Grocery Shopping and Meal Prep has become a Joy!!

Do you want to meet a mother of eight children who has no earthly idea how to grocery shop and prep good meals? You have come to the right place. It's me!!! Aren't you glad you came by to visit my home today? Oh, golly geee...I know you are....you can't stop loving me and my flaws.

These flaws are transparent. I am exposing them in hopes of later reading this blog in a few years, or maybe a few months down the road when I have been completely transformed into.....Ta Da....Martha Stewart!!

No.....wait.....hmmmmm.......Better Yet.....Rachel Ray....!!! Yeah, she is way more prettier.

Not that I think Martha is ugly...she looks awesome for a woman her age. I really do like her voice. I sort of want to be soft spoken like her.......ok, why on earth am I day dreaming of becoming like Martha Stewart.....HELLO......SOMEONE JUST SLAP ME WITH A FRYING PAN!!

Take a walk down memory lane with your good friend Chris. I will show you how my grocery shopping days have looked like. Oh no Must I expose this disturbing truth?

OOOOOOkkkkkkkaaaaayyyyyyyy.........

Here I am waking up and thinking...."hmmmmm.....we have no food....yep, grocery shopping day is today and I don't have one iota what I am going to make tonight or better yet for the rest of this week. I call my hubby and ask him "Hey babe, what is our grocery budget for the next few weeks" He gives me a total and think "Ok, I think I can work with this"....then praying to God for wisdom.

Now I am off to "plan". I stand in front of my stove, look up at my cookbooks, ponder....should I, shouldn't I, should I ..... use those cookbooks. Nah!! Better idea....the computer has plenty of recipes for me to pull from. I click on my emails read some mail that came in, return some mail, check some blogs......oooops... I'm supposed to be making a menu. Yikes!! I blew it again.... slap, slap, and slap again.

I then go on to one of those recipes sites, like recipezaar. I click on some and surf around for the perfect meals. I really don't want to make tacos and spaghetti again....please no!!! I want to show my family I can COOK! After a couple hours of searching, I am utterly exhausted and my eye balls are absolutely, cherry red from staring at the screen for two hours. I look down at my list of meals and think "Now I have to make the grocery list. Yuck!!" I take 30 minutes to make the list. I know, way to long!!!

Ok, that's done. Oh, wait....I have to save some money, so I pull and clip coupons. By this time, I have spent almost three or so hours just planning for my meals for the next few weeks. I'm sure it will get better, once I get to the store. :)

Off I go....with a few kids in tow. I drive by my regular Grocery store that is 5 minutes from home, but decide to drive 30 minutes to Super Walmart!! Brilliant!! Remember.....I WANT TO SAVE MONEY!!! I arrive at Walmart and start my shopping. Three long hours with two carts later I finally come to check out. I'm worn out, my kids are worn out and now we need something to eat because we are starving. I then spend 15 bucks at Mc Donalds. ha ha ha.....so much for saving money at Walmart.....ha ha ha!!

Once I get home it's time to unload the van...thank God for children who don't mind helping. We get the groceries pulled out of the bags and now I have to figure out where to put them. What a trip!! This is why I loathe grocery shopping. I don't know how to do it.

So to say all this. A few weeks ago, I was not looking forward to my next shopping trip and I decided to join e-mealz.com What do I have to loose!!! For $5 a month I get 7 recipes, and a grocery list to my store that is just 5 minutes down the road. The meals are all planned around the sales the store is having for the week. Yes, I spend a little more than what they say because I have to feed 10 of us. So, I add the extra money......but you know what????? It is so worth it and I am enjoying meal times. And yes, shopping too. Even though this past week, I felt like I spent a bit to much time there. Oh well....I'm learning!!

I feel like I am doing something really good for our family. Meal times are so important to me and I feel like I was failing miserably in this area. Even though I'm not using my creative juices to "invent" meals or what have you, but at least I'm happy, and in turn makes everyone else happy. Plus, they look forward to sitting down and eating. I even ask the kids to pick a meal from the menu as to what they want to eat that night. Thus far.....100% of the meals have been so yummy!!

And best of all.....I am learning how to cook. Yay!!! I was telling my husband that this is like discipleship in cooking. I have something to bounce from. I am learning and we are all happy.

Soooooo.....If you sometimes struggle with meal time....I Highly recommend....e-mealz!!

Taking Time to Sit at His Feet

Believe me...I am getting better.

You might ask....what are you talking about?

I am talking about my diligence in managing this large family of mine. Boy, it can be hard work. I tend to sometimes shut in and try to DO IT ALL myself. I then walk around grumpy because NO ONE IS HELPING. Hello? Of course no one is helping because I haven't asked.

