T I M E

Time is such a strange thing. 

I think as a parent, it is even stranger. You watch someone else's life flying by right before your eyes and there is no way to stop it. No way to slow it down. Some days it goes so fast you can hardly savor it at all. 

Somedays I feel time slipping through my fingers, and I can come out in almost a sense of panic. I have no control over time. It's going to pass whether I like it or not. My kids are going to grow whether I like it or not. I am getting older whether I like it or not. 

I have a terrible habit of thinking about how much longer I have of something, or comparing amounts of time, like next year when my oldest turns 9, her time in our home will be halfway over.

 I don't know why I do this to myself. I think partly because it makes me really believe it. It makes me stop, slow down, savor what I have right now before it passes. Because I know it's passing. Faster and faster every day. 

My husband has talked for years about getting a clock tattoo. I won't try to explain what all it symbolizes to him because I'll botch it, but the jist is that it's a reminder of time for us. 

In this weird pandemic situation we are currently in, so many of us are now finding ourselves with a lot of time on our hands. I am not someone who has a huge problem filling the time right now because 

1) we aren't that far off of our normal daily routine. Yes, activities are cancelled for the foreseeable future, my boys don't have preschool for at least 4 weeks and my girls don't have their homeschool classes for at least that long, and we don't get to venture out places or do things with friends, but the main chunk of our day is the same. We're at home together working on school work, house work, etc. That hasn't changed (except that my husband is home, but working, so we still aren't seeing a ton of him). 

and 2) I'm an introvert. I am a homebody. I love being around people, I love seeing my friends, I love taking my kids to their activities and going to church and bible study and connection group each week, but I also really love being home. I love curling up with a good book, binging a Netflix series, staying in my pjs all day, doing house projects, playing board games, having a movie night with the kids...it isn't hard for me to find things to do at home. 

But the thought of possibly being here with no person to person contact outside of my 5 family members for a month or more is a lot, even for me. An entire month+ at home...that's a lot of time to fill. 

Here's how I see it. I know I am not alone with the panic-y feeling of time passing so fast and wanting to slow it down. I know so many others who feel the same way (parents especially, I think). All of a sudden, we have this time. It's like a gift that's been handed to us suddenly, out of nowhere. A gift of time, of savoring the moments we know will pass too quickly with our children, of having no outside obligations or activities to distract us from the important work of loving our families and building lasting memories with them.

 Time to spend pouring over the Word of God, studying the Bible, praying to God & worshiping Him. Time that we may otherwise spend prioritizing the things of this world, we can now devote to things eternal. What a gift. Time to build relationships. No, we may not be able to have face to face interaction with people, but with technology, we're only a FaceTime away from friends, family members, and loved ones. We now have time to pick up the phone and really have a conversation, building those relationships, loving on those people, where before we maybe couldn't find the time to make that phone call with all that we had going on. Maybe we even have the time to write a letter and mail it! What a gift to have time to build relationships and show the people that we love the most, how much we care. 

For as much as time has burdened me over the last decade or so, it finally feels like a gift. The world is standing still right now and we have the option to complain about it and dwell on how long it feels, or to use it to our advantage, building into things we otherwise neglect. Which are you going to choose? 

It is my hope & prayer that in a few more weeks when we all feel like we're losing our minds (myself included), we can remember this. And that when this is all over, a year, 5, or 10 years from now, we can look back on this crazy time in history with some fondness over the gift of time we received and the benefits and blessings that came from that time. 

How to Travel Affordably

I have heard many people mention over the years that they can't afford to travel. In some cases, this may truly be the case, but I think a lot of the time, people are going about traveling all wrong!  The short answer to the "how to afford to travel" dilemma would probably be something along the lines of: you invest in what's important to you. Our family has decided traveling is something that is really important to us. Do we spend more than some people would think is reasonable on travel each year? Maybe. But many others may think we do it affordably. I have learned a lot of tips and tricks on how to get the most bang for your buck when traveling, and I hope you find some of them helpful!  1. Travel in the off season I know for some people this isn't possible due to work or school obligations, but if you can make it work, it really does save a ton. And a lot of the time, the "off season" really isn't that off. For example, we went to Hilton Head Island in May. It was 80-90 degrees the whole time we were there. Perfect beach weather, but at off season prices. We also found flights to Utah in September for several hundred less a person than in the following months (ski season). 

2. Drive instead of flying This one is obvious, but driving over flying usually saves a ton of money. Not always, depending on how many people you have, where you're going, etc. For a family of 6 like ours, flying is rare. It's just not worth it to us to spend $1500-$3000 more to save a few hours. We save it for the really far destinations, or when we get great prices on flights. 3. Fly out of bigger airports When we do fly, we often check other airports within 4 hours of us. We have a smaller local airport that can be expensive to fly in and out of, so sometimes it makes more sense to drive 2-4 hours to a huge hub like Chicago, St. Louis, etc. and fly out of there. 

4. Fly smaller airlines We typically find the best prices on flights through the smaller airlines like Frontier, Allegiant, Southwest or Spirit. We are currently looking at $115 round trip tickets through Spirit. My mom often finds deals on Frontier for less than $100 each way.  5. Don't stay in hotels Hotels are increasingly becoming an unaffordable option while traveling. Sometimes there's no way around it, but almost everywhere you go, you can find some type of rental for a way cheaper rate. For our family, staying in hotels usually just doesn't make sense. Our kids need space to move around, and most hotel rooms have a max capacity of 4 people. So, we either need to get 2 hotel rooms or some type of suite. We can usually find a rental for 1/2 the price of doing that, plus then we have access to a kitchen, which saves us a lot of money on food while traveling. Our favorite places to look for vacation rentals are VRBO and Airbnb.

