Food Update

Last week I spoke about the documentary called Food Inc.  I decided it was time to change our diets and if you missed that post, you can find it here.  A couple of days after the show I went to Fred Meyer's, and purchased a couple of items.  I was going to slowly add more items so the family is not overwhelmed with the changes.  I bought some organic yogurt, almond butter, macaroni and cheese, and Pirate's Booty (a favorite of my daughter's and I, plus it was on sale).  My children loved the yogurt, but the almond butter my daughter was not to fond of.  My son on the other hand, had no clue and just mentioned that he thought the bread tasted funny.  

Today the family and I went back to Fred's to make a larger purchase.  Today, I bought more yogurt, milk, salsa (my downfall), more Pirate's Booty, frozen strawberries, another box of macaroni and cheese, green pepper, carrots, and Horizon's milk on the go.  Then we went to the Commissary to do our regular shopping trip.  When we were there I was able to pick up a six-pack of organic eggs (on sale), string cheese, a box of cereal and two yogurts (on sale).  I did notice, while shopping that I was more cautious on reading the labels and explaining to my daughter the difference between organic and all-natural. 

I am pretty happy with my purchases for this week and how my family is accepting the new changes.  My friend Brandi over at Real Relevant and Relational, found an organic farm that delivers organic fruit, vegetables, and herbs to Alaska to our front door! She has placed an order which should arrive in the next week.  I am excited to hear about the review because I will be placing an order if it works at well.  If so, you can plan on a post!  Also, I have received many comments from the Blizzard Blog Hop who have made changes to their diets, so I am excited to stop by their blogs and find out how they are doing.

Here is a breakdown of what I bought today and the total price:

1 box of cereal
6-pack of eggs
2 tubs of individual yogurt
1 pack of string cheese
8  milks on the go
1 box of macaroni and cheese
2 boxes of yogurt tubes
1 jar of salsa
1 bag of strawberries
2 bags of Pirate's Booty
1 gallon of milk
1 green pepper
1 bag of baby carrots

Total Price: $51.25

Multitude Monday 82-90

 

82.  My coffee/tea time with Danelle over at Home Ever After.  We had a wonderful couple of hours talking and catching up.  Oh did I mention she will be having a baby any day now? Congratulations my friend!

83.  Hubby's day off, today.

84.  My son won second place in his Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby.  I will be posting about it this week and will give you my thoughts on how he won.

85.  Again, my church family.  I am making some wonderful friendships, and as a military family it can be difficult to find a great church.

86.  Happy that Kaitlyn and I did not catch the tummy bug that the hubs and son caught.

87.  Forgiveness, mercy, and grace all given to me from my Father.

88.  The ability to fly home three times this year.

89.  Conversations with family and being lifted up with their biblical guidance.  Thank you!

90.  My life.

Military Monday Blog Hop

Welcome, welcome, welcome!  You have stumbled upon (or purposely found) the Military Monday Blog Hop!  While your gracious hosts are military wives and blogging connoisseurs, we invite all of you, military or not, to join in this great new blog hop to get your week started and your blog following grown!  Feel free to link up as many blogs as you have - but please don't leave links to your facebook, twitter or other blog hops (those links will be deleted!).  You can also share this blog hop on your own blog, if you please.... we totally encourage it! 

The guidelines are quite simple here!

• grab the Military Monday Blog Hop button and post it as a new blog post or somewhere on your blog so we can be sure you are at the right hop!

<a href="http://marineparents-blog.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b422/taprilcrosier/MilitaryMondayButton1.jpg" border="0"></a>

• follow all three hosts {just click the buttons below!} - we promise to follow back, just give us a few days to catch up with everyone!

follow as many, or as few, of the linked blogs as you like - but remember, the more you follow, the more followers you will get in return! be sure to leave a comment that you stopped by from the Military Monday Blog Hop and leave your blog address!!

check out this week’s “spotlight blog” – So Easy Being Green!

1. What is the name of your blog, and why did you choose it?
So Easy Being Green - When I decided to cloth diaper my daughter, I thought it was a great chance to "go green" in other aspects of my life. My blog is about that and the Kermit the Frog quote immediately popped into my head, when I was thinking about a blog name. The funny thing is... it really IS so easy being green!

2. What is your main purpose for blogging?
I started my blog for personal reasons. I wanted to share more pictures of my daughter with family and friends. Then, I began to use the opportunity to try new products and offer eco-friendly giveaways to my readers.