WHY DO I HAVE TO ASK? DON'T THEY SEE HOW HARD I'M WORKING!! THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER?

These are my daily mind struggles. I know for some of you this might be so easy to handle. Truly.... I can now relate..... just a bit to how my mother might have felt. She rarely asked us to help and then she would walk around grumpy and YELLING at us for not helping. You know what? I tend to do the same. I remember refusing to be like my "mother". I REFUSED to manage the home like her. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom :) She just didn't know how to teach us to do basic housekeeping.

I find myself doing the same thing. Yes, I have dusted my CHORE PACKS off for the millionth time! Yes, I have the kids help!! But I tend to not be consistent. I KNOW! I KNOW! I KNOW! CONSISTENCY is a MUST. But why do I keep stumbling. LORD HELP!!

Guys, I hate to be so negative but I am just sharing my struggles as a mom. I have read the books, I have done the chore charts, I have read almost everything that is out there.!! I think I have some deeper issues to deal with. :( Oh, boy....now I have to do some deep soul searching LOL!

I know the Lord in His great mercy is sitting on my couch just watching me walking around unorganized and not knowing where to begin. He probably has a smile on His face and just waiting for me to come to Him and let Him give me the answers I've been searching for.

"Lord, I've been to you so many times. Why can't I get it!! What is the deal with me! I need to obey, I know!!"

I haven't allowed the Lord to really minister to me in this area. It's like you have a child that you obviously know needs to be taught in say cooking, and when you instruct him or her, they are not really receiving all your instructions. They are so quick to get up and go. Well.....this is me!! Yep, I will sit at His feet about this issue for so long (a few minutes) and not allow Him to minister to me completely. I get up and go before He is finished instructing me. Do you see the picture I am trying to paint? So when this "child" tries to make the meal, they mess up the recipe and then comes crying because they "messed it all up". Reality is that they didn't mess it ALL UP, they just added that extra cup of sugar or forgot to put in the egg.

I need to take the time to sit at His feet and have Him minister to me. As I am typing this, I'm thinking "When am I going to have the time to do this." Ooops!! Instead of typing on this blog, I guess I should have been with the Lord. Actually, typing this out has helped me see my problem. :)

Thanks for hanging in with me and following my life :)

Love Ya,

Chris

Back to Fridays

I've decided to switch my deep cleaning days to Friday.  For some reason or other, Mondays were not working out as I planned.  I thought having the big cleaning day be on Monday would make my week easier coming back from the weekend.  Unfortunately it hasn't.  I found that I would still use Friday as a somewhat cleaning day also.  I can't afford to take two days off during the school week.

My sweet friend came on Friday and she deep cleaned my refrigerator and two of my cabinets.  I felt bad because I basically stood around and told her what to do.  She didn't mind though.  She was there to serve and didn't want me to get off focus with other things I had to do.  Sooooo while she cleaned, I checked school work.   I did somewhat help by throwing out the old food jars, etc...

I feel so blessed to have my wonderful friend come and help me.  She has been such a blessing to my family.  She is an amazing woman of God.  She is one of my top friends whom I sit and talk about the Lord with.  Yep...non stop.  We don't "surface" talk much.  Our conversations are very deep when we are together.  Since knowing her, I have grown so much in the Lord.  She is such an encouragement and example to me.  Before knowing her, she once worked as a family doctor and when she started having children she chose to leave her practice and stay home with them.  She has homeschooled her boys for years (they are older now), but now with much prayer she has put them in school.  I am so impressed by the fact that she would leave a high paying job to pursue those things that matter in life, FAMILY.   She is now seeking the Lord as to what her next phase in life will be.   She has not just touched my life, but many women's lives in our church and community.  She definitely has a heart like Jesus.  There isn't one day where she isn't out driving someone to a doctors appointment, helping them, visiting them daily at the hospital, counseling them.  Blessing them in so many ways.  She goes, goes, goes....Amazing.  I am so thankful she is my friend!!  :)

PS  I will have to post some pictures next time.

Till Then have a happy week :)

Chris

Feeling a bit better

Ok, so this past week was literally a week from..........  I don't know what came over me.  I really do think it was PMS.  I felt so overwhelmed about every thing.  I did have a few decent days.  I only check my email once and I didn't even go on Facebook or other's blogs.  I had to force myself to stay focused.

This past Friday, I was again, a blubbery mess.  Ahhhhhhh......Lord I need your help!!  I didn't do much but fold laundry.  No I wasn't on the computer at all.  I just didn't have much joy.  I had to be in the Lord's presence all day to not feel like I was going to bite someone's head off.  I was a very ugly person Friday.  I didn't know what I was going to make for dinner.  We usually eat pizza on Fridays but I didn't even want to think of making it.  Actually my daughter makes it, but still......Just the thought of her doing it was overwhelming.

