Meal Planning 101

So I have had several people ask me about how I plan my meals. Really for me it is all about organization of prep work. So here are a couple of tips I have for you:

- Look at your WEEKLY calendar:  I start by looking at my week and seeing what we all have and what we have time for. For example: Eric always works late on Thursday nights so I need something for the kids and I but I also need to make leftovers for E when he gets home. Or if we have dinner plans one night I will write in OUT TO EAT. Another example is I have bunco this week, it starts at 7 so whatever I cook for dinner I want to be able to eat early and have the kitchen cleaned up before I go. I take all that into account and fill in meals for each day.

- Keep of running list of recipes your family likes: I have a list of about 20 meals that my family loves, likes, or will tolerate. I keep those in the back of my calendar to use as a reference.I only try to rotate them once a month or at least space them out as far as possible. If you would like to see a list of those meals feel free to email me at kjwhite1980@gmail.com

- Meal plan on Sunday: I meal plan on Sunday for meals from Monday- Sunday. And I do my grocery shopping on Mondays. This makes it easy for me. That way I have looked at my calendar, made my meals, and now i am ready to grocery shop. I also browse my Pinterest board on FOOD to see what other options I might be willing to try or whip up. It gives me lots of fresh ideas!

- Make a menu: I write out what is on the menu and keep it posted in the pantry for all to see. That way when I wake up each morning I know what's for dinner and what needs to be done to make it happen, it takes the guess work out of. When I make the menu I usually only include a short description. We are not big side people so for me I can do grilled chicken and a can of green beans and call it a day. But write out whatever helps you complete your meal.

- Make a grocery list: make a list of everything you need to make your weekly menu happen. We rarely eat out for dinner so I have to be prepared. Once you write down what you need SHOP your pantry. This will make life easier and lower your grocery cost. Oh and remember to take your list with you when you go to the store!

- Be flexible: There are some nights where Eric ask for something else or some thing in our schedule changes. Always be flexible. If you skip a meal or don't use it, freeze what you can and then save the rest of the ingredients. For example I have had Chicken Spaghetti on the menu for the last 3 weeks. Tonight we are finally having it.

Hopefully this helps you all. In additions here is an 8 x10 printable jpeg of my menu. You can print it out, hang it up or do whatever you like to it. For me I printed it out and laminated it. That way I reuse it weekly by using a dry erase marker. So what is your favorite thing to fix for your family when you meal plan?

Perfect day for Potato Soup

It is cold here, and I don't mean there is a chill in the air, I mean that we had a 2 hour delay because the windchill was sub zero. Nothing says comfort food to me like soup. I love soups pair with a good salad or even a sandwich from Jimmy Johns

**** SIDENOTE... we go and buy day old bread (which is usually only hours old) from Jimmy Johns for $.25 a loft and  come home and make our own sandwiches, saves money and super yummy)

Anyway I thought I would share my potato soup recipe with you. I recently found this on pinterest and gave it a whirl and it has quickly become a family favorite.

Since the orginal post was so good full of pictures I am just gonna send you there.

http://www.twirlblog.com/2010/12/potato-goodness.html

The only thing I did differently is I left my cream cheese in for an hour... just made it creamery! So what are your favorite cold day comfort foods?

Bible Study

As a mom I find if very difficult to find adequate time to actually study the Bible. If you know me at all you know that I am a huge reader and love to ready just about anything! But when it came time to Study God's word something always seemed to be more important. Notice that I said "seemed". I felt like there were lots of distractions keeping me away from my time with God and it was beginning to show in my family, interaction with friends, and most importantly within myself! So I knew a change needed to be made!

Since moving to Indy and even before I was deeply involved in Mom Groups. MUMS and MOPS played a huge role in who I was a parent, friend, and leader. But last year I kept sensing I needed something more. So I decided to step away from MOPS and pursue the Bible Study classes that were offered at the church. It was the best decision I had made in a long time!

I am doing the Beth Moore Esther study. It is amazing. I really think anything by her is great, but this one has spoken volumes to me! I knew no one in my study and I have met some really neat amazing women from ALL walks of life! They have blessed me in many ways (including my fun birthday party today)!  For me I really think it is not the study or the video or the people. It is that I actually made this a priority and each week I have homework that forces me to dig into the word, ponder questions about myself, and really HEAR what God is trying to tell me.

Are you in a Bible study? What is the best one you have ever done? What changes in your life do you need to make to study the Bible on a regular basis? These are some questions that I asked myself and I encourage you to ask yourself. It really will bring you closer to the one who called you to KNOW HIS WORDS!

I am gonna leave you with a snapshot of what spoke to me this week during my study!

How to wear a bow...

Our Sweet Lynley Elizabeth has had a bow on since her very first photo!

