Monday, December 6, 2010

Menu Plan, December 6-12

At 38 weeks pregnant (!), I'm trying to keep our meals mostly pretty simple, while still healthy and tasty. This is what we're planning to eat this week, assuming this little man we are anxiously waiting to meet doesn't decide to make his appearance.

Breakfasts: scrambled eggs served with cheesy grits, baked oatmeal, or pancakes

Lunches: warm shredded chicken sandwiches, PB & J, grilled cheese, snacks, leftovers

Dinners:
Monday & Tuesday~chili
Wednesday~Italian Roast Beef over pasta, salad
Thursday~beef tacos with salsa, beans, lettuce, etc.
Friday~leftovers
Saturday~Rib Eye steaks, baked potatoes, salad
Sunday~at the farm

What are y'all fixing this week?

Friday, December 3, 2010

Toothpaste Fail and a Giveaway

Around our house, we do a lot of things naturally. We eat a mostly organic/whole foods diet, we use natural cleaning products, and we don't take much medicine. One area of our lives I haven't overhauled (yet!) is toiletries. This is partly because I can get most of our shampoo, toothpaste, etc., for free or better using the CVS Extra Care Bucks program, and partly because I'm just used to conventional toiletries.

Lately, I have been looking into switching things over, beginning with toothpaste. I have been using natural, fluoride-free toothpaste for Katie as long as I've been brushing her teeth, but Ben and I use the regular ol' sweet fluoride toothpaste for ourselves. I've read about the problems with using these kinds of tooth pastes, but just hadn't gone ahead and made the change.

Katie recently discovered she can carry a stool around the house and reach all kinds of things she couldn't reach before. And, until the other day when I caught her swallowing toothpaste from a tube she had gotten off the bathroom counter, I thought I had just about everything 'bad' out of her reach. I wasn't sure how much she had gotten, though it couldn't have been much since I'd only had her out of my sight for a very short while. But, I was concerned nonetheless and went ahead and called the poison control center (for the first time ever). They said all I needed to do was give her some milk and she should be fine. The lady said the calcium in the milk binds with the fluoride and keeps it from being absorbed. Thankfully, Katie loves milk and that was that.

After that incident, I was especially glad when a box arrived from Tropical Traditions containing my next product to review--all natural teeth cleaner! I have used it, and it's definitely different than regular toothpaste. It tastes WAY different--it's not very sweet at all. When I first had it in my mouth, I honestly thought it tasted terrible, but within one tooth-brushing the taste grew on me and I don't mind it at all. It also doesn't foam up in your mouth like regular toothpaste, but as it turns out, foamy-ness isn't at all necessary to get your teeth clean. It does the job perfectly well, leaves your mouth feeling fresh and clean, AND if your toddler happens to swallow it, there's no need to call the poison control center. All the ingredients in it are perfectly safe for human consumption.

Tropical Traditions has kindly offered to send one of y'all some of their organic teeth cleaner to try for yourselves! To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. The giveaway will be open until next Thursday, December 9.

For additional entries, you can follow me on twitter (@mrsmurch), follow Tropical Traditions on twitter (@TropTraditions), tweet about this giveaway and include @mrsmurch and @troptraditions (and a link to this post!), subscribe to the Tropical Traditions newsletter, and/or subscribe to the Covenant Homemaking RSS Feed. Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Katie-isms, Part 2

Several months ago, I did a post highlighting some of Katie's most commonly-used words. Since then, her vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds, and she has recently started putting words into sentences (!). She never ceases to amaze me with how quickly she picks up on things--and she definitely keeps me chuckling, too! These are some of her favorite things to say--recorded mostly for my sake, and the sake of her Grandma and Great Grandma who I think both wish they could see her sweet self a little more often.

One of her first attempts at sentence-making was, "Where (insert word) ?" This question was most often asked about mommy, daddy, and the neighbor's cows. Her first four word sentence was, "Where did mama go?" Of course, I wasn't around to hear it.

She has lately taken to pointing out pretty things around the house. We put up our Christmas tree and a few other decorations on Friday, and Katie has just gone on and on about how "pritteh" (pretty) they are. She sits and stares and says "Wow, pritteh" in the most awestruck tone. When she's talking to one of us, she'll say, "It pritteh Mama/Dada!" When she wants to show off something of hers, she runs up and says "Wooow!" She also says wow about our things too--this often makes us chuckle. For example, this morning, Ben put on a old, brown, flannel work shirt (nothing particularly lovely--but a shirt she hadn't ever seen him wear) before he left for the shop and she said, "Wow!" Ha!

In addition to admiring pretty things, my girl LOVES to read (which I'm so thankful for!). When she first started expressing to us a desire to read, she'd just bring a book over and give it to us. That progressed into handing us a book and saying "book." In the last week or so, she has taken it up a notch and now says, "Ree da book" (Read the book), or even "Ree da book, Mama." It's really hard to resist!

She also now has names for some of her aunts and uncles. Sam is "Am," Hannah is "Annah," and Elijah and Josiah are both "Yah-Yah." Her grandmothers and great grandmothers are "Manna" and her grandfathers/great grandfathers are "Bapa." She'll point them all out in pictures, and gets VERY excited about an opportunity to see any of them (and she also loves to talk to them on the phone). She says "Hi" and "Bye" (in the most adorable southern belle accent, too!) to loved ones and strangers alike.