3. After blogging, what takes up the rest of your day?
My rambunctious, now crawling, diva of a daughter, Miss Sophia!

4. What are your top three favorite blog to reads?
Marine Parents, of course!
Stuff Parents Need
A Year With Mom and Dad

Thanks for joining us, and we hope you make some great new blog friends today!  now, let's get hoppin'!

Blizzard Blog Hop

Welcome my fellow Blizzard Bloghoppers to The Forever Neighbor! 
 
Grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and let the chatting begin...

I am a military spouse, homeschooling mother of two, full-time college student, and a daughter of Christ.  My family and I are currently stationed in The Last Frontier and loving every moment.

What you will find here at TFN is the life of a military spouse, homeschooling my two blessings, and my faith in God.  At times I post recipes but of course I have to cook in order for that to happen. Each Monday I co-host in a military (and civilian) blog hop with Marine Parents and Life With My Littles.  I hope you can stop by and link up each week, we would loooove to have you.  I am currently in the process of starting to switch my family over to healthier eating and more all-natural way of living.  This new journey that we are on will be interesting but it will be well worth it.   
 
Well, I need to refill my cup of coffee, and when I return I would love to hear about you......

Food Inc.

I have heard of this documentary called Food Inc.  I knew if I watched it my view on food would change.  I was the child that grew up on processed food and kool-aid.  When I had my children I tried to feed them healthier foods, but what I did not know was what I was feeding them.  After I moved to Maryland I met my bestest friend in the whole world, you can see her blog here.  Angela taught me many things about organic food and all-natural cleaners.  I like to call her my hippie friend ;)  Anyways, Angela opened my eyes to many things such as the hormones in dairy products and chemicals in cleaning supplies.  Slowly over time I started to replace items that we were using for more all-natural cleaners and more organic foods.

Moving to Alaska had really taken a toll on our new lifestyle that I was creating in Maryland.  The prices were much higher than Maryland and I started to feel defeated.  Over a year later I realized I have gained 25 pounds since arriving to Alaska, and my energy had decreased dramatically.  I knew exactly what caused this weight gain and energy loss.  It was not the lack of sunlight or the freezing cold weather but the food I was eating and the lack of exercise.  I was feeding my body soda, processed food, and depriving it of water.  So this past week I said enough was enough.  I went to the library and picked up the book by Michael Pollan called "In Defense Of Food."  I needed to educate myself on how to feed my family properly and learn how to read labels.

I talked to a dear friend of mine who recommended two movies to watch.  One was called "The Beautiful Truth" and "Food Inc."  Later in the evening I put the two blessings to bed and turned on the movies.  I could not believe what I was learning and what I was doing to my family's bodies.  I would highly recommend these two documentaries to anyone who wants to know about what you are eating.  

Today, I have cleaned out some of the junk we had in the cabinets and come payday I will be shopping at Fred Meyers for our food, or at least a majority of our food.  To some this may not matter but to me it is important.  I know many people who say "I have eaten these types of food my entire life and nothing is wrong with me."  I do not argue with that because I was one of those people, but I do not  know how I look internally.  I do know that when I was eating the processed food and soda I felt horrible and lacked energy.

Honestly, I never really fed my body properly and today that changes.

Multitude Monday 71-81

 

So many blessings to be thankful for:

71.  Thankful the tummy bug my son caught was a short one.

72.  No one else caught the bug.

73.  I was home when my son caught the bug.  The hubby and I were suppose to leave the next day for an overnight getaway.

74.  Meeting Debbie over at The Architect and The Artist.  I wish we could of talked but it was very busy and I could only introduce myself.  I just love her blog.

75.  Hearing my son say he wants his mom because we all know he is a daddy's boy.

76.  Conversations with new friends.  New friends that will become friends for life.

77.  Warmer weather in Alaska.

78.  Taxes are done.

79.  Fellowship with friends.

80.  Telling my sister we will be home for the wedding.

81.  Hearing the excitement in my sisters voice that we will be home for her wedding. 
 

Military Monday Blog Hop

Welcome, welcome, welcome!  You have stumbled upon (or purposely found) the Military Monday Blog Hop!  While your gracious hosts are military wives and blogging connoisseurs, we invite all of you, military or not, to join in this great new blog hop to get your week started and your blog following grown!  Feel free to link up as many blogs as you have - but please don't leave links to your facebook, twitter or other blog hops (those links will be deleted!).  You can also share this blog hop on your own blog, if you please.... we totally encourage it! 

The guidelines are quite simple here!

• Grab the Military Monday Blog Hop button and post it as a new blog post or somewhere on your blog so we can be sure you are at the right hop!

