Quin – Page 14

In The Kitchen: Living Salad Bowl

June 4, 2014 by Quin Leave a Comment

Having a living salad bowl on my deck is just about my favorite thing right now. It makes lunch time so easy! It’s also a great way to add simple veggies to dinner. My biggest high comes from seeing my picky eater snacking on it while he plays outside.
In each pot I planted:
Green leaf lettuce
Red leaf lettuce
Baby spinach
Green onions
I have another pot with basil (yummmmm) it has a plant in the center and seeds scattered around the rest that will hopefully grow soon.
After years of wanting to grow my own lettuce, I’m so glad I finally did it!

A Letter to my Children… & You

May 17, 2014 by Quin Leave a Comment

Written for my children, for when they are older and will understand it more. But maybe you {my dear readers} could use this right now, too? I know I would benefit from these words being spoken to me daily.

My Dear Children,
I pray you are clinging tightly to Jesus. Be ready. Be ready for whatever comes your way, whether you think it to be good or worry it may cause strife.
I want you to be BOLD in your conversations and in your actions. You can be bold, kindly.
Act as Jesus would.

Soften your hearts. Drop your guard, & be genuine. Yes, please, please be genuine. And forgiving.
Don’t be afraid of a disappointment. Do and say the things God lays on your heart so you have no regret over the things you left undone.
Time will run out. You don’t have forever to do it all. Your life on Earth will end. Make the time for the things that matter. Quit hiding behind excuses that are inflicted by your insecurities.
They say people will forget what you’ve said but remember how you made them feel. I hope you never forget the feeling of being absolutely positively loved by me, your momma.
I want you to be aware that in this life some people will work to twist your words and hurt you. Please, when you can, stray from them. Just stray.
Make your mark on the world & shine brightly.
Take time to heal your soul. It needs refreshing more often than you’d think.
Take time to address any internal problems you feel arise.
Always be ready to move on.
It isn’t guaranteed that you will get a warning for when your time comes to meet our Heavenly Father, so just be ready.
Never forget to work in face to face conversations. I don’t care how easy social media is when you are older, it’s not the same as human contact. Use it as a tool, do not let it distract you.
I want you to know how to play at least one tune on either guitar or piano. Never turn down an opportunity to perform.
Smile, please?
When you meet “the one” never forget that they are the ONE. I believe we each only get one shot at marriage. Pray often for your spouse. Don’t be afraid to ask them to pray for you, be specific. Love them fully and passionately.
Wherever there is bad, there is also GOOD. Seek it out.
Regularly step out of your comfort zone and see how much you’ll grow.
Make time for fun!
When you need spiritual help, get it. If you need counseling, get it. Never be ashamed to ask for help.
Don’t go this life alone. Keep Jesus in your heart and goodness on your mind.
I.Love.You.
Momma

Home Organization: A New Bookshelf

May 16, 2014 by Quin Leave a Comment

Oh, Happy Day! Mr. Awesome & the kids assembled this bookshelf for me while I was at a movie with friends this week.

He ROCKS for doing this!

I love seeing the big kids reading.
Today we are compiling the stacks of books from around the house onto this ONE bookshelf. I’m keeping my expectations low, but hoping this gets organized and stays organized for at least the summer. Once we get our groove for where the books go I’m going to borrow my dad’s label maker and mark the shelves.

Do you have any spectacular book organization methods to share?

This bookshelf is from the KALLAX line at IKEA. You can see the details of the shelving unit on their web-site by clicking HERE.

On Mother’s Day

May 11, 2014 by Quin Leave a Comment

Hey, can we talk? I know it’s Mother’s Day. How are you feeling about that? Be honest.
I hope no matter what your answer comes out like, I pray you are content. I know that may not be the case though.
Being a mom looks different to each of us. Some of us came by it young, others later in life. Some are going it alone, others with help. Some through pregnancy and birth, some by adoption, others may have a more painful story to tell. Even more may still waiting and wishing to become a mother. {To you I say, be faithful to the Lord. Your strength will rise as you wait for His perfect timing}.

No matter your story, own it. It’s yours.

If you aren’t feeling so great about this day, for a materialistic reason, like:

The gifts weren’t your first choice, or maybe never arrived. Despite your obvious hints!
The kids keep fighting.
You’re spending the day with your in-laws & that was the one thing you requested NOT to do.
No one is helping with anything.
You’re cooking for yourself and everyone else when YOU want to be the one to be waited on.
Fill in the blank_______________________.

Whatever, okay. I get it, I do. It stinks to not get your way. I just ask that you’d actively choose joy in this day. To me it’s not a day so much to be honored by my husband and kids, but a day to honor myself in positive thoughts and spreading good cheer. A day to feel blessed to be a blessing to my blessings (did you follow that one??)