6. Travel during the week If you can avoid weekend travel, rates are usually cheaper for lodging, flights, and sometimes even certain activities. My husband doesn't get very much vacation, so this is always a tricky one for us, but when we can, we try to avoid weekend travel. 

7. Buy a vacation package Depending on what type of vacation you want to take, there may be packages available that can be really affordable! I have never used them, but I have looked at a lot of the vacation packages from Costco, and they have some really good deals! I have also heard really good things about Gate 1. 8. Choose one meal per day to eat out Again, because of the size of our family, eating out for 3 meals a day while we're traveling would be $$$! We generally choose one meal per day to eat out (usually dinner) and then just do an easy breakfast most of the time, and the other meal in our rental. We keep it simple so we don't have to do a lot of cooking on vacation, but this saves us hundreds of dollars each trip. With the size of our family, when we go out to eat on vacation, it can be anywhere from $50-$100+ per meal. So if we're eating out 3 times a day that could be $150-$300 per day! Doing easy meals in the condo can save us well over $100 per day of vacation. 

9. Check for activity deals on discount sites Using sites like Groupon are always helpful when checking for things to do at your destination. Just doing a google search of affordable activities helps, too! When we went to San Diego a couple years ago, through our search we found out about the Go card which got us into probably hundreds of places! Of course, we couldn't go everywhere, but the cost of the card would have been about the same as just going to 2 of the places we wanted to go, so it was a great deal for us! 

What other tips do you have for traveling affordably? I really believe it can be done, whether you're taking a short road trip, or going international. You just have to look for the right deals and maybe be a little bit flexible on some things! 

Resources for Talking to Your Kids About Race

After my post the other night about ways to support my bi-racial sons, I had several friends inquiring more about how to talk to their own kids about race. 

This is a hard question that I am honestly not sure I have a great answer to, so I rounded up some resources I've seen, read myself, or seen shared in groups I am in. I have not personally read or listened to every word in all of these, just a little disclaimer. But I think they are all great resources from people who have a lot of wisdom on this topic. 

Why You Need To Talk With Your Kids About Race Podcast 

Race and Parenting: Why raising 'colorblind' kids is actually a terrible idea (includes helpful suggestions for different age groups!

Raising Social Justice Warriors   (helpful 'guide' on how children think about race at different ages)

Here's How To Raise Race-Conscious Children  (more resources at the bottom of that post!)

Teaching Tolerance : How white parents should talk to their young kids about race

Racing Race Conscious Children (TONS of resources and great conversations) 

Race Conscious Children facebook page

How to Talk to Kids About Race: Books and Resources That Can Help

Why I Talk About Race When I Read With My Toddler

Here are some great book lists to get more diverse books into your home, which is an amazing way to open up conversations about race in the early years.

37 children's books to help talk about racism & discrimination  

28 black picture books that aren't about boycotts, buses or basketball

Diverse Book Finder 

19 Multicultural children's books teaching kindness & empathy

Where's the color in kids' lit? Ask the girl with 1,000 books (and counting)

I hope that this is a helpful jumping off point for many of you! These conversations are important to be having with children of all ages, for every family! After going through all of these resources I'm thinking I am going to have to do a post on some of our favorite diverse children's books soon! 

6 Ways to Increase Veggie Consumption

I am always looking for ways to increase my vegetable intake. I actually really like most vegetables, but for some reason, they are still something I have to really be intentional about putting into my diet. They just aren't something I gravitate towards most of the time. I could honestly go a few days without a single veggie if I wasn't careful, which is why I have to plan for them and make sure I'm getting them in. I know this is something a lot of people struggle with, so I thought I'd share some things that work for me to up my veggie intake!

one. Buy prepackaged. 

I don't buy a ton of prepackaged veggies, but there are some things that are just SO convenient. For example, I absolutely loathe cutting up sweet potatoes, so when I buy them, I never use them, except maybe cooked in the microwave. If I want to add them to eggs, or dice up for a soup or something, I just never get around to using them and they sit on my counter until I eventually toss them. So, paying a little bit more to have diced and ready sweet potatoes is totally worth it for me to get them in! Another good example for me is riced cauliflower. I know it's not that hard to make, but I never do it. Honestly you can buy just about every veggie pre packaged these days, so if there are things you are having a hard time getting into your body because of the prep work, consider choosing one or two to buy already ready for ya! 

two. Choose one veggie and master it. 

A lot of the time, I think that people don't know how to prepare many different veggies. This leads to burning out on eating raw carrot sticks all the time. To simplify things, choose one vegetable and master the heck out of that thing! Keep fixing that veggie until you have absolutely mastered that thing and it is so delicious even your pickiest kid eater asks for it daily. Then, master another one. And another. 

three. Prep veggies at one time. 

We all know that prepping food ahead of time makes life easier. Finding the time and energy to do actually do it isn't always easy, though. Take 10 minutes after you've gone to the store to cut up and store all of your veggies for the week. I usually leave all my greens as is until I am ready to use them, but I love having cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. washed, cut and ready to go. If you've actually taken the time to do this, there is a lot higher chance you'll actually eat what you've purchased. When I am rushing to get lunch ready for 4 kids, I am not likely to put red peppers on their plates if I have to do more than just open the container and get them out. 

four. Green smoothies. 