<a href="http://marineparents-blog.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1042.photobucket.com/albums/b422/taprilcrosier/MilitaryMondayButton1.jpg" border="0"></a>

• Follow all three hosts {just click the buttons below!} - we promise to follow back, just give us a few days to catch up with everyone!

Follow as many, or as few, of the linked blogs as you like - but remember, the more you follow, the more followers you will get in return! be sure to leave a comment that you stopped by from the Military Monday Blog Hop and leave your blog address!!

Be sure to give a very warm welcome to our newest host – The Forever Neighbor! we are so excited to have her on board *wink*


Thanks for joining us, and we hope you make some great new blog friends today!  Now, let's get hoppin'!  

To My Mommy

Dear Mommy~

I miss you and love you very much.  I wish we could be together on this beautiful day to celebrate your birthday.  One day that time will come.  I want you to know that you have taught me and my two blessings many things and we love you for that.  You are there when I need to talk, cry, and vent and each time you have advice and some tears of your own to help guide me on my way.  God knew what He was doing when He gave you as my mom.  And for that I thank God everyday that you are my mommy.

I love you.

Happy Birthday!
XOXOX

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

Today for Wordless Wednesday, my hubby took some great pictures of my son and his pinewood derby car.  Unfortunately, the pictures were on my husband's phone and I forgot to upload them before he left for work.  So needless to say, I will use them next week. 

On another note, I am exhausted!  Today, my two blessings and I went to our church to prepare cookies.  No big deal, right?  Well, did I mention that our goal was to have 1,008 cookies for our women's group that was occurring this evening (Wednesday)?  No, we did not need to make 1,008 cookies because on Sunday many people from the church signed up to make cookie,s and to bring them this evening.  Our goal was 84 dozen cookies and by Sunday afternoon, after everyone had signed up, we were at 76 dozen cookies.  So we were short eight dozens.  No big deal!

We arrived at the church around 3pm and I did not get home until after 9pm!  I am exhausted!  I am happy to report that God has poured many blessings upon us this evening, and cookies!  Our final count for cookies was 1,362 cookies which comes out to 112 dozen cookies!!! Praise God!

All 1,362 cookies bagged and ready for delivery

The cookies that were donated from our church family, and the cookies that myself and other ladies made at church, will be used for deploying soldiers and their families.  We have a Chaplain that will picking up the cookies tomorrow and distributing them out to 672 soldiers and their families. Our goal was to fill 500 sandwich bags and we were able to bag 672!  All the honor and glory goes to Him!!!

Now I am off to dreamland where I am sure I will dream about cookies.

Never Forsake You

Being torn in so many ways.

Not knowing how to feel or what to do. 

Walking lost in a world of chaos. 

You look right, you look left, not knowing which way to turn.  More confusion, more stress, and more pain.  What do you do? Do you continue to walk lost? Do you ask for help but from whom? Who can help you deal with this ever changing of times?  You fall to your knees in despair.  Your strength is gone.  You cannot do it anymore.  Your fight is over.  You cry out for Him. You ask Him for strength, wisdom, and guidance.  He reaches out to you.  His arms wrapping around you.  Loving you.  Taking your burdens.  He helps you to your feet.  You begin to feel the love He is expressing to you.  You know you are not alone. He is with you and will not forsake you. 

As you begin to walk in the world of chaos, you fear nothing because you know He is with you.  The negatives you once saw is now allowing you to see the positives.  You long for more of Him.  You want to be the light.  You want to shout that you are free. No matter the world around you, you know He is with you. 

You know the more you "trust in the Lord with all heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."  Proverbs 3:5-6
The more you trust and lean on Him the less looking right , the less looking left with occur.  Focus on Him and your paths will be straight.
 
"Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

Menu Plan Jan 17-21

I have come to realize that I did not make a menu for last week.  Honestly, last week was so busy that we really just ate what we could find.  This week we are busy but I am making some easy meals and I hope that the hubby will be home for some of our dinners especially Thursday.

Monday~ pancakes
                mac and cheese

Tuesday~ french toast sticks
              grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches

Wednesday~ waffles
                     your choice
 
Thursday~ cereal
                 crock-pot ham with mashed potatoes and green bean casserole (hubby's favorite)
 
Friday~ bagels
             pizza

For more menu ideas jump on over to Org Junkie.
      

Multitude Monday 61-70

 

I have had such an unbelievable week that I have not stop praising God.  He has done so much for me spiritually and has brought so many wonderful people into my life.  I am very excited for this week and cannot wait to see what God has in store for me.

61.  My church family.  I know I said this last week but they have been such a huge blessing to me and my family.

62.  Our Saturday night study group.  On Saturday we attended a Bible study group/fellowship with members from our church.  It was so refreshing and welcoming that I know where we will be every Saturday night.