If you’re struggling, repeat after me:
“I will not whine today…I will not whine today… For crying outloud I’m the mom here and I said I will not whine today!”

Alright, do whatever works for you.

Now if this day is tough because you’ve got emotional hurt. That’s another story. There is some very real pain in miscarriage, having your child removed from your care, or waiting for a child to enter your life. To that I want to encourage you to turn to God. He is the only one who can fully heal your pain. It’s worth the work of unpacking how you feel. You’re worth it. I can’t blog something on this that would be worthy of your reading. It’s too deep. You need Him. And He’s there for you, ready to purify your heavy heart and heal you so you can move on, once and for all.

Ps. One last request, which will probably go unanswered, but I will not whine… 😉 Could you keep the social media to a minimum? Relish in the day, not the # of likes and comments a picture of your gift gets you or whatev. Be fully engaged with the real-life activities you are doing, not what is happening in the virtual world.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

One last thing. It’s almost 1am & I’m sure this is full of typos. If you’re new here, I’ll let you in on a secret. I write quick and from the heart. Days later I reread & find the mistakes. Sometimes I fix them…sometimes I don’t.

Intentional Parenting

May 9, 2014 by Quin Leave a Comment

Let’s talk about being intentional in our parenting. Although many great things do happen spontaneously, I believe that even greater things can happen when we are joyfully being intentional.

What are you doing to intentionally spend time with your kiddos? I’ll go first.

Well for starters, we are recognizing “screen free week” in our house. Notice I say recognizing, not fully
partaking. I’d like to say I’m 100% on board, but to be honest, I’m missing out on too much! No joke, two days off of Facebook and I feel like I don’t have a clue what is going on in real life conversations because
everyone is talking about what they read on Facebook… & I have obligations to fulfill through FB and e-mail. So I
check my FB about once or twice a day strictly for messages or about something someone mentioned needed my attention. That’s not anywhere near as often as I was getting online. It’s been a good cleanse and I hope to continue in this new pattern.

This week to be intentional I’m busting out the craft supplies! We painted {in our carpeted
dining room} twice this week! I put my phone aside, ignored any beeps for new text messages until we were done, and just focused on my kids. It was so much fun! I really adored the time with my littles. We laughed, we talked, we created. We looked back at what we made and talked some more about our time together. Oh it’s been so fun!

We also got outside each day. Even if only for a short time, we were out there, and we were together. It’s pure
joy, raising these little people. I just can’t quite explain it, but I am as happy as can be to be their momma.

Her First Communion

April 24, 2014 by Quin Leave a Comment

As a parent my biggest struggle and greatest joy is guiding my children in their relationship with Christ.
I want their faith to be their own, not something I force on them and they later reject because I was too overbearing. I also don’t want to do too little now that someday when they are 23 years old (with two children of their own) they’re left embarrassed and clueless as they are sitting around a table with a bunch of Christian friends listening to references of children’s bible stories they’ve never before heard and feeling ripped off… terribly ripped off.

Or getting their oldest children baptized because it was “PAST time” according to the mom-in-law. But this momma really didn’t have a clue what it all meant. And was again, too embarrassed to ask.

I was lost, with nowhere to start. I don’t blame my parents, they were facing their own struggles in this world. And really, how do you know when you’re doing too much, or doing too little? They probably did just what they were supposed to do, but it took me a little longer than most to “make it my own”. Each child is so different and their needs aren’t identical, especially when it comes to their faith.

I want to give my children a firm foundation to build on. And I’m learning more and more that I can’t do that just with bed time prayers, a little bible reading, and some intentional character building. And I surely can’t make it a classroom style ordeal. I’ve gotta take time with each child and seek their individual heart right where they are and go from there.

Anyway, all of that just to say:

You know you’re not totally screwing up this whole parenting gig when something like this lands on your office desk.

A note from my sweet girl.

She took this faith thing and made it her own, just as I’ve always hoped that she’d do. My heart is stretched so big right now. So big.
I’m grateful for the village that helped my little girl reach this milestone. What ever good things you’re working on right now, keep at it!

And if you’re sitting there wishing you could have your heart stretched by a child who is making their faith their own, worry not. This sort of thing does NOT happen over night, but over many nights. Or like in my journey, many, many, many MANY nights. Be blessed friends. Oh, and please, if you’re the one reading this going, HEY that sounds like me! I’m so clueless. JUST ASK the questions you have. Don’t put up a front or try to act like you know. Open your lips and let honesty pour out. More than likely you will be filled with love, grace, and new knowledge beyond anything you could imagine.

Sorry it’s a little blurry. She taught herself how to add some color to the font.
I don’t even know how to do that!

Philippians 1:6

“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Brief Update!

April 8, 2014 by Quin Leave a Comment

Just a quick update. We are almost to the end of our first official homeschool year! Woohoo!

