Waste Not Wednesday

Whether it's trash to treasures or day old bread, I am finding great pleasure in re-purposing things these day. I recently had a conversation with one of the world's greatest aunts...my Aunt Laynie. My how I *heart* her! We were talking about the soon to be over-ripe borderline rotten bananas in the fruit basket on my kitchen counter. We had also been talking about the cost of feeding 2 big boys and 1 quickly growing toddler. She suggested turning those over-ripe bananas into a yummy snack for the boys. No, I am not going to give you a recipe for banana bread (which I personally DO NOT care for). This is even better because it involves God's gift to women...CHOCOLATE!!!! When I was little and I'd go visit her, she'd make the coolest breakfasts, most special lunches and snacks, and gourmet dinners that would make an 8-year-old little girl with glasses "wanna slap her momma". She still proves to have the best ideas for jazzing up food...even rotten bananas.

She reminded me that for a snack, she would roll bananas in chocolate and sprinkle nuts or something crunchy on top.Then she'd put them in the freezer for a tasty frozen treat. So I did just that!

• I took my almost rotten bananas and