63.  A new Bible study that I start tonight with two close friends.  Tour of Duty by Sara Horn is the title of the study and each week Sara hosts the study over at  Wives of Faith.  This study is based for military wives who are facing deployment or will be facing deployment.

64.  My Wednesday night women's group.  I lead a women's group at our church on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday and one of the ladies mentioned yesterday that she would love for us to meet every week.  I have to agree with her; we have so much fun and laughter.

65.  Four day weekends.

66.  My daughter and her new blog.  I love hearing the new ideas she wants to write about.  Please stop by and visit her over at A Child in God's Army.

67.  My Salvation

68.  My hubby and all that he does for our family.

69.  Watching my hubby be a daddy with our two blessings.

70.  Dinner with a family from our church.  We had a great time in their home and the fellowship.

God has just poured down so many blessings for us this week that I am overwhelmed with emotions. 

Francesca Battistelli - Beautiful, Beautiful

Beautiful, Beautiful is one of my most favorite songs and I wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Blessings! 

The Conversation Begins...

 The conversation begins with "little over a year from now, training and the long hours will begin."  The emotional roller coaster begins.  We prepare emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. 

The conversation begins with "few months from now I will be leaving and we need to sit down and update our wills." More preparing.

The conversation begins with "a few weeks from now...."

The conversation begins with "a few days from now I will be leaving and I need to get your honey-to-do list done."

The conversation begins with "I love you and will see you soon."

Preparing.

As you hold your son as he watches his daddy leave, you try to explain why this one time he cannot go with his hero.  You hold your two blessings close as you watch your third leave.

Preparing.

All you can do is pray.

You pray that God will wrap His arms around your precious blessing and bring him home safe.  You pray that your blessing that God has brought into your life, will be safe from illness, injury and death.  You pray God's protection upon him. 

You long to hear his voice, to feel his touch.  To say "I love you" just one more time. 

No matter how much we prepare, we will never be ready for this emotional roller coaster. 

But all you can do is pray.
 
You pray that God will give you the strength you need to make it through.  You pray that you can be a good mother, father, teacher, spiritual leader, and friend that your two blessings need.  You pray for your husband.

All you can do is pray for God's protection.  All you long for is your husband and the daddy of your children to arrive home.  Safe.

Three Blessings And Mario Kart

For more Wordless Wednesday jump on over to 5 Minutes For Mom.

Blessings All Around

 

This past week God has shown me so much and I have so much to be thankful for.  God knows what our future holds and the changes that are approaching. He has set so many people in my path to help me with these changes. A lot has gone on last week but I saw so many blessings that my heart is full with joy and love.

61.  My son announcing that he wants to give his own money to the man standing on the corner holding the sign.  (proud momma moment).

62.  My children practicing the Fruits of the Spirit.

63.  My church family.  They have surrounded us with love, encouragement and support for our family during this time of change. 

64.  Daddy/Daughter dances.

 65.  Spending time with a good friend while our daughters and husbands are at the daddy/daughter dance.

66.  CHRISTmas on ice in North Pole.

 67.  My baby brother who has step forward to serve our country.  He starts his training as a Marine today.  (proud sister moment).

68.   Homeschooling my two blessings. 

69.  Spending time with my daughter.

70.  My husband.
 
I am looking forward to what God has in store for me this week. How about you?

Monkey Bread

My family loves monkey bread and it is such an easy recipe.  My homemade biscuits never turn out, so I buy the Pillsbury Grands biscuits because I can usually get those at a good price.  One can of Grands biscuits is enough for my family of four.  I make monkey bread two different ways depending on how much time I have.  One way is cutting each biscuit into fours and have bite size pieces or not cutting the biscuits. 

Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury Grand biscuits
melted butter
cinnamon and sugar mixture
*sorry I do not measure these items

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Dip entire biscuit into melted butter.

3.  Sprinkle biscuit with cinnamon and sugar mixture until evenly coated.  We like the biscuit with a lot of the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

4.  Bake biscuits as directed.

Ready to go into oven

5. Enjoy!

Our Two Lifesavers for School

I am a huge list maker and I strive on schedules.  I may not follow the schedule to a "T" but I love having them around because I feel more organized throughout the day.  Here is a new schedule that I set up for our school day.  I have made minor adjustments to it such as waking the blessings up at 0730 instead of 0700.  Having the schedule hang on the fridge is a great visual for the blessings to see what their day will hold.  As stated previously, I may not follow it to a "T" but it really helps me to prepare for the week and the next day.  