This has been the best experience for our family. Seriously. I cannot even convey in words how much God has brought our family closer together through this.
Both of the big kids have made big educational gains, and have become more independent throughout the year. The baby has really gotten to bond with her big siblings, and that is something that just wouldn’t have happened (at least not in the same way) if they were away at school.

Thank you to all of you who have supported us through this journey. And actually, thank you to those of you who haven’t. By challenging my abilities to home educate you also challenged my faith and have brought me closer to God, and closer to being the person I strive to be. Patient, calm, and persistent.

With only a couple weeks of school left, my current dilemma is this: The pages of our workbooks are running out!

That’s good news, for sure.

But I’m now really contemplating what’s been working, and what hasn’t. Some subjects I’ll just order the next level up, other subjects I may be looking for a different approach.

For instance, math has gone well for both kids. But to get a better foundation for the little guy I think we will look into Math-U-See. My oldest is doing excellent with Teaching Textbooks, so we will just move up to level 6 there. We finally found something that really works for her learning style. Yes! So I’ll be doing that for each subject and trying to incorporate in more for our second year.

I’ve always had a passion for education, and I’m super excited about some upcoming conferences to help better equip me as a homeschool teacher.

Homeschool: Reading Incentives

March 25, 2014 by Quin 1 Comment

It’s no secret that I am an avid follower of Confessions of a Homeschooler. Her blog posts and YouTube videos have been a great inspiration in our homeschooling journey. If you haven’t checked out her homeschool room tour, you’ve just got to do it… like right now… Well, you know, after you finish reading this!

Last month I stumbled over THIS POST she had about reading incentives. She had adapted it from another blog post that she saw. Isn’t that great how us women can keep on encouraging, adapting and sharing? I love it!

I’ve shared here before that my oldest daughter has dyslexia. She has made great big strides in reading, but it can still be a struggle to get her to set aside time to read.

She is the type that is highly motivated by a prize. I don’t like rewarding everything (in fact, that’s a pet peeve of mine!), but this is one area I think it’s okay to give a little encouragement.

If you’re a teacher (homeschool or other) looking for a way to encourage your students I highly suggest you check out Confessions of a Homeschooler for details on how to make your own reading incentive area.

Because we have a huge whiteboard already on the wall, we just didn’t have room for a bulletin board too. Instead we used push pins to stick the reading necklaces in the tree on the wall. It works perfectly for our family!

I think this idea could easily be adapted to whatever your child needs an incentive for: Behavior, chores, school work, feeding the pets, etc.

If you take on this little #DIY project, I’d love to see it! Post a picture to my facebook page: www.facebook.com/ASlightlyBetterWife

This picture was taken before we added our reading incentives, but you can see our beautiful whiteboard. It was a $5 garage sale find from a friend. Thank you Aimee! It’s been SO helpful in our schooling.

In The Kitchen: Go-To Potluck Recipe

March 7, 2014 by Quin Leave a Comment

Between having both sides of our family living close by and being Lutheran, we host and attend a lot of potlucks!
I’d say for sure one a month, and through the summer even more.

Commonly on a potluck day I’m standing in the kitchen (an hour or two before it’s time to leave), phone in hand, staring at this screen:

The “easy last minute recipes” always require way more time than I have to spare.

Almost every single time, I end up settling on making one of two things: A veggie tray OR a meat, cheese and cracker tray. Both always go over well and disappear quickly.

No longer will I feel like I’m settling. Once I hit publish this will be an official recipe, and that’s totally acceptable for a Lutheran potluck. 😉

This week for our Fat Tuesday celebration at church I took this big veggie tray & a small dip.
I used my mandolin slicer, a small cutting board and a knife. Using a minimal amount of dishes/utensils makes clean up a snap!
This one had:
Cucumbers
Sliced Carrots
Sweet Mini Peppers
Cherry Tomatoes
Celery
With the dip, it cost me just under $10.

I also did a quick cheese and cracker tray that made it to the van before I could photograph it.

Recipe: Yummy Water!

March 2, 2014 by Quin Leave a Comment

Water is a big topic at our house.

I manage to drink plenty, but I don’t always enjoy doing it. Different types of water have different
flavors to me. Some of them make me down
right nauseous. I’m not a big soda drinker either, but I do love me some black tea or coffee. mmm-mmmmm…
Sun tea!

If you’re looking to drink more water, give this a try!

You can cut your cucumber and lemon with a sharp knife. I personally LOVE using my mandolin slicer.

Tangerine is great in water too!

We love our Camelbak bottles. I had admired a few different friends using them before I finally bought them for our family. Now we’ve also been buying them for gifts too! They’re easy to clean and replacement parts if you need them, are cheap.

When we go on day trips I bring along a gallon jug of water to refill our bottles.

What do YOU like to add to your water?

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