If you aren't making green smoothies on the regular, why not?! My kids and I prefer using spinach to any other green (you honestly cannot taste the spinach, promise) and I add several heaping handfuls each time I make smoothies, which is several times a week. I can 100% guarantee you that 0% of my kids would eat spinach in any other form. They get 1-2 servings of veggies (and leafy greens at that!) in one sitting to start their day. 

five. Prepare one veggie several ways.

My kids used to like broccoli, then they decided that it's the worst thing on the planet. A couple weeks ago, I steamed broccoli and melted a little butter with garlic salt over the top, and they decided it was alright again. There are so many ways to prepare each and every vegetable. Choose one veggie, and see how many different ways you can prepare it! Steam it, boil it, grill it, sautee it, eat it raw, roast it, eat it with dip, make it savory, make it sweet.....

six. Make a veggie plate.
Remember all of those veggies that you prepped ahead of time? If you're still having trouble getting your veggies in, make yourself a little snack plate of veggies. Pile a few of each kind of veg that you prepped and munch on them during lunch, or for a snack. Sometimes, in order to really get enough vegetables in our bodies, we just need to make it happen.

What other tips do you have for increasing vegetable consumption?! Do you have any awesome recipes for veggies? If so, please share! 

30 Things I've Learned Over the Last 30 Years

In honor of my 30th birthday, I thought I would take some time to think about all that I have learned over the last 30 years. 30 seems like such a big one to me. I feel like I spent a lot of my 20's trying to figure things out, building our family, and waiting on a lot of different things. I am really hopeful for my 30's and think it will be a great decade to enjoy where we are at. Over the last 10 years I have gone from a single college student who was about to meet the love of her life ;) to a wife of almost 9 years and mom of 4. That's a lot of change in 10 short years, and I have learned a lot through all of those experiences. 
1. The older I get, the faster time will go by. There is nothing I can do to stop this, so I just need to embrace it.
2. Self love and self care is extremely important, and is not selfish, so make time for it! 
3. Love is a choice, forgiveness is a choice, joy is a choice.
4. ALL emotions are legitimate, even if they are based on a lie. If we feel a certain way, we feel that way for a reason. 
5. Everybody is weird. We just are. I think we should all just own it and be ok with our weirdness.
6. Jesus can take the most broken, wretched mess, and redeem it. Anything. Things we think are beyond repair and completely hopeless. It never ceases to amaze me. 
7. Many of the things I have spent time dwelling on, or stressing about are things that I completely forget about later on, or don't end up mattering in light of the rest of my life, or eternity. Discerning between what is important and what isn't has become crucial. 
8. If you have a partner who deeply loves and respects you, you are extremely blessed. I think this is something that is more rare than many people realize. (I count myself among those who are blessed by this.) 
9. Children are not resilient. So many of our deeply rooted issues and pains stem from something that occurred when we were children. I hear people saying "they'll be fine. Kids are so resilient" all the time, and it frustrates me. I should blog about this soon, because I think there is a lot more to be said about this. 
10. Manners are really important. They can make or break someone's opinion of you, or how a situation is handled. Using them also just makes people like you more ;) 
11. 90% of the time (totally making that statistic up...) disagreements, hurts, fights, misunderstandings, etc. occur because of miscommunication. Maybe it's not really that often, but so much of the time it's true. Why are we so bad about talking about things? Why are we so easily offended? 
12. Instincts are a really nice thing. Much of the time, if something doesn't feel right, it's probably not. 
13. It is important to have priorities, goals, and dreams. They give you something to work toward and fulfill. 
14. Traveling is really fun, sure, but I've also learned that it's really important. It gives us opportunities to experience new things, people, cultures, and ideas that may be outside of our "bubble". It allows us to spend quality time (no work, no school, no commitments...) with our loved ones. It gives us a break from our every day responsibilities and stressors. It used to be hard sometimes to justify the expense of traveling, but now I see it as such a worthwhile investment. 
15. Life will never stop being confusing. You'll never have it all "figured out". 
16. Education is really important, and I really believe that, BUT now that I'm well past high school age, I can tell all the kids who are wondering "WHEN WILL I EVER USE THIS" that most of the time, the answer is never. Learn it anyway. It will help you learn to do hard things, be determined and problem solve, and those are all invaluable lessons to learn. 
17. Raising children is one of the most inexplicably incredible things we can do on this earth. 
18. Kindness really does matter. 
19. Every single person is worthy of love, kindness and acceptance. Whether or not you agree with them, whether or not you even like them. If you can't do those things, find one positive trait they have and dwell on that thing. 
20. Everyone needs their person. The person that will take their secrets to the grave, and who they can call on any time of the day and they will come running. If you don't have one of those, get one. They will enhance your life. 
21. Only what's done for Christ will last. Live with eternity in mind. 
22. Laughter really is great medicine. It is so good for the soul.
23. YOU can make a difference, and if you don't think you can, find a way. Too many people think they can't do great things and so they never do. 
24. Learning how someone prefers or needs to be loved is necessary. We don't all receive love in the same way, and finding out how someone feels most loved can make a world of difference. 
25. Parenting done right in the early years will make everyone's lives more enjoyable in the later years. (Wisdom from my pastor-- do the hard work when they're young and you'll be able to give them more grace and enjoy the teen years because they already know right from wrong.) 
26. Finding something you enjoy can really make life worth living. Hobbies are not a waste of time. 
27. There is a HUGE difference between knowing truth, and truth setting you free. I am learning that difference now and it is life changing.
28. Don't worry too much about what other people are doing. We can drive ourselves crazy with that. At the end of our lives, we are accountable to God for ourselves. 
29. Life really does get better with age. 
30. I am completely undeserving. Chosen by God for eternity, and reaping many blessings from Him here on Earth. I don't know why, but I am forever thankful. 