Another visual that I have set up in the schoolroom was a dry erase board, that I use I write the assignments that need to be done for the day.  I have noticed the blessings really enjoy the dry erase board because they are able to see what needs to be done.  Prior to the board I would tell them what needs to be done but with the board they can see what is expected of them and when each assignment is complete they can erase that assignment off the board.  I love watching their faces as they erase another accomplishment off the board.

I am very happy to have these visuals for our day.  It is a great way for the blessings to see what they need to do each day and also what their day will entail.  These two items have cut down on the questions "Mom, what do I need to do next" "Mom, what are we doing today?"

What are some items that you use for your school day or household that help you stay organized? 

For more homeschooling ideas jump on over to the Homeschool Village.

Adjustments Have Been Made

The whole month of December there was little school going on in our home, if any.  Of course this was unintentional.  We usually take the week prior to CHRISTmas off and return to school when most public schools return.  However, not this year and over our break I was very upset with myself.  My children, my blessings, rely on me for their schooling.  Their education is in my hands.  So over the course of our break I got down to business. 
  
I like to plan weekly because that works really well for me.  I wrote down everything that needed to be done and spread it out through the course of the week.  I then printed and copied any sheets that needed to be done for the week.  I gathered the art supplies that were needed for our projects and set those aside.  Any items that I needed prior to the school week I went out to get (of course living in Fairbanks this is not easy, I had to go to three different stores).

I was overall happy with my planning for the week.  However, I still was not overjoyed with excitement.  While looking at our plans and the upcoming activities I knew that we needed more hours in the day.  I decided to go online and print off a weekly calendar that listed the hours in the day (more to follow on this tomorrow).  I then proceeded with filling in a timetable for our week.  I decided that we HAD to wake early in the morning; no more sleeping late for us.  I then decided that the two blessings needed to get back into their chores.  I then printed off a chore chart and filled that in.  After completing these tasks I was then overjoyed with excitement.  The blessings on the other hand, well, they will get use to it.

Monday morning arrived very early for me, 5am, but I was ready for the day.  I woke up the two blessings at 0730 and they proceeded with chores and breakfast.  At 0830 they had finished all that was to be done so I allowed 30 minutes of television.  By 0900 we were sitting at the table ready to begin our school. 

I am happy to report that Monday went great and everything that needed to be complete was complete.  Tuesday, well, I can say we started school at 0915 and our chores were completed after school.  We did sleep in until 0830 but like my daughter said "I really needed that extra sleep mom." No argument for me.  Today was a little longer with our school due to an unexpected trip to the doctor for my son, that took over three hours (he is fine), but all of our school that needed to be complete was complete. 

Two days into our new schedule and I am loving it.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring? Or should I say I hope I awake at 0530 as scheduled.

Multitude Monday 51-60

 

It has been a month since I have wrote down my blessings and I have so many to be thankful for.  

51.  Celebrating Christmas Day with my hubby and children.  This time next year, hubby will be overseas fighting for our freedom, so this year was very special.

52.  The warm weather embracing Alaska.

53.  Date nights with the hubby.

54.  Playing board games with the blessings.

55.  Shadow.  Our new member of the family.  He was given to us from a dear friend of ours who needed to place him in a new home.

56.  Ringing in the New Year with a dear couple who have blessed our life.

57.  Watching my children open their CHRISTmas presents and being overjoyed with their gifts and not upset for what they did not get.

58.  Having the last two weeks to spend with my family.  No school for the blessings or myself, and quality time with the family.

59.  Being Mom of the Year (or so my blessings tell me).  Ice cream for breakfast and a fort in the living room that stays for days; a child's dream!

60.  Being able to visit with dear friends who have blessed my life in so many ways.

First Menu Plan of 2011

Happy New Year to all! I pray everyone had a great CHRISTmas and Happy New Year. Life is changing drastically in our home and I will write about that later this week. Over my two weeks of vacation time I have decided some things need to change or be enforced more. One of those things are my menus. I need the menus to help me stay organize with our meals. We have ate out more and more these past few months due to a lack of planning. Here is our menu plan for this week:

Monday~ pancakes
                 chicken tetrazzini

Tuesday~monkey bread
                 crock-pot roast with potatoes

Wednesday~ french toast
                       spaghetti

Thursday~ cereal
                   chicken fried rice

Friday~ monkey bread
              pizza for kids; dinner out with hubby for date night

We are having monkey bread twice this week because I have some biscuits that need to be ate this week and the kids love monkey bread (recipe to follow this week).

For more menu ideas jump on over to Org Junkie.