Donnie's mom and Grandma calls in the afternoon and want to take us out to dinner.  Guess where?  The local pizza place.  Yay!!  God is so faithful and knows just when I need Him to show up.  Thank you Lord.

Oh and I do have another praise report.  This week as I was feeling very overwhelmed.  A friend of mine calls up and says she wants to commit herself to helping me on my cleaning day and help me clean and organize for a couple hours.  This means every week she will come and help!!  Wow......truly, God's love and showing He cares for me.  I am in awe of how awesome He is and how He comes through.

I am determined this week will be a blessed week.  I think my friend and I are going to tackle the kitchen cabinets and get those organized and cleaned.  I'll have to snap some before and after pics so you can see the difference.

Blessings

Tales of an Unorganized Housewife

I should rename my blog:  Tales of an Unorganized Housewife.  Ha ha!!  I've been feeling quite like this lately.   Everywhere I look there's a mess.   I've even had visions of Super Nanny coming to the rescue.  I've had visions of TLC, Trading Spaces coming in and revamping my home.  Or, better yet...Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover Home Edition saying "Good Morning, Tuttle Family!!"  Ha Ha!!

I realized that I have not been very diligent and focused with my hours the Lord has given me.  I could spend plenty of time chatting on Facebook, checking emails, or doing other types of "research" on the computer.  I could spend hours reading my bible!!  I would love that!!  But reality is---I CAN'T!  I have a house to manage and maintain.  Kids to teach!!  Plenty of that to go around, right?  I seriously need to get organized!!  I complain to my husband  "We just need to hire a housekeeper!!"  "I feel like I am being pulled all sorts of directions.  I don't even know if I'm called to this.  Let's put them all in school!!  I don't know where to begin:  Shower,  fold laundry cook, school, chauffeur, iron work clothes.....HELP!!"  

I know I sound like a mess.  I really think it's PMS.  Ha ha.  But wait, before you all come to my rescue.  I know what the answer is.....Throw myself at the Lord's feet.  He is the ONLY ONE to show me exactly what I need to do.  I do need to obey Him to enter into the REST he has for me.  I was reading in Hebrews today of how he has promised His children REST.  There is a rest that only comes from Him and only by obedience.  The way to this Rest is to DILIGENTLY OBEY.  Boy, I don't like that word, DILIGENT  :)  Being diligent sounds to hard.   But you know what.....Diligently obeying is the key to answering mostly all our problems.  If you know what the Lord's will is for your life..... when you obey what He has asked from you TODAY........you WILL ENTER into that Promised Rest....ahhhhhh!  Thank You Lord. 

The Kitchen Sink and everything in between

You know...... I just love a clean, shiny kitchen sink. It makes me feel like I have a home that is put together and in order. I love schedules and routines it keeps my family functioning at top levels (somewhat). If you are a regular visitor of this blog you might think "she is always talking about schedules, routines and home order." I sound like a broken record....don't I? This is the purpose of this blog. To share my journeys of schedule, routines, and home order or the LACK OF IT. :)

The lack of it....can that possibly be true?

I feel like this is how I've been functioning the past month or so. Soooooo, I am going to give you a peek into my "not very scheduled life"

5:00 Alarm clock goes off.....I hit snooze.....5 minutes later, it goes off again.....I hit snooze once again.....5 minutes later, I glance at the time and talk myself out of getting up....I hit snooze again...5 minutes later, the alarm is calling my name......by this time I am forced to wake up because my babym, who sleeps next to me in her little crib, is now awake and crying because my alarm clock woke her up.....ugh!!

5:30 Make a bottle....feed the baby....I fall asleep while feeding her....realized I fell asleep, the baby finishes her bottle and oops....I need to wake up.

6:00 SO now I am an hour off "schedule". GREeeeeaaaaaT!!! I am not going to get mad...I have the peace of God :)

6:05 Walk in the kitchen, start my coffee (can't stay awake if I don't), make some breakfast, check some emails before turning on some bible teaching on the computer.....Start listening.

7:00 Just listened to some teaching and have so much enjoyed my time. So, by this time I know I should be waking the kids and have already gotten myself dressed and ready to go. But....I love the quietness of the home and I really don't.....no I don't....want to wake the kids. I wait to wake them.

7:30 One of the little boys comes out to the family room.. Then another,....and then another. They are still quiet and sleepy. By this time....I realize....I'm a bit behind. Quickly get dressed, make my bed, start breakfast, change some diapers....