How I Do Laundry for 6 people in One Hour Per Week

I think almost every mom I know dreads laundry. It seems to be never ending, take up so much of our time, and just be a drag. I used to feel that way a lot of the time, but I've come up with a system for laundry that works SO well for our family of 6 and only takes me just under one hour every week!  Since becoming a mom of 4, I have found that when something is taking up too much of my time (chore wise), or I am completely dreading it or drowning in it, I need to reevaluate how I am doing it and why it is no longer working for me. No one way works for every home, with any chore. I was sick of falling behind with laundry and spending what felt like hours every day folding and putting it away. I used to do laundry by categorizing my laundry by person. Monday I would do mine and my husband's laundry. Tuesday I would do the girls' laundry. Wednesday I would do the boys' laundry, so on and so forth. This meant that every day I was washing about a week's worth of laundry for 2 people. For a long time I preferred doing it this way because it was less sorting. I didn't have to make 20 piles for everyone in our family and go around to each room putting things away. But after adding so many more people to our family, it just wasn't working anymore, so I reevaluated and what I've been doing for the last several months has been working out so well! It's really so simple. 

I wash a load of laundry every week day. I was already doing this, but now I am washing the clothes that were worn the day before by everyone in the family. I don't do laundry on the weekends so on Monday I have 3 days of laundry to wash (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and Tuesday-Friday I am doing one day's worth. Tuesday-Friday it takes me just under 7 minutes to fold all the laundry and put it away. My girls put their own laundry away. I leave it in a pile for them on the couch and they put it away and leave their shirts/dresses on the floor for me to hang since they can't reach. 7 minutes x 4 days a week is 28 minutes. On Monday it takes me about 20 minutes to fold and put everything away. It takes me around 30 seconds to throw a load in the washer or take it out of the dryer, so just a few minutes a week for that. Add in extra loads like towels or sheets here and there throughout the week, which take even less time to fold and I am coming in right around 1 hour a week. 

I don't sort clothes by color (we don't wear much white aside from socks or under shirts anyway) or type (jeans, sweaters, etc.) but I wasn't doing that before either and have NEVER had a problem washing all the clothes together. I have 1 laundry basket in the hall way and when everyone changes into their pajamas before bed, they throw their clothes from the day into the laundry basket, and in the morning after they get dressed, they throw their pajamas in and then I start the laundry right away in the morning, and fold it during the kids nap/rest time.  I have no idea why it takes so much less time. It should be the same amount of clothes in a week, right? It doesn't make sense and I have no explanation, but it goes so much faster and my loads are so much smaller each day.  The best part about it is that I never feel like I am behind on laundry. I have the system and routine down pat now and knowing that it only takes me a few minutes per day makes me looking forward to just getting it done! Last week I was sick on Monday, and recouping on Tuesday so I didn't get around to the weekend's laundry until Wednesday so I had to do 5 days worth of laundry for 6 people in that one day and it took me FOREVER. It really solidified for me that this system is working out SO well for me and I'm so glad I switched! 

What's In My Preschool Aged Daughters' Carry Ons

On my old blog, I used to blog semi frequently about traveling with children. We do a fair amount of travel, and have done the whole range-short car trips, long car trips (18+ hours), airplanes, lay overs, me flying solo with 2 under 2, flying solo with an infant, driving over night, entertaining kids in the car all day, driving with a baby, with 2 toddlers, with 4 kids, and more! So I'd like to think we are pretty seasoned at traveling with kiddos! The last few years, we have basically only driven with our kids. Even when we have a 16 hour drive down to Texas. Once you have to start buying 4 (and now 6) plane tickets, it's just not even a question for us. Spend $3,000 on plane tickets for all 6 of us (literally, that's truly what it would cost us to fly to Houston), or spend a few hundred to drive. Well, we are getting ready to travel by plane for the first time in several years, with our two daughters, ages almost 4 and 5. Since the last time we flew with them was when they were about 8 months and 2 years, I definitely had to think about what I should pack for them. I am your classic over packer. It's definitely something I have to be careful about, and especially now that we have so many people. This trip, I am trying to do it all in carry ons so we don't have to pay luggage fees, and because we have layovers, and I feel like every time I check a bag and have a layover, the bag gets lost/delayed. So, for the purpose of clarity on this post, my girls will both be taking an actual carry on suitcase with their clothes and toiletries and such, and then also carrying on a backpack, and this post is about what I'm packing in their backpacks. 

Because we will be doing layovers, and my husband and I will each have our own carry on bag, backpacks, and the girls' car seats, I want to make sure the girls' backpacks aren't too heavy, since they will really need to be in charge of them since we will have our hands full with the rest of the stuff. So that already eliminates a lot of the things I typically pack on trips (magna doodles, sets of Me Reader books, etc.) 

First up, you have to have a coloring book. This will work out perfectly this trip because my girls have been so busy with imaginative play lately, they have hardly been doing any kind of art. Although they have gobs of coloring books, I did pick them up these little ones from the Target dollar spot because a) they're small which = very lightweight, and b) I love holiday themed things, and so do my girls. Of course, if you have coloring books you need to have something to color with. I like twistable crayons, because they won't get broken in the backpack from smushing it under the airplane seat and such. I also had to grab these stacking crayons when I saw them at Target. These made me so nostalgic! Didn't everyone have some kind of writing utensil where you could pull the bottom color out and stick it in the top to change the color?! I'm pretty sure my girls will think they are awesome, and for $1 a piece, it's money well spent. Easy entertainment. I also got these 6 color pens, because again...nostalgia. 

