Benjamin, 8 Months

My little man turned 8 months old on Sunday! Where, oh where, does the time go? Benjamin brings so much joy into our lives. Here's some of what he's been up to lately:

::Sleeping 9-10 hours at night (YES!) and taking 1-2 naps per day. He needs two, but I think he's working on a couple teeth so he's been a little fussier than usual. A corner of his very first tooth just broke through today!

::He wears 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers if we use a disposable (which is, gratefully, not very often!). I think he'll be bumping up a clothing size pretty soon.


::After a bout with pretty severe constipation, the little fellow is back to exclusive breastfeeding. I occasionally let him suck on a piece of fruit in his Fresh Food Feeder if he gets offended while we're eating, but most days he's just having breast milk. I'm hoping to give him another 2-3 weeks, at least, before we start back to regular solids. He seems to be thriving pretty well without solids, so I'm not in any big hurry.

::Crawling! Benjamin is now crawling all over the place. He crawls around trying to find me and then reaches his hands up for me to hold him, which is just absolutely precious. With this stage has also come an insatiable desire to eat every small particle off of the floor (and since we have a 2 year old, those are plentiful!). I may or may not have found a couple stickers in his diaper this week. Ahem.

::He is starting to communicate a little more. He says "ba-ba" and "da-da." I'm pretty sure he recognizes Ben as dada, too. And, he definitely knows his own name.

I sure do love being a mama! What are your littlest ones up to these days?

Menu Plan, August 29-September 4

It's hard to believe autumn is already creeping up on us! I think this year has been one of the shortest years of my life (could that be because I've had TWO babies all year this year?). I am really looking forward to the cooler weather that will hopefully be showing its pretty face in the coming weeks. Since our children aren't school-aged yet, I'm looking forward to playing at park in the cooler weather while all the big kids are at school. :)

Anyway, here is what I'm planning to cook up this week. I have a few new recipes on the list that seem simple and delicious--and not overly adventurous. How often do y'all try new recipes?

Breakfasts:
::Cornmeal and rye pancakes (new recipe, will be soaking) with pastured butter and real maple syrup (x2)
::Scrambled eggs, toast, yogurt (x2)
::Egg & Cheese breakfast sandwiches (new recipe--will be freezing some)
 ::Soaked baked oatmeal (x2) (To soak: substitute half water and half plain yogurt for the milk. Combine yogurt/water mixture, oats, and coconut oil or butter for 12-24hrs. Mix in remaining ingredients and bake as usual)

Lunches:
::Smoothies (peanut butter or fruit and yogurt)
::Leftovers
::Snacks

Dinners:
::Homemade taco pizza (new recipe)
::Chihuahua Chili (new recipe), cornbread
::Salmon patties, salad, seasoned baked potato wedges
::Biscuits & gravy, scrambled eggs

What are y'all fixing this week? For menu planning inspiration, be sure to check out OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday.

My home management system, pt. 5: Rising Early

Go here to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4, if you've not read them!

Rising early does not come naturally to me. However, as a teenager I realized that I was much more productive early in the morning than I am late at night and made a habit of rising early.

These days, I love being able to do my devotions, work out, and/or get in a lecture or some college reading done before the craziness of the day ensues. Because, let's face it--after chasing babies all day, all I want to do is veg once they're down for the night. I just end my vegging earlier and make myself go to sleep so I can have that time in the morning.


The last month or so, my little man finally decided to start sleeping nine or ten hours straight instead of waking me up every three or four hours to nurse. I am so so thankful for this change and since I've been getting more sleep I have been able to start rising early again. It makes such a big difference in my days, and I definitely can't accomplish everything I like to without those extra two or three hours in the morning. 

Have you ever tried to make a habit of rising early? I have found making use of the early morning hours to be very rewarding. I would highly encourage each of you to give it a try! A tip: before you give up, set your alarm for about the same time for at least full week and you'll probably find it gets much easier after a couple days.


In seasons of life when you're not getting quality sleep (right after you have a baby) or when you need a ton of sleep in early pregnancy, rising too early is probably not wise. These are seasons for minimizing your to-do list and giving yourself much grace! Sleep is so essential for your overall health (and your productivity while you are awake) that you shouldn't ever neglect it unless it's absolutely necessary.

Do you get up early? Lately, I've been shooting for being up and going before 6 each morning. How about y'all?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Menu Plan, August 22-28

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

Breakfasts:
::Soaked baked oatmeal (x3) (To soak: substitute half water and half plain yogurt for the milk. Combine yogurt/water mixture, oats, and coconut oil or butter for 12-24hrs. Mix in remaining ingredients and bake as usual)
::Scrambled eggs, sausage, pan-fried potatoes (x2)
::Soaked oatmeal pancakes with real maple syrup and pastured butter (x2)
::Smoothies or cold cereal (x1)

Lunches:
::leftovers
::smoothies (strawberry, banana yogurt or peanut butter)
::snack lunch

Dinners:
::Layered chicken enchilada casserole, brown rice & black beans
::Hearty bean (and meat) casserole, watermelon, green beans
::BBQ meatballs, mashed potatoes, fruit, green salad
::Biscuits & gravy, scrambled eggs

A best friend in the making

Katie and me last summer. <3

Katie has been my little buddy for as long as she could crawl around behind me. These days, we spend all day every day together. We clean, we cook, we read stories, we play with toys, we do laundry, we go on walks, we talk about Daddy, we take care of Benjamin--and I love {almost} every moment.