In recent weeks, we've been dabbling (without much success) with potty training. So, she has learned some potty words, too. I have to remind her frequently that just because someone goes in the bathroom, they aren't necessarily going "poopoo da potty." Ha!

She has also learned several animals and their sounds. Her favorite animals are dogs and cows (why, yes, we live in the country with lots of cows and dogs nearby ;). She also knows goats ("doat"), pigs (she just calls them "oinkoinkoink"), bees, horses, birds, fishes, bears and several others. She's pretty good at saying the sounds they make, too.

Of late, she has become quite insistent when she requests something, too (usually, in the kitchen). She frequently asks for more (and has to be lovingly reminded to say please, which she pronounces "pah"). She asks for her bowl and her spoon (both pronounced 'boo') quite often as well.

I could list more, but Katie's up from her nap and there's dinner to be made. Katie is such a sweet blessing and really adds such richness to our lives with her sweet spirit and crazy antics. I'm so excited to see how she'll be as a big sister in just a few weeks!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Hark! the Herald Angels Sing

We keep Christmas pretty simple at our house. One tradition we really enjoy during this season is singing hymns about the birth of Christ during daily family worship. Many of them are so theologically rich and worshipful. I think the familiarity makes it all-too-possible for us to not pay close attention to the words. Over the next few Sundays, I'll be highlighting some of our favorite Advent hymns. What are yours?

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King;
peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinner reconciled!"
Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumphs of the skies;
with th'angelic host proclaim, "Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King."

Christ, by highest heav'n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold him come, offspring of the Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th'incarnate Deity,
pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King."
Hail the heav'n-born Price of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings, ris'n with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die,
born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King."
 Words by Charles Wesley

How glorious that Christ saw fit to humble himself and take on the likeness of man and dwell with us, and through His birth, death, and resurrection, make it possible for men to be reconciled to God!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

That Man of Mine

In this late stage of pregnancy, I have become increasingly aware of what a wonderful man the Lord has given me for a husband. Don't get me wrong--I've always known he was wonderful (I mean--I wouldn't have married him otherwise!). But, his sacrificial love and service for me during this stage of life has been such a sweet blessing.

One thing I've noticed--he always keeps up with Katie so I can relax when we're at family or church gatherings. He does it frequently without even breathing a word about it. It's not something he has to do, and it certainly wouldn't be presumptuous for him to expect me to keep up with her some. This was something I'd been completely taking for granted until I really thought about it a few days ago.

Ben's first time holding Katie
 Last week when I was having back trouble before I saw the chiropractor, he made dinner one night and then went out the following morning to get breakfast for us so I was able to stay off my feet. When he's home from work, he spends lots of time with Katie so I can relax. And sometimes, he even does the dinner dishes when I'm especially tired!

It's so funny--before we were married and had a baby (and another one on the way), it would've never occurred to me that acts of service such as these would be such a great blessing and even make my heart go 'pitty-patter' like flowers and chocolates! Ha!

Ben with Katie at just a few days old

Truly, a godly husband is a precious gift from the Lord. May God help me to be the wife he deserves, and to never take him for granted!


Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Menu Plan, November 22-28


I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving week! TWe are having some good friends come into town this week, and we'll all be spending Thanksgiving over at my in-laws' farm. Our week last week was busy and there were some events I forgot about, so there are some repeats on this week's menu.

Breakfasts: scrambled eggs with baked oatmeal, pancakes, or sweet potato streusel muffins (didn't get to these last week)

Lunches: leftovers, snacks

Dinners: 
Monday~Chili, Cornbread
Tuesday~birthday dinner at the farm for Ben's brother
Wednesday~Grandma's Stroganoff, served with brown rice and steamed cauliflower
Thursday-Sunday~meals at the farm with family and friends

For LOTS of meal plan inspiration, check out OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Menu Plan, November 15-21


I hope y'all are having a great week so far! We've been a little bit busy around here. I had a visit with a local chiropractor yesterday to help with some sciatic nerve pain I started having Friday night. I'm amazed at how much it helped! It's so nice to not be hobbling around. Because I wasn't on my feet much over the weekend, Ben cooked some and we also ate with his family, so there are some repeats on this week's plan.

We got our second shipment of meat from the farm yesterday, which was exciting. It's so neat to have such high quality, locally raised meat delivered right to my door! What a blessing.

Here's what I'm planning to cook this week. What are y'all making?

Breakfasts: whole wheat pancakes, baked oatmeal, and sweet potato struessel muffins--all served with scrambled eggs; quiche

Lunches: smoothies, leftovers, snacks

Dinners:
Monday~Pan-seared T-Bone steaks with creamy pepper sauce, green beans, baked potatoes
Tuesday~Chicken & Dumplings
Wednesday~Chicken Alfredo, green beans
Thursday~Grandma's Stroganoff, steamed cauliflower
Friday~leftovers
Saturday~homemade pizza, fruit
Sunday~at the farm