I am putting a journal in each  of the girls' backpacks so they can doodle or put stickers on the pages, etc. I'll also pack them a color or two of play doh. It's so easy, small, and fun for them to just do on the airplane tray.  I told both girls they can each pick a "read aloud" book and whichever parent they sit by will read it to them during one of the flights. My guess is that they'll each pick out a Mercy Watson book from our set, but we will see! They might surprise me. That should take up a decent chunk of a flight. I also got them each 2 new books for the trip. I love the Step Into Reading books because they are inexpensive, small/lightweight, easy to find, and they are always coming out with new stories of favorite characters. The girls love always having new books for trips.  The girls each have a Kindle Fire tablet. These are fairly small, so pretty lightweight. We are planning to load some new learning apps, games, books, and download some shows from Netflix (LOVE that you can do that now!) to the tablets before we go, so everything on it will be new and exciting for them.  They also have these cases (which make them really easy to hold!) and these headphones. Love both. 

I'll pack them both an empty water bottle to go through security, and fill it up with water from the drink service on the plane (we have these, which will keep their drinks nice and cold all day!) And a few snacks. Our departing flight leaves super early in the morning, so we will probably eat breakfast on our layover, but the next flight is a little long so they will probably get hungry during it. Plus, snacks keep kids busy.  Puzzles are lightweight and easy to pack. The dollar tree always has TONS of puzzles in just about every character you could want. I'll probably pack one or two for each girl to do on their tray table. I just throw all the pieces into a ziploc bag and voila!  I am also packing a couple of card games to kill some time on layovers.

I got them each a little hand sanitizer holder for their bags so we can hopefully ward off germs in the airports and airplanes.  It was a little bit of a challenge trying to come up with enough lightweight things that will keep them busy for about 5-6 hours on the airplanes each way, but hopefully this will be plenty for them to do! 

6 Ways to Support Foster Families

I didn't want to end foster care awareness month without talking about the families who are taking care of those sweet kiddos! It can be a very hard, tiring and trying job! There are so many families out there doing amazing things and I think because foster care is so unknown and foreign to so many people, many of them don't get very much support. We have been very blessed to have so many people actively involved in our foster care journey, and we are very grateful for the support we have received! Not everyone should foster. Yes, there is a HUGE need for more families, but it's not for everyone! However, many people can help support these kiddos and families in other ways! Here are a few ideas, in case you want to help a foster family you know, but aren't sure what foster families need! 1. Bring meals Much like having a newborn baby, having foster kiddos come to live with you can mean sleepless nights and lots of emotions in the beginning. It is often done with little to no planning or preparation, which can make it even more stressful! As foster families are trying to get to know the kiddos and vice versa, they are usually focusing all of their attention on loving them, making them feel at home and safe & secure. Meals are very helpful during this time! It is just one less thing that the foster parents have to think about. And let's face it-everyone's got to eat!  2. Donate items We were lucky to have a few days to prepare for our foster kids, but many people get as little as a 30 minute notice before kids are dropped off at their home. You can be somewhat prepared ahead of time, but you don't always know what age and gender of child you will be taking into your home. Many times these calls come in the middle of the night where you can't just run out and grab things, and the next day you are too exhausted to do so after pulling an all nighter with your new little love! If you hear about a family adding new children to their home, it is SO helpful to offer items you might have sitting around that they might need! Some examples would be cribs/beds, car seats, clothes, baby items, toys, books, etc. Not all necessities, but for many families, they've never had children in their home before and have none of this! Many children are brought to foster homes with little to no items. The foster family then has to find time to run out and get all of these things while taking care of the child(ren) during this huge trauma for them. It can also be a large expense for them. Many first time parents have 9 or more months to prepare for many of these items, and many times much of the items are gifted to them! Foster parents often go from having nothing one night to needing diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, an entire wardrobe, some toys, a crib, car seats, etc. the next night. That is a huge expense up front!  3. Bring lunch/coffee/reinforcements Asking your friends if you can stop by with lunch or coffee, or heck, even bagels, is so helpful during those sleep deprived nights. Even if they are fostering older children, the first few weeks/months can be very rough for everyone while they are getting adjusted. Coming over to entertain the kids or take the parents' mind off things with some mindless conversation + coffee is always helpful! Shout out to Raylene and Jenna for bringing me coffee and reinforcements a few weeks ago!!  4. Become a respite provider I am not sure if every state has respite, but in our state, if you are going to leave your foster children overnight, it must be with a licensed family/person. There is HUGE need for this! It is terribly hard to find people to do respite. We have found it especially hard to find it during the week because most respite families seem to work and since I stay home, our foster kids don't have child care for during the week. In our state, the process to become a respite provider is the same as becoming a foster or adoptive family. You do the background checks, take the classes and do the home study. Yes, it is a lot of work to go through to provide respite, but it is so needed and appreciated! If you have a heart for foster care, but can't become a foster family for whatever reason, consider providing respite! This is also a great way to get a feel for foster care on a temporary basis and see if it would be a good fit for you.  5. Don't forget about foster families Again, very similarly to having a new baby, foster families receive support in the beginning, but it quickly tapers off after the dust settles. Foster care is still very trying and emotionally and physically draining and the families continue to need support throughout the months/years depending on their situation. This could be offering to take the kiddos so they can go on a date or just get some housework done, this could be becoming a respite family, this could be bringing an unexpected meal or ice cream or coffee! Even just checking in with the family to see how things are going is so appreciated! Foster families cannot share many details about the case, but it is nice to know that people are thinking and praying for the situation and children. 
6. Help with childcare/appointments/transportation If you are able to transport or help out with foster kiddos for childcare or other kiddos in the home, it is super helpful! It seems like often times foster kids have a lot of different appointments for a lot of different things and it can be very time consuming for the foster family. At one point, my husband and I figured out we were averaging about one appointment every week for our foster kids, and I actually think that will be increasing soon! Often times, those appointments will be for one at a time and depending what it is, sometimes we can't take the other 3. I know this is very common in foster care, so it is helpful to have people who are willing to help out in those ways!  If you are a foster family or have supported one, what other things would you add?! 

