Yum, yum, yum, yum!

I'll preface this post by saying that I am not a very confident cook. For a long time I wouldn't bring meals to new moms at church because I was afraid that the family wouldn't like it. Or when we have people come over I make recipes that I know other people I know and trust have made and enjoyed. I'm very hesitant in the kitchen to make up my own recipes, or to deviate from a written recipe. And to be honest, very often I do not try to cook with new ingredients (until recently that is!) Last week it was Eggplant Parmesan, a recipe from my all time favorite magazine cookbook, Everyday Food (best gift ever 2 years ago which keeps coming every month!) And it was delish! Even Greg liked it, who was very hesitant after my mom bought it, saying "Is she planning for US to eat that thing?"

I was very excited when last week, I received my Bzz Agent kit for President Cheese. As a Bzz Agent, I get to try products for FREE and give my honest opinion (no pay for doing so.) So I eagerly looked through my Bzz Kit, and then went through my tried and true cookbooks, and discovered this recipe for Chicken with Feta Cheese. And if you can't already tell from my post title, it was delish, and.....wait for it, wait for it...

Greg even liked it, no, loved it! And this from the man who does not like, or more accurately, hates white food and creamy food. Well, he got both in the meal and devoured 2 big chicken breasts. The President Feta Cheese made the chicken moist, and boy, oh boy, was it packed with flavor! Oh and the aroma while I was cooking the chicken, fabulous! And the best part, I felt like a confident cook! I used an ingredient I normally wouldn't (I LOVE feta cheese, but the extent of my using it has been on salads!), and the result was perfect. Not the same old, same old chicken, I've been known to make.

As I said before, I get to try products for free as a Bzz Agent, and as part of the marketing, pass out coupons for others to try the product. I have 5 $1 off coupons to give away. So, if you want one, leave me a message with a recipe you would like to try using President Cheese and the first 5 people to do so, will get a coupon!

An Easter Hunt

As I was flipping through Family Fun magazine at my chiropractor's office, I discovered an awesome alternative to the Easter Egg Hunt. This year we have been to 2 Easter Egg Hunts, where the kids have received tons of candy, plus we are still making our way through the Valentine's candy, so I loved the idea of having kids search for puzzle pieces in eggs. This way, the kids still have the hunt minus all of the sugar and candy! And lo and behold, I had already bought a puzzle on clearance from Target that I was going to include with Charlotte's Easter basket. However, the puzzle I bought was a floor size puzzle with giant pieces, that would not fit in plastic eggs, so I found some colorful ribbon in my scrapbooking supplies, tied a ribbon around each puzzle piece, "hid" the pieces, and gave Charlotte a basket to let her at 'em.

The result: a big hit! ((At least for Charlotte. Elijah was too busy running around the backyard and tumbling down the hill to participate!) And this hunt came in two parts, because after finding all of the pieces, Charlotte then had a puzzle to put together!

Still Learning!

Apparently I need a good lesson or two in patience! And to keep trusting that the Lord will provide! I am doing a clear out the clutter challenge, based on Money Saving Mom's blog, and cleaned out our linen closet on Tuesday. As I did I realized Charlotte's hair accessories are just OUT OF CONTROL! So, I wanted a Caboodle box for her (surely you gals of the 70s and 80s remember the Caboodle box?) Now, instead of running out to the store ASAP (which I really do not do), I went to freecycle and posted a wanted for a Caboodle box. At the same time I offered a bunch of items, which go figure were taken right away, but anyway I digress! So, today I went to Target (had to get the oil changed in the car and Target is right across the street.) Lo and behold, there were Caboodle boxes! So, I bought one! I come home and check email and I have not one, but TWO responses from people letting me know they have Caboodle boxes I can have (for FREE, hence the name of Freecycle.) Oh boy, if only I had waited to get the Caboodle box I now need to return. If only I trusted that the Lord knows the desires of our hearts (and yes, He even cares about getting something for free rather than paying $12.99 to help with my sanity and organizing!) So, yes, I'm still learning!

Monthly Financial Checkup

Ugh, I so didn't want to write this post, but I figured we need to be honest in our paying down the debt goal-good or bad. In March, we put 0% towards paying off my school loans. Are we disappointed? Are we discouraged? Nope. At least not anymore (since like I said, full disclosure here!)