So it is NO lie that I am obsessed with highbrows for our little Lynley. I am too embarrassed to count but it is a number well above 100! We have one for every outfit and some even have two. Long ago I heard the mantra that said, "the bigger the bow the better the mommy" now in now way do I think this is true, but I do think it is funny. We have worn all shapes, sizes, and colors of bows. Today's post is to make you all a little more knowledgeable about hair bows.

Here are a few tips:
- You can never have too many!

- Always keep a spare white one in your car and in your diaper bag!

- When I was prego with L my girlfriend Britney suggested that I order several of the same while bows. I listened but at the time had no idea why. Oh friends I am so glad I did. We have lots of white bows, some have make up stains, some have lipstick stains, some have dirty hand print stains. You can NEVER have too many white bows!

- In my Opinion solid bows are the best. They go with more and then tend to have a more classic look!

- Special occasions deserve special bows. Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Valentines day, birthday, parties, whatever the occasions, some times a special bow is just the magic that sets apart your little princess.

- Bow Placement-
- When your child is a baby (as in still needing to wear headbands with bows on them or attached to them) the headband should sit behind the ears and away from the forehead. Think of it as if you were gonna place a bow on your head... you would not stick it in the front of your forehead would you?  The bow should typically be on one side or the other. Lynley's hair naturally parts from left to right so she wears her bows on the right side.

-Now that Lynley has hair, I brush her back and place it in a small rubber band (think the size used for braces) I call this her bam bam pony tail. It is parted to the side and secure sweeping as much of her bangs off of her face as possible. Once the pony tail is secure then I attach the bow. Most of her bows are alligator clips, so this is super easy.

- Bow Size- This all comes down to personal preference. Only once in my lifetime have I ever said a bow was too big for L. I ordered a 8.5 inch bow and it was huge it took up her whole head. I think we will wait til she is in Kindergarten to wear that one! Most of Lynleys bow are 5.5- 6.5 inches. When she was an infant she would wear mostly 4 inch bows. But as she has gotten older and more hair I have upped her size. Some days we wear a small bow with no bam bam but her hair is so fine it slips out. So for us the bam bam works great!

- Where do I buy her bows: I get the question ALL the time. My favorite place to order bows is Polkadot posies.  I love her prices (nothing over $4 and her shipping is super quick). She also has some fun accessories and headbands as well. I have also had luck finding bows at Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's I find a lot of our corker bows there! It is kind of hit or miss. As far as custom bows I have several friends who do several bows so I just use them on an as needed basis!

 I hope this post has been benefical. If you have ANY questions about more on bows... let me know by email (kjwhite1980@gmail.com) or comment!

Weekend Recap

We have had a such a fun and wonderful weekend. However right now it is freezing outside and I am starting to feel like Noah and the ark. It has rained for days! Last Thursday my parents came in town to watch the kids while Eric and I headed out of town for a work function to Columbus, OH. Even though it was work related it was super fun to get away with just E.

While he was working I worked out, did some shopping, ate lunch at a fun place, took a nap, and got ready for the big dinner. During the course of the day Eric texted me that he received an award. He was named Agency Sales Director of the year! I am so proud of him and all his hard work has truly paid off. God has big plans for that guy! We went to a wonderful dinner at had some fun/ interesting conversations with all the people.

We headed home Saturday morning cause we were super excited to see the kiddos and my parents. It has rained a bunch and John Hunter and the neighbor kids decided it would be a blast to play in the mud. They had the best time but oh they were dirty!

John Hunter had his first basketball practice ever and we were thrilled. He loved it and did so well. I am anxious for the season to start and see how much he will improve and grown his love for this sport.

Last night we went and watched the Miss America pageant with some friends. I have always loved watching but this year it was neat because our friend Katie Stam Irk was one of the judges. It was great to see her on Prime Time TV and know that her heart is turned toward serving God and others. She truly is a gem among many.

Today we have been so lazy. We went to a huge breakfast with my parents and then they headed out of town. we have had a great family day watching the rain, watching football, playing games, eating Texas trash, and just being together. All in all I am glad to say we had a great weekend!

Valentines Day Wreath

So if you don't know me too well I will let you in on a little secret. I am obsessed with Pinterest! I love everything about and my whole family knows. I had a board marked "Kendra's wish list" and was thrilled when I opened gifts this Christmas from that list! It is so bad that sometimes my 6 year old son will come into a room and say "mom I have a great idea." Proceed to tell me about his great idea and then end the conversation with "I think you should take a picture and pin that on pinterest!" Ooooo  I love that kid!

