What It Means to Be a Mother in 2014

Today in the year 2014 being a mother is something much more than carrying a child for 9 months, giving birth (by whatever means), adopting a child, or becoming a parent again of your grandchildren. Being a mother in 2014 means knowing that each and everything that happens to you, positive or negative will inevitably affect your children and your family causing you more heartache than you ever imagined possible. This past week I was laid off from my job and while it was only part time and I was only there for just a few days shy of 3 months it was quite a hard pill to swallow. As mother's it hurts us to see our children upset, mad, sick, or any number of other emotions they may go through. However, when you are handed the horse pill of being unemployed with children and know that you are responsible for caring for them, and currently have no way to do that, the world suddenly starts to spin at a very rapid speed. My husband has been out of work since October and when I found work it was a true blessing. It was part time, but it allowed me to work, my husband to watch our youngest and pick up our 2 oldest from school and then work on the long weekends while I was off.  I told myself when I got this job that I was going to be a shining light for Jesus and never deny Him or the love I had for Him, or the relationship we shared. I truly believe I was a shining light for Him and I met some people there who I came to respect and who were very sweet people. However, I know that even though this is a season I was not ready for, it is a season that the Lord has placed before me. Our preacher is doing a series on Seasons in life and one of the things he has been speaking on is the ability to wait "wait well" when the Lord places us in one of those unwanted or undesirable seasons. I know He loves me and my family, and has nothing but great plans for us, Jeremiah 29:11. I just pray that I can wait well, praise Him in this storm, love Him despite my selfish ways, and show everyone I meet that He lives in me and I will be strong because of Him, Philippians 4:13. He has not left me, He has not forsaken me, and I know He loves me because He made me to love Him.

         

Sick Day Fun

What happens when you go to church every Sunday, never miss a sermon or activity and then all of a sudden you as a mother become sick and then one of your children becomes sick? Continue read to below to find out.
I love my church family like they are an extension of my little family at home. My heart swells to know that I can worship with them, praise the Lord with them, and fellowship with them every week. However, it is a sad day in my house when someone is sick and we don't go to church.
My middle child DD6 decided that since she was sick this past Sunday with me that she would occupy her time and cover her upset in not being at church, by dressing up our almost 10 year old boxer Diamond (she's a girl) in some dress up clothes.

                                 She is such a good sport! She has got to be the cutest senior boxer there is. She has been with us since the year we got pregnant with our oldest in 2004. I have nursed her to health from being hit by a car just before she turned 1 year old, she has protected us from the canister toting bug man, covered our couches and black pants in fur, and dug holes in our yard in order to bury invisible bones :-)

My daughter adorned her with a beautiful pink tutu and some gorgeous bows for accessories and let me tell you, to be as old as she is, she was a trooper. I love that she is so good with our kids, listens to them, lays with them and on them.

She is our pet, we are her family. She is my first born and I am her mama. We love her just as she belongs here, and she loves us like no one else ever will. Sick day fun was definitely worth it.

It's Been A Long Time Since I Saw Your Face

Now that I have surely summoned some 80's or 90's song lyrics to draw your attention in I need to confess my lack of posting in this last week has been just sad. I am sorry and feel completely horrible for it. I mean how could I have not managed to find time between working 8 hours a day, driving an hour a day, cleaning house, caring for 3 children in the afternoon (2 of which had homework), loving a husband who thinks I am insane, going to church, and finding time to enroll in school and go to church?! 
I know I seriously have to get my hands on some time management tips and that my dear friends will be next weeks post. To prevent from over apologizing and breaking promises I will only make 1 post a week and possibly 1 weekend post for the time. I want to provide quality content, ideas, recipes, and others ideas but cannot do that on a day to day basis.
With that said I would love to hear from you what things you want to see from me? I know that my blog is very new but I want to provide content that my readers like. I could do a sort of round robin idea where the 1st week of each month is a specific topic, the 2nd a different and so on, with the weekends being random.  I plan on trying to have guests posts as often as possible because I love having someone come sit at my place for a while and share a bit of themselves. However, I want to keep what I provide unique to me, so I think I am going to pray on it and hope that you will pray with me and provide any feedback necessary.    Feel free to comment below or to send me feedback via the feedback form located through the tab at the top.

Kid's Craft Saturday: DIY Stickers using Xyron Sticker Maker

Happy Saturday! My kids have been looking forward to this craft all week long. Although this craft could have been more detailed using more items, I used what we had around the house already and made it simple enough that all 3 of my children could participate without as little assistance as possible. I find that when my children are able to complete a task with little help, especially in creating something, they feel more independent and accomplished.  Today's craft consists of making stickers that are either permanent or re-positionable. I used construction paper, scissors, glue, stickers, tracing paper, colored pencils (pretty much any craft supply I could think of that we had to make stickers), Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker with both permanent refill and repositionable refill. I have included pictures and some clickable links for your convenience if decide to try the craft yourself.

  Making a sticker is super easy and the kids loved it, because they were able to be creative in an individual way. First we just cut out various shapes or size of construction paper (being sure it was small enough to fit in the sticker maker).  

 Next we decorated the paper however we chose by using stickers, markers or other shapes of construction paper. Once we decorated how we liked we then fed the object through the sticker maker.

                        Once you feed the object through, you will tear it off then rub from one end to the other, making sure that the entire back of the object gets sticky.  

                            Next we peel the plastic off the top and then remove the object from the white backing. The entire back of the object should be sticky to the touch.  

                            The sticker in the picture happens to be repositionable. I have a few pictures of the sticker being placed on a wall and then being removed. My oldest (in the picture) rubbed the wall when I asked him to remove it and said, "wow the wall isn't even sticky!"   