8:00 Older kids are getting up.....I know we should be eating breakfast by this time.....oops. I start to tell them to hurry up and not waste time....(sergeant mommy begins her drills).

So in between the time they awake until school begins, we are getting ready for the day. Between these times....I have spanked a few kids, stopped a few fights, started some laundry, fed the baby, inspected a few chores which need to be done again.....etc.

We, somedays, begin schooling at 10:30.....Homeschooling then feels like it has taken over my life. I take deep breaths and think "Maybe tomorrow....." Tomorrow what? I'll be more punctual? I'll stay on schedule? So then I say "Maybe one day...."

At the end of each day....I realize this is season of my life. No, my home doesn't look like the the pictures out of Southern Living magazine, or the other homeschool mom's house whose youngest child is 13 yrs old or the mom whose children go to school all day and she has time to work on home projects. Nope!!!! If you visit my home it usually has dishes in the sink, handprints on the walls, and toys on the floor. I have chosen not to get upset about the dirt on my walls, the pee smell in my bathroom, the stains on my carpet. I'm not even going to get upset about the lack of time or money to decorate or buy new furniture...nope. I am going to rejoice in the Lord Always and know.....just know.....that one day my home will look presentable and I will be able to buy the new furniture. :) And just maybe it might look like those pictures in the magazines. :) I love to dream!!

Reality

Chris

Manic Mondays are soon to become Marvelous Mondays

I did not realize how long it's been since I've written in this blog. Wow!! Life has been busy over here. I started schooling and my days are filled from about 9:30 am till about 4:00 pm. Non stop schooling. Actually we do take about an hour lunch break...a much needed break.

Monday's have officially become my "work day". On Mondays the kids and I are "suppose" to do some deep cleaning. I put this word in quotes because it has been such a battle the past few weeks trying to get my "agenda" accomplished. Mondays have been a bit unproductive. The kids are doing their extra weekly chores but I hardly touch mine. What must be the problem?

Last Monday was plain awful. I don't know what was going on with me. I think it was hormones or something. I felt so moody. Nothing was pleasing me.....nothing at all. I called my husband in tears and he sweetly suggested...."Drop your plans, it's a beautiful day today and take the kids to the park." And I did just that. We went to our local park and had the kids run, and run, and run, and run, and run, and run, and run some more. We came home and everyone was tired and not ready to finish all those chores I had planned. Oh well.

That evening I was still in a funk. My hubby came home from work and suggest again...."You need to go out and take a drive" I did just that. You know what I did? I drove, and drove, and drove some more. I then parked at a nearby soccer park and just prayed and read my bible. I wanted so badly for this feeling to pass. I felt so frustrated and I couldn't stand it. After sitting there for about an hour, I started up the van and drove some more. Here is my conversation I had with the Lord....

Me: I don't know what to do Lord. I have so many ideas, so many agendas, and I really don't like being momzilla. I am sorry Father, there is no excuse for me to act and behave this way. Lord I just don't know how to stop this......(then I heard silence and then I heard the Lord)

Lord: Oh No Chris....don't you go there.... you know exactly what to do. Don't tell yourself you don't know. You do know. What would you tell a mom in a similar situation.

Me: (I didn't say anything...just thoughts crossed my mind and then I responded) You mean I need to tell you what I would tell another mom? Ok, I can do that. I think.

I put myself in the place of ministry at that moment---I was talking to myself!! LOL I know that sounds sort of crazy but I had to "preach" to myself. And you know what? I was so pumped and saw everything so clearly. You want to know what I told myself?

Me talking to Me: Love comes before your agenda. There are going to be distractions. There are going to be things that interrupt all the plans you might have laid out for the day. But what's most important is that you are ministering to those children in your home. It is a ministry unto their spirit. Nothing else is more important than ministering to your children in a loving way. So what if you only get one job on the list done. Again loving them comes before your agenda.

Also you need to be led by the Spirit of the Lord....don't be distracted by computer time (ouch) phone calls from friends (ouch and ouch), or whatever it is that pulls you from doing what God has called you to do. You have a calling and it is to train up your children as unto the Lord. You will rise early and every step shall be ordered of the Lord. So when you feel like "checking your emails"....don't go near that computer until you feel the Lord is releasing you to do that. You will find your fulfillment will come from keeping the agenda the Lord has given you.

Wow....I felt so much better telling myself this. All the weight I was carrying was off my shoulders. Thank you Jesus for your loving kindness and tender mercies.

So....if you happen to have "one of those days", don't fret just "preach" to yourself. What would you tell a mom or wife facing the same situation as you are at that moment? You will be amazed by what comes out of your mouth. What is coming out is the Words of the Lord to you and your situation.

Blessings,

Chris