So after the Christmas decorations came down I started thinking about decorating for the next holiday. I know, I know, it's my birthday but my family would think I had lost it! So that left Valentines day. I have several ideas in mind, but I needed something for my front door, so I started too look. And I found the most adorable wreath. After a quick trip to Joann Fabric (well let's be honest no trip to Joann's is quick), I was ready to make!

If you would like to make one too here's what you do!

What you’ll need for the wreath:

- a 12 or 16 inch styrofoam wreath form
- approximately 2 yards of felt
- straight pins (enough to match the number of felt circles needed, plus two for attaching the hanger)
- scissors (I used pinking sheers which gave it that textured look, but regular scissors will do!)
- a 3 inch circle template... I used a can of chicken
- chalk
- ribbon for hanging

How to Make:

Using chalk and your circle template, trace circles onto the felt. Cut the felt circles, and fold them in half twice to form rosettes. Insert a pin near the bottom corner of the rosette, about 1/8 inch from the corner.

Attach the felt rosettes to the wreath form, making sure to group the rosettes tightly enough that no styrofoam is showing through the rosettes. After you’ve added a few, fluff and adjust the rosettes to your liking. Continue making, pinning, and attaching the rosettes until you’ve worked your way around the wreath form. If you have circles that are slightly misshapen or that have a little chalk on them, place them toward the outside or inside edges, where they can’t be seen when the wreath is hanging.

I also added the ribbon to the inside of my wreath just to give it some color. You could fill with rosettes, but trust me when you have cut out that MANY you will want to use ribbon!

After you’ve finished adding the felt rosettes, cut a 10 inch length of ribbon, fold it in half, and attach it to the wreath form with two pins to form a hanger.

From this point you can hang on the door and it will be perfect. I like bows, so I added a bow out of left over Christmas art mesh on the top of the ribbon just to give it some color!

The picture shown is on my garage door, but I put it on my front door and it does look amazing! IF someone had shoveled the sidewalk I would take a picture for you... maybe when it melts! 

Thankful Thursday

For this weeks installment of Thankful Thursday I am deeply thankful for our first born child... John Hunter White. In my opinion he has to be one of the coolest kids around. He came as a surprise to us, but our lives have been changed for the good every since. Since he is in Kindergarten and learning to spell I thought it would be fun to spell out his name and list something about him!

J- JOY! John Hunter has unspeakable joy! He is thrilled about the smallest things in life. If you tell him we are going to get ice cream he reacts the same way as if we told him we were going to Disney!  He not only shows joy he expresses it. He loves to make people laugh by telling jokes or pulling "pranks" as he calls it. This sweet blonde boy has brought joy to so many!

O- Obedient... from the times he was little we have always said, "immediate obedience" which means we want you to obey on the first time! He is not a perfect  child, but he has been very obedient and for that his father and I are forever grateful!

H- Humorous... he's a funny kid. He can pull one liners from out of no where, and in 6 year old fashion it is funny! Even last year at preschool graduation his teacher commented about his quick sense of humor. I think it will take him far in life!

N- Nice- All in all John Hunter is a super nice kid. He gets along with MOST people and even if he doesn't like them he has learned how to tolerate them! I hope when others desirable him they say he is NICE!

H- Helper- John Hunter has always been one who wants to help you!  From the time he was little I can remember he would have a rag in his hand cleaner when I cleaned. He wants to help his daddy in the kitchen and in the yard. He always wants to help. He took on a new role as big brother and I cannot tell you how helpful he has been. I love to see his servants heart grow at such a young age!

U- Understanding- John Hunter is a lot like his mommy in that he wants a plan of action! He likes to know what is gonna happen and when. Sometimes when things dont go as planned he struggles with being understanding. However in the past year we have seen this fault dwindle. He is becoming more understand and learning that not everything has to go as planned!

N- Nurturing. He loves to cuddle, snuggle, and hug. He will be playing and say Mom can I have a hug. He will never let Lynley go to bed without a hug or a kiss and he is always holding on to his daddy's hand. I love that about his sweet heart. He loves to express love this way and I hope he always stay that way!

T- Talkative- From the time he was little he has always been a boy of many words. He loves to talk, and frankly I love to talk to him. I love to hear stories he tells, makes up, and repeats. I love his questions and his desire to learn, but man does he love to talk. One time my friend kept John Hunter from early in the morning until the afternoon. Around 9:30 she texted me saying, "my boys are still asleep, but John Hunter has asked no less than 250 questions"

E- Energetic- Whew... somedays I have to say, this momma needs a break! He is full of energy and life. Not much will take him down. We will be at friends house and all the kiddos will have been in bed for a bit and John Hunter is still going. He cannot be still for the life of me, he tries, but he loves to be on on the go! I love that about him!

R- Right for me. God sure knew what he was doing when he gave me this little boy! I am so thankful that God let me be his mommy!