  It was a fun project because it didn't take much and the kids were allowed free creative reigns. If you try this or have a similar super easy craft, share a link or picture below so I can take a look.

Current Events: My Spin on Phil Robertson and the Norovirus

The past few weeks Phil Robertson of the well known show Duck Dynasty has been criticized and revered by many for his answer to a question regarding homosexuality. Now here is my view:

First Amendment allows everyone here in America the right to say as they wish freely. Now just because Phil's question was based on his biblical and spiritual beliefs doesn't not negate his First Amendment right. However, because he is a prominent figure in television and vocal about his beliefs in Christ people seem to care more about what he says because they want to catch him acting unchristian. 

I understand that thinking but I don't agree with it. I will tell you the same thing he said. I do not agree with homosexuality. God says that it is immoral and I believe His word. However, that does not mean I will judge someone or dislike them because of it. I will love you just the same and you are still a child of God, loved by him no less. 

Current event two is spreading fast in my part of the United States so I really wanted to touch on it. There is a current strong strain of norovirus that is spreading through several states at a fast rate with serious symptoms and a long shelf life. Several friends and their families have had it. Here is my take on it:

I believe this virus is like the plague. It puts you down for several days unable to walk, eat, or function like a living human being. However , many people are still contagious up to two weeks after they feel better. In this case I ask you to be careful and thoughtful of others. Wash your hands frequently, stay home if you are vomiting, running a fever, or have diahrrea. If at all possible have family bring you what you need. Clean your home with a bleach solution if someone in your home is sick. Don't take your kids out if they are sick. Be considerate of others and the fact that they don't want to get sick. If we aren't cautious this thing will sweep the United States and we will wish we had never come across it.

**Now tell me what you think about these two current events or share a current event and your thoughts on it. 

Throwback Thursday...Cheerleaders Were the Best!!

Okay so here I am (the one with the big pink circle around her head) in 7th grade as a cheerleader. Let me tell you, I loved it!! Those were some of the best times of my life and I wouldn't give it back for anything. I made friendships, laughed, cried, got injured, injured people and was darn good at being a cheerleader too.

Okay so here's the whole squad!! Some of these girls I have seen, keep in touch with on Facebook (if you want to keep up with me on FB, check out my FB page up on the top right hand column) and some I haven't seen at all. It's very bittersweet, but they were all sweethearts and I am glad to have known them, even if only for a short while.

Here I am again, but in 8th grade this time. You know what? I was the friggin Captain!! Yes, I said it, "The CAPTAIN!" I loved those girls like they were my sisters and I loved leading them as well as learning from them. They voted me in as captain, not because they had to, but because it said something about what they thought about me. Thanks girls, you are all gems!

Here's the whole squad from my 8th grade year. Again some of them I still communicate with, others I have lost touch. However, they all left a place in my heart and I am grateful for it.

So here's to Throwback Thursdays...Cheerleaders Were the Best!!

Recipe: Simple, Healthy, & Quick Chicken Fajita's

Okay I was a little excited to do this post, mainly because it is my first recipe/food post, and because I have a little bit of a "laugh at me" moment to share with you.
Now, I have tried to cook just about everything. I love cooking, because I love to eat, and it just seemed to make sense. However, there was one item I hadn't dare try and I'm really not sure why. It seemed to be so simple and I totally could have just looked the recipe up online, but I guess I wasn't ready. The food I was totally afraid to cook was chicken fajitas. I know! Go ahead and laugh, I'm okay with it, I laughed at myself once I realized how simple they were to prepare.
Now if you work like me and have kids, I am going to give you the simplest recipe from ingredients to cooking method that will allow you to have the best chicken fajitas, and kid friendly too. I also want to tell you that my 4 year old eats NO vegetables, but he will eat them in chicken fajitas. So, as all of us mothers know, we get those veggies in any way we can. *Also, I wanted to note for those of you that have gluten intolerance or Celiacs, I would recommend checking the fajita mix because mine said it contained wheat. If you have a brand of fajita tortilla's you like use those instead of the traditional ones.

Ingredients (all can be adjusted to the amount you need to make, just double for more people or leftovers this recipe will feed 4 people 2 fajitas each):

• 1lb chicken tenders
• 2 packs fajitas mix
• 1 pack pre-cut veggie fajita mix (you can find these in most grocery stores, I have found them in the small one close to home and our local Walmart Supercenter)
• 1 pack fajita size tortilla's

Directions:

• Place fajita veggie mix into large skillet with 2-3tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and saute until tender (about medium to medium high temp. will work)
  
  

•  While the veggies are sauteing place the chicken tenders on a vented pan sprayed with a little Olive Oil spray and place in the oven at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes (until just about cooked)

• Once the tenders come out, you want to cut them up into chunks just bigger than bite size and place into the pan, put the lid on and leave for about 7 minutes more with the lid on (turning heat down to medium low)

 

• Once the veggies and chicken have cooked for about 7 minutes, you will use 2 forks to shred the chicken pieces. This should be fairly easy because of the baking process. Then add your fajita mix and proper amount of water (per package instructions) and bring to a boil(this allows the seasoning to thicken). Turn temperature down to low and you are ready to eat.

 

We like to have salsa and sour cream with ours. So you will place about 3/4 cup filling onto the tortilla, top with salsa and sour cream or any thing you like. You could add diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese. 

The wrapping process isn't really set in stone, but I place the filling to one end, bring the opposite end up over the filling and fold both sides in towards the middle.

There you have it a simple, healthy, and quick chicken fajita recipe! If you decide to try it I would love to hear about it. Also, if you have any suggestions or a chicken fajita recipe of your own share it or a link back to your blog for the recipe.