How to Do Whole 30 on a Budget

When I decided to do another Whole 30, I knew that I had to do some things very differently. One of them had to be cost. My first whole 30 (whole 25, really) was last May and during that month, I went over double my grocery budget. Oops. I honestly didn't pay attention to the money portion of it at that time because I wasn't as concerned about it and didn't need to pinch pennies as closely then as I do now with the adoption. This time, doubling my normal grocery bill was not an option for me, and I knew I could do it without going over, so here is how I did! 

This first tip is going to save the most money but is going to be the most unpopular amongst the whole 30 community. I skipped buying grass fed and organic meat.  In some regions it may not be that much more, but here it is about double the price for grass fed beef, and sometimes up to 4 times as much for organic chicken. No wonder I went so far over my budget last time! We also eat so many eggs-usually at least 5 dozen a week. I would love to be able to afford all free range, organic eggs, but that would put us at $25 a week JUST on eggs. Again, I know this isn't what the program would recommend, but if you are really looking at doing whole 30 on a budget and can't afford these things, it will make a huge difference in price. 

The next thing I did was snack less. Technically on whole 30, they don't really like you to snack at all, but sometimes it is inevitable. Last time, I still snacked quite a bit and whole 30 compliant snacks aren't going to be cheap. A bag of nuts is anywhere from $6-$12 a bag or more. A Larabar is $1.50. If you are eating that stuff every day, you might be looking at an extra $20 or more a week just in snacks. 
Something else that I think really helped was to make simple meals. Last time, I didn't make super intricate meals, but I did try out a few new things that needed new ingredients. So I would be buying an $8 bag of arrowroot powder just to use 1/2 a cup from it and never use it again. Silly. Sticking to more simple meals (meat, fat and produce) can really help cut down some of those costs. 

I think the last thing I was more conscious of this time was to buy seasonally. I know a lot of people already try to do this, and I do it somewhat (i.e. I don't buy $7 containers of strawberries in the winter.) but last time I just bought what I found in recipes and what sounded good. You are going to pay a lot more for a spaghetti squash in the spring than you would in the fall. That's just how it is! Buy seasonally, and you will keep your produce prices lower.  
I am thrilled to have kept my whole 30 on budget this time around and I honestly can't believe it is already over! The month just FLEW by! Any other tips for eating whole 30, or eating clean on a budget? 

How I'm Doing This Whole 30 Differently

Last May I did a whole 30 with my husband, which was really a whole 25. After that, I swore I would never do another one. Mainly because once I stopped it, I couldn't stop eating all the junk I couldn't have on whole 30, which completely defeats the purpose of it. I felt so deprived during it that I spent the next few months making up for what I didn't eat that month. A month or so ago, when I brought up the idea of doing another one, I knew immediately that there were several things I would do differently this time around to make it more sustainable and less miserable for me. So far, it has gone much more smoothly this time around-physically, emotionally, in terms of food, everything! So here is what I am doing differently:  Planning out dinner for the whole month I always meal plan. Usually I do it for a week at a time instead of a month because that just works out better for our family. I don't usually know what we will be doing in 2 or 3 weeks. Last whole 30 was no exception, but by about half way through I was running out of ideas, nothing sounded good, etc. This time, I took a few weeks before I started, compiled all of my favorite recipes from last time and looked for a few new ones to fill in the blanks and made a spread sheet. I came up with 15 days worth of dinners and then planned to just repeat them for the second half. Eating the same thing every week, I may get sick of it, but only twice a month is fine for me. So far this has worked out SO well. I put in all the ingredients I would need, so each week I go and make my grocery list and I'm all set. Easy!

Eating the same thing for breakfast for a week at a time One of the worst things last time was that I got SO sick of eggs. I hated everything about eggs because I ate them so much and didn't do a good job of planning ahead for breakfast. If I didn't plan anything, I ended up eating scrambled eggs. This time, I knew that would happen again so I decided to eat the same thing every day for a week for breakfast and that way as I'm starting to get sick of it, I'll move to something else. I can make up a quiche and eat on it for the whole week, or I can dice potatoes for potatoes o'brien to cook each morning. It has been really easy and so far I am not sick of breakfast. Not trying to make whole 30 versions of something ...for the most part. I did make a whole 30 compliant mayo so I could make deviled eggs and egg salad and that has been good. But last time I would try this intricate, complicated recipe and it would be a total flop. Like zucchini fritters. Just no. It didn't work at all. This time I decided to not even try with that and just stick to not trying to go out of my way to make something with expensive ingredients that I don't have and will never use again. 