Yesterday we were sitting on the floor and Katie wanted to brush my hair. So, I took it out of a messy pony-tail and she got the brush. After brushing for a little while, she paused and patted my hair and said, "So pretty, Mama. I brush your hair! It's sooo pretty." That was when my heart almost melted into a puddle on the floor. In any case, I was quickly reminded of my childhood and times spent with my mom. Playing dolls (she would almost always name her Roberta!), practicing multiplication tables in the bath tub, reading books (until Mom inevitably fell asleep. ha!).

As a little girl, I loved my mom and I really enjoyed spending time with her, but I never realized that when I grew up, she would be one of my closest friends. Until last night's hair brushing incident, I had really never looked forward too much to Katie growing up--I've even written more than once about how I think it's happening too fast! But one of these days when my little girl grows up, by God's grace, into a godly young woman (and probably a wife and mama herself), I won't just be losing a baby--I'll be gaining a best friend.  And that, friends, is definitely a finer thing to look forward to.

This week's groceries: Kroger, Walmart, & Auburnlea Farms

We ate from the pantry for the first half of the week this week, but by last night things were looking pretty bare so we headed into town to pick up some groceries, and today I put in an order at my favorite local farm. They raise grass-fed beef, chicken, and turkeys and also sell bulk pantry goods at fabulous prices.

Here's a run-down of our purchases for this week.

I figured a poor quality picture was better than none. Benjamin was flipping out, so I had to HURRY! :)

Kroger:
Dry foods:
Mom's Best Frosted shredded wheat cereal (for Ben)~$2
Dairy:
6 8oz. packages Kerrygold Butter, reduced for quick sale to $2.99 each~$14.95
2 pints organic half and half, reduced for quick sale to $1.35 each~$2.70
8oz. Kroger cheese~$1.99
32oz. container of organic whole milk yogurt~$3.59
1/2 gallon of local, hormone/antiobiotic free, non-homogenized whole milk~$2.99
2 dozen cage free eggs for $1.99 each~$3.98

Produce:
3lbs. organic russet potatoes~$3.49
Seedless watermelon~$4.99
6.72lbs organic bananas~$4.30

Non-food:
Diapers for Katie (she wears a disposable at night)~$6.21
Spiral notebook~$0.15
Notebook paper~$0.75

Walmart:
Breyer's chocolate ice cream (this is a delicious, less bad compromise food)~$2.99 (it's $6.29 at Kroger!)

Farm:
(not pictured above, because it hasn't been delivered yet)
5lbs. ground beef @ $4.50/lb~$22.50
1lb. cocoa powder~$5.50
5lb. organic corn for grinding ($0.80/lb)-$4.00
5lb. rye for grinding ($1.20/lb)~$6
10lb. non-gmo soft white wheat for grinding ($0.55/lb)~$5.50

Our total for the week was just over $100, and I had $55 left from last week, so we're definitely under budget for the month so far. :)

My home management system, pt. 4: The routine

Go here to read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 if you've missed them.

The routine is the part of my home management system that changes the most often. In this season of mothering a mostly-breastfed baby, his needs frequently change based and that, of course changes my schedule around. That said, I've found that what works best for us right now is to have a flexible routine to help us accomplish everything in a day that needs to get done. Here is what the ideal day at our house looks like (times are approximate!):

5:50~I get up and do my devotions, and then try to do some college work or work out (my plan is to alternate between the two--but, sometimes I end up working on schoolwork two or three days in a row instead of working out...just keepin' it real!). Benjamin often wakes up to nurse around 6:00 or 6:30 and then goes back to sleep.
7:30~I start breakfast and get going on morning chores (make the bed, straighten up our room, and start laundry)
8:00~We all eat breakfast together.
8:30~If Benjamin is still sleeping, I wake him up and nurse him (though he often wakes up around 8) while we do family worship.
9:00~Ben heads off to work and I clean up the kitchen.
9:20~Benjamin goes down for a nap and I do "school" with Katie. Right now, we start off by reading a chapter of the Bible and then we loosely follow Sonlight's Pre-K 3/4 curriculum.
10:00~Katie watches a "moomie" (her word for movie) while I sit with her and do some work. (Did y'all know I work part time from home?)
11:00~I do my weekly chores for the day, nurse Benjamin, and fix something for lunch.
12:00~We eat lunch, usually all together and then I clean up the kitchen and Katie helps me pick up toys.
12:30~Both children go down for a nap and I do some more work.
2:30~Sometimes closer to 3. The children wake up from naps. I nurse Benjamin and give Katie a snack. Then we fold and put away the laundry and finish up any remaining cleaning for the day. I also work on blog stuff at this time, and try to take some time to get down on the floor and play with the kiddos.
4:30~I start working on dinner, depending on how long it will take to prepare. When Ben comes home I try to do a little more work.
6:00~We eat dinner together as a family. Then I clean up the kitchen, give baths, tidy up, etc. Our evenings once Ben comes home are usually pretty relaxed, and we try to just enjoy time together as a family.
7:30~Sometimes this happens closer to 7. I nurse Benjamin and put him down for the night.
8:00~We get Katie ready for bed and tuck her in. If I haven't already, I start soaking whatever grain we're having for breakfast. Then, Ben and I spend some time together.
10:00~I shoot for being asleep by 10 or 10:30. I really need 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep to feel well-rested.

I came up with this routine based on our priorities and what works for us in accomplishing them right now. This is always changing based on our family's needs at any given time. And, most days definitely do not look exactly like this!

What about y'all? Do you have a strict schedule, a flexible routine, or do you just wing it?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.