However, I think March (well, April, when we went over everything) was our biggest learning month.

And you want to know want our biggest mistake was?





Not trusting God enough, or shall I say not allowing Him to do the work in our financial situation. Nor giving Him credit where credit is due.
Here's what I think, OK, know.

I know that we didn't pray and ask God when He wants us to pay off our debt. It was all me, and I figured, God says debt is bad, so why wouldn't He honor MY plan, however, I KNOW God's plan and timing and ways are perfect. Does this mean, we are going to stop from trying to attain OUR goal? No way! Why?

Because I know my God is a very big God and can do GREAT things. He knows the desire of my heart and knows how much I want to pay off the debt. I also know I need to ask for His help, and that's where we faltered in March. I also know that no matter what happens, I still need to praise God and thank Him for putting us on the road to debt free living.

I also know that since we had a good February which we did give God the glory for, but only once, and we neglected to invite Him into our March finances. We felt February was easy, and hoped that all the other months would be easy. And because it was "easy" we then forgot to ask God to make our other months easy. It became easy to forget that God was the reason February was an awesome month! I do know that it's often in the difficult times we turn to God, so that may be why March was a difficult month. We are completely giving God April!

I am studying the book of Genesis in Bible Study right now, and currently the life of Joseph. Here's a verse that really stuck out to me and that I want to remember through this process. Joseph had been in prison for 2 years after he interpreted the dream of the cupbearer. The cupbearer remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about him after Pharaoh's 2 very disturbing dreams. After Pharaoh asked Joseph to interpret the dreams, Joseph said in Genesis 41:16, "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." This just serves as another reminder that we (Greg and I) can't pay down my school loans, but God can!

Quotes of the Day

As we were getting ready this morning, Charlotte was sitting on our bed, and Elijah was walking across it. I picked up Elijah, gave him a kiss and then tossed him back onto the bed (this is something we have done with both kids before) to which Charlotte says, "Don't throw Eli, he's not a ball."

Umm, OK, not really a throw, but rather a playful flop.

Me: I'm just playing with him.
Charlotte: You're our mom, you're not supposed to play.

I'm guessing this is because Greg is usually the rough and tumble player, especially now as I am pregnant!

This morning at Bible Study the kids learned about how Jesus loves the little children, which I knew was the lesson because they always tell us parents what the kids learned about before we go pick them up.
I go down to meet Charlotte and she says, "Mom, we learned about the children today."
Me: Oh, yeah, and who loved the children?
Charlotte: Jesus didn't.

Oh my! What are they teaching her?

Just kidding, I know she is getting sound biblical teaching. Charlotte does have a difficult time with language when it comes to "not," as she usually says, "Why not?" as opposed to just why, and I'm guessing this is similar!

I'll Take It

Charlotte: Mommy, what does 5 start with?
Me: Well, what does five start with?
Charlotte:, fffffffffffff, F!
Me: Yes, that's right! Good job, you are SO smart!
Charlotte: Thank you!
Me: Who made you so smart?
Charlotte: Mommy!

Disclaimer: As I asked the question, "Who made you so smart?" I was really hoping she would say, "God," but I'll take it!

An argument

We're about to head out to run some errands, and here is a conversation that just took place.

Me: Charlotte, please put your shoes on.
Charlotte: Can I wear these shoes, mom? (As she holds up her black patent leather shoes that are too small.)
Me: Charlotte, those shoes are too small. They hurt your feet.
Charlotte: No, mom they do fit. Stop arguing with me mom.
Greg (from kitchen): Are you kidding me? (Under his breath, but I could still hear him from the living room.)
Me: ???????? (I am just too dumbfounded to speak as I walk into the kitchen!)
Greg: Well, you're going to have to address this.
Me to Charlotte: Charlotte, I am not arguing with you.
Charlotte: Yes, you are mom.
Me: When I ask you to do something and you don't obey by not picking out new shoes, that is not arguing. You need to obey mommy and daddy right away when we ask you to do something. You wore those shoes on Sunday and took them off. Do you remember why?
Charlotte: They hurt my feet.
Me: Yes, that's right. They hurt your feet because they are too small. Please put on these other shoes.

Which she did.

And just for the record, Charlotte's 3 1/2, not 10, 14, or 16! What will we have to look forward to at those ages?!?