Snacking less Last time, I didn't snack a TON, but I kind of depended on a little snack to get me through the day and night. I think I never mentally got over feeling like I needed something to eat when I was doing this. I have still snacked a bit this round, but only when I am actually hungry and not just feel like eating to eat or out of boredom. Having balanced meals As I started getting into a food boredom phase last time, I turned to Larabars, nuts, snacks, fruit, etc. to get me through. This turned out really bad because I would eat a Larabar for breakfast since nothing else sounded good, but then I'd be hungry again an hour later and would eat a little something else and so on. I also noticed that when I didn't eat a well balanced meal I would be hungry a lot sooner, so this time I am really aiming to have enough protein and healthy fat at each meal along with produce of course. 

Not dwelling on what I can't have Last time I think this really set me back. I was constantly thinking about the food I wanted to be eating but couldn't. Mentally this hurt me because all I wanted to do was eat that food instead of the healthy food I could have. This time, I didn't necessarily set out to not do this, but I realized a few days into it when my husband pointed out how well it was going this time that I had been doing that and now I have aimed to continue. Instead of dwelling on the buns my family is having on their hamburgers, I just enjoy the bun-less burger I am having instead. It has been a game changer to switch my mindset in this way!  So far, this whole 30 has gone a lot better than my first one and I am hoping it stays that way. I really think I have some stomach issues that are food related and I am guessing the culprit is either dairy or gluten so it will be interested to completely clear my system out and reintroduce and see what happens! I am anxious to continue learning more about how I can fuel my body well and that is something I couldn't say last time. Last time I was anxious to get my hands on donuts and pizza again! 

How to Choose a Front Door Color

Bold, beautiful front doors are in, if you haven't noticed. But the million dollar question is, how to choose a color for your front door. I'm sure this all started with Pinterest. At least I am guessing. I mean, what didn't start with Pinterest?! When we built our house last year, we had to choose 1 interior wall color and a front door color. The wall color was basically a giant sheet of different whites and off whites, and the door color could be literally any paint color that Sherwin Williams makes. Talk about impossible. How do you narrow it down?! To make matters even harder, our house is the very first house when you enter our neighborhood, so I totally felt like there was pressure (that was only coming from myself, of course) to set the tone for the whole neighborhood. Who wants to look at an ugly front door every time they come home or have friends come into the neighborhood to visit. Whew! Eventually we got there, and I have been obsessed with the color we chose. I continue to receive countless compliments on it from people who come to visit or even just random people driving by. So how did we finally narrow down the thousands of colors and choose the perfect one? Read on, my friends, read on. 

First, you'll want to narrow it down to what you DON'T want! You probably know if you don't want a brown door or a green door. This will be easy to take out several color families right away and possibly even cut your choices in half or more. For us, I knew I either wanted a black door (which would have been totally simple), or some shade of turquoise-y or yellow. That took out so many other color schemes. 

Second, find inspiration. Browse Pinterest for gorgeous front doors, do a google search for "your color front door", check out HGTV or Better Homes & Gardens, etc. There are so many beautiful options out there that you might want to piggy back off of. 

Third, take other things into consideration. What color is your house? What colors are in your front yard (flowers, greenery, water perhaps, etc.)? Do you have accent colors, like ORB fixtures on the front that you want to coordinate with? When I was having a terribly hard time deciding between a shade of turquoise and yellow (I had already eliminated black), I realized that my siding was way too light for a bold, bright yellow front door. Our siding is very light gray and I felt like the bold yellow that I wanted would have stuck out like a sore thumb instead of just looking happy and peppy like I was aiming for. If my siding had been 2-3 shades darker gray I think I would have been more comfortable with it. Looking at these factors helped me to narrow it down once again. Maybe you have some beautiful orange flowers that bloom in your yard that you want to accent with. Think about all of these things and what colors will coordinate the best. 
Fourth, once you have narrowed it down to one or two color families, go get paint swatches. Personally, I feel like the paint swatches never are the same color on the sheet as they end up being on your wall so I do a combination of things. First, I google. "Paint brand Color Name" "i.e. Sherwin Williams Reflecting Pool". Of course every color looks different depending on lighting, what it is painted on and your monitor but I think this can really help you narrow it down. I think this step is crucial for eliminating some colors. It'll really show you which colors you may not want on your front door. After you have narrowed it down even more, go get samples. I used to avoid getting samples because it was just one more thing to pay for, but they are critical if you want to know what it is really going to look like.  Finally, paint a few inconspicuous spots on your front door. Paint little spots with each of your samples so you can see how it will really look on your door. Check it at several times of day to see what it looks like in the early morning light, direct sun, sunset, etc. This will also probably help you narrow down ones that you don't like and hopefully by now, you will have just one or two to decide between! At this point you may just have to flip a coin ;) Or you can do what I did and send your 2 final picks to your husband and tell him to choose one and take care of business. Most likely you love both of the final picks so you will be happy with either one! 

Now you can sit back and enjoy your beautiful new front door (after you've done all the work to paint it which I have no tips on because our builder did it for us, sorry!)!

