rock and example to me through all of my questioning. He has been my greatest discipler, encourager, listener. He never judges me, only seeks to understand and help. And even when he doesn't understand, he respects me and my journey. At the beginning of the year, he encouraged me to be determined to thrive spiritually this year, regardless of anything. Regardless of questions, interferences, weariness, frustrations. I didn't know how it was possible because I felt too stunted, but I wanted it, and I determined to open my heart to it.

Soon after, he introduced me to the idea of praying through scripture. I had heard of this before, but never really understood it. But Zack was really excited about the idea, so he talked about it often. The idea sank into my mind more and more. Then, I had something come up that was really difficult for me, and a wise older woman shared a verse with me to help me. I began to read the whole chapter and then, I began to pray through it. It felt exactly like God was teaching me what to say to Him, like you would tell your small child what to say when they're learning to talk. I knew my prayer had power -- because of course I was praying in God's will -- they were His words! I felt my mind transformed from my own hurt feelings to God's feelings on the matter. I felt love and compassion where I had felt offense and revenge. I knew God was speaking to me and teaching me. And for the first time in a long time, praying wasn't a frustrating experience; it was heart-changing and fulfilling.

Since then, I've been frequently praying through scriptures, primarily the Psalms. I pray for my friends, for my husband, for my children individually and specifically, for myself, for my family, for whatever is on my mind that day. Sometimes I will pray through the same scripture several times for different people. And it's amazing to me how that alone brings the Word of God alive to me! Who knew that a verse could be so different and yet still so true -- all because the prayer is for someone else.

Often times, a prayer convicts me.

Help me to be of one mind with my sister in Christ on this issue. Give us compassion for each other. Help us to love each other as sisters. Give us pity for each other. Help us to treat each other with courtesy and not with resentment. Help me not to respond to evil with more evil. Please stop me from responding to arguing with more arguing, but instead to respond with blessing. Remind me that we are in this together, that we are all benefactors of Your blessings! {1 Peter 3:8-9}

Man, let me tell you. That is NOT my natural response to disagreement! But how transforming to pray that for someone who you are in conflict with.

Often times, a prayer causes me to meditate on the person of God.

God, You are mighty and powerful. You are strong. There isn't anything You can't do. You are God. You are sovereign. You are over everything. I praise You and thank You for being so powerful and mighty. You are also The Lord. You are Jehovah and You reign over everything. You are in control. You are speaking. Help me to have a heart that is listening. Give me a ready ear to hear Your voice. Give me a soft heart to respond to what You say. You are calling to the earth – every person in it from sunrise to sunset. From when we wake to when we fall asleep You are pursuing us. {Psalm 50:1}

Wow! My struggles and fears disappear when I consider God like this!

Often times, a prayer leads me to ask things I never would have thought of for the person I'm praying for.

Show mercy to my daughter, Lord. Help her to know Your mercy and to see it for what it is. Help her to find her worth and strength in You, knowing You love her and accept her. I ask You again to be merciful to her! Please lead her soul to trust in You. Draw her to You and show her Your worthiness. Help her to not fear anything because she trusts in You. Draw her to You and let her spend all her days in the shadow of Your wings. Give her refuge! Help her to always remember that You are her protector and defender. Cause her to run to you in times of fear or doubt. When she is afraid and weak and feels overwhelmed, let her hide under Your wings until the storm has passed. {Psalm 57:1}

So much from one verse! It is truly my heart's desire that Sara knows this as her God!

Often times, a prayer overwhelms me with gratitude and thanksgiving, and shows me deeper meaning than just reading would have given me.

I love you, Lord! You are my strength. It is You who supports me and sustains me. Without You, I would fail. You are my Rock, my stability no matter what comes. You are my Fortress, my place to retreat to in times of fear, my comfort zone! You deliver me; I have nothing to fear because You will save me. You are my God; I humbly recognize You as the One in control. You are my strength. I am weak without you. You are the one I trust in. I can't trust anything else in this world like I can trust You. You will never fail me. You are mighty and powerful and worthy of my trust. You are my buckler, my shield. Not only can I retreat to Your fortress of protection, but You go with me everywhere I go, like a shield on my arm, protecting me always. {Psalm 18:1-2}

Is it any wonder that David so often bursts into sudden prayers of praise and adoration?! I am so grateful that such a strong, mighty God is my protector and defender! I don't need to defend myself, the all-powerful God and Creator of everything is with me every day to do it for me. And if I had just been reading the verse, I would have skimmed right over the "buckler" part and totally missed a blessing.


Whether you are a seasoned prayer warrior, or like me, you struggle to maintain a consistent prayer life, I encourage you to try it! You are reading your Bible, praying, meditating on Scripture, and even memorizing all at one time. There is nothing to do but open your Bible and start praying. No rules, no attitude to "get into," no method to apply. Just you and God in conversation!

Do you have any favorite scriptures you enjoy praying through?

{Menu Monday} A Week of Ham

{source}

I used to NEVER buy ham. It felt so expensive, and I guess I thought it was for special occasions like Christmas. Now, you can definitely spend a ton on a ham, but I have found that if I get a basic spiral ham at Aldi or Walmart, it is delicious and we can eat on it all week! So it turns out that it's one of the cheapest meats per-meal for me to buy. And it's SO easy! Oh, one tip -- cut the leftover ham off the bone while it's warm. If you wait and refrigerate it first, it is way messier and harder.

This is a typical ham-in-a-week menu for us:

Monday - Baked Ham, Spinach, Crock Pot Baked Potatoes
Tuesday - Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Chips
Wednesday - Ham and Cheese Omelets, Toast
Thursday - Beans, Cornbread (with the ham bone!)
Friday - Ham and Spinach Pizza, Caesar Salad (we love pizza with finely chopped leftover ham; it's very similar to pizza places that use the crumbled style of Canadian bacon)

How do you like to cook ham?

Linking up at Orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday

My Spring Mantel {Spring has Sprung!}

Spring officially started this week! Yay, yay!! Spring has become my favorite season of the year. I just love everything about it. It does my heart good to see the tulip trees, daffodils, and pear trees all starting to bloom. Our local mall has a beautiful display of cherry trees, and they are about to bloom too. Can't wait! Of course, the warmer weather, sunshine, spring storms, cheerful robins, and even Daylight Savings Time is all part of what I love about this time of year. My husband's parents have a small farm and some baby goats were just born this week as well. My boys have enjoyed watching them!

So, in honor of the beginning of spring, I want to show y'all my spring mantel....




I love it! It's so bright and cheerful. I really wanted to incorporate the things about spring that really make me happy, so that meant birds, flowers, gardening, and the colors pink and green. I pulled our National Audobon Society field guides off the bookshelf, and featured them together in stacks on my mantel. Now they are in easy reach for when we want to look up flowers, trees, and even insects (my boys' favorite!).

I love looking at these Indian bookends! They are extra special to me because I found them among the things leftover from my grandparents farm home. I'm not sure where they came from or whose they were, but as soon as I saw them, I wanted them! I knew my boys would like them too. They fit into my nature theme for my spring mantel, so I decided to use them to hold the gardening books. They make me smile every time I look at them! :)

Green eucalyptus and light pink chrysanthemums! (I will forever know how to spell that word thanks to Anne of Green Gables ;-) Love!

These bird silhouettes are one of my favorite things about my mantel. Hope to have a post soon on how I made them. Easy peasy!

We have a really cool place nearby called Terra Studios. They have some beautiful grounds with fun things to do and look at (one thing being a giant chess set!). Inside their studio, they display and sell handmade collectibles from local artisans. Anyway, one of the things they do is make little glass birds. You can look through a big glass window and watch the fascinating process of how they make these little birds. Then you can buy one of them! So that's where we got our little bluebird. Isn't he cute? :) He just says "spring" to me!

Of course, I always have to have a wreath on my front door! I like this simple one with light green and white colors.

Here's part of my spring decor...my "sweet William". :-) He's my favorite part!

Last but not least, I printed off this cute (and free!) spring printable from Simply Klassic, framed it in one of my chunky, spray-painted frames from a previous project, and added the sweet little banner from some scrapbook paper I already had on hand. Did I mention that I didn't spend a cent on my mantel decor? Just used stuff I already had. That may be the best part! :)

So here's one more look at everything!

 

Hope you get a chance to put out a few of your own spring decorations. And more importantly, hope you get outside and enjoy the wonders of spring!

Spring has sprung!!! :)

Linking up at this year's Spring Hop Linky Party