How to Get Your Toddlers to Brush Their Teeth

I have heard other people say before what a pain it is to get little kids to brush their teeth. I've heard parents complain about being bit, tantrums and lots of wiggling during teeth brushing sessions but honestly, I didn't have anything to relate it to. It wasn't until I took my girls to the dentist for the first time a couple of months ago that I realized that maybe my kids were in the minority of little ones who don't mind having their teeth brushed. The dentist wasn't too surprised that my 3 year old sat pretty still and thought she was big stuff in the chair, but he seemed overly surprised that my then 1 1/2 year old didn't mind it. He had her straddle my lap, and then he laid her backwards with her head in his lap. He asked me to try to hold her still and gave me this little pep talk about how she would probably hate it and he would be quick, etc. When she opened right up and just laid there, letting him brush, he continued to comment on how he had never had another one that age sit so contently. I'm not saying this to brag, but just to share some of the ways we have been able to brush our girls' teeth without a battle each day. 

Start young I think one common mistake is waiting until the child has a full set of teeth and at a dramatic point in childhood to start brushing their teeth. It's a foreign object in their mouth and they aren't in control of it...of course they will be surprised. Start as soon as the first tooth pokes through. You can get little baby tooth brushes that you put on your finger until they are ready for toddler size. 
Be consistent This one is probably really obvious, but toddlers need consistency. If they know that every morning after breakfast or before their nap, their teeth are getting brushed, they will be prepared for it and may not fight it as much. Try to stick to your routine as much as possible. For us, it is after breakfast and before bed at night.

Let them brush yours Our kids love brushing our teeth. We often brush ours at the same time and they just think it is the best thing ever to get a turn brushing ours the way we brush theirs.
Take turns When we first started, we would brush their teeth thoroughly first, and then let them have a turn playing with the brush and "brushing". Now, we let them have their turn first and "brush" their teeth (they are actually getting pretty good at it now), and then they pass it over to us for a turn. We have done it this way so long, that I give them their toothbrushes while I'm brushing mine and before I'm even half way done, they are passing me theirs and saying "your turn, mommy". It really helps kids to know they have some control over what you're doing to their body.

Assign words, songs or fingerplays We have a little routine and words to go along with it. First, they open up and say "ahhhh" so their mouth is wide and I can get their bottom teeth. The I tell them I'm going "upstairs" and they say "ahhh" again and I do their upper teeth. Then they give me a "cheeeeeeese" and I do their front teeth. They know the routine well and tell me to do the same when they brush mine ;) They also love singing the Brush Your Teeth song by Raffi occasionally while we are brushing. Finger plays, songs, and rhymes about brushing your teeth are all great for kids. 
Show them pictures or videos Sometimes one of the most effective ways you can get kids to do something they don't want to is showing them other people doing it. If they really look up to older kids, show them a picture of some bigger kids brushing their teeth. If they love Mickey Mouse, try to find a video on YouTube of Mickey brushing. Once they see that everyone does it and its "cool" they may be more willing to give it a try.
Have you faced the tooth brushing battle in your home? What are some tips you have for getting your kiddos to brush? 

Homemaking On A Dime: Hosting Company

Today is the final post in the Homemaking On A Dime series! It has been really fun talking all things homemaking, sharing tips for how to do it on a budget, and reading all of your ideas! Thanks for sticking with me through it, and I hope it was helpful and entertaining for you as well.  This week we are talking about ways to host company while on a budget. Opening our homes is so important and can be so much fun, but if you are tight on funds, you may not be as willing to do it very regularly. So let's get right to it, and talk about some ways to minimize the cost of having people over. 

Go easy on beverages If you are having a meal, or even if you're not, calm down with the drinks already! I think a lot of people feel like they need to have 16 different drink options at each meal, but I think we can honestly say that most people will be fine with water or maybe one other option. There are really inexpensive drink mixes, or a good way to mix it up would be to do some infused water with things you already have like berries, or lemon and lime. 

Themed dinners Instead of creating a big, fancy feast, try coming up with a themed dinner. Taco night, baked potato bar, soup supper, or something similar. A lot of these kinds of themes will also allow you to focus on one main thing and just provide several toppings. Like have a bunch of baked potatoes (so cheap), and provide cheese, sour cream, broccoli, bacon, etc. and have people create their own. This also works well with doing personal pizzas, or shish kabobs! People love picking out their own stuff, so it's entertainment AND dinner. What more could you want?!  Game night Skip the dinner and go straight for the games. If you can't afford to feed several extra people, don't feel like you have to have them over for a meal! Ask some friends over for a game night and have everyone bring a game and snack to share. Or just serve dessert and drinks. We love games and we often enjoy having people over for games after our kids have gone to bed. 

Have a fire Something about fires just draw people in. The fire pit we bought last year at Target has been one of our best entertaining investments thus far! We have had countless conversations, laughs, and marshmallows around that thing. People love to just sit outside in nature, roasting some mallows and chatting long after the sun has gone down. 

Have a pot luck If you want to get together with a group of people, host a pot luck! This works out well for larger crowds so that everyone can bring something and everyone has plenty to eat! We do something similar every year for July 4th. You could provide the main dish and everyone could bring a side or dessert, or you could grill out and everyone could bring what they want. The options are endless with pot lucks!  Skip the fancy feast Instead of having bacon wrapped filet mignon topped with expensive cheeses and mushrooms, dial it down a notch and have a casserole and a few sides, or a big pot of soup or stew. People will be just as happy with that (maybe happier), and it will save you some big bucks. Don't feel like you have to go all out just to have someone over (but if you like to, that's great too...it can definitely be fun). There are so many meals you can make really inexpensively to feed a large crowd! 
Any other ideas for hosting on a dime?! 
I hope you have enjoyed this series! I am looking forward to hearing how you have used some of these tips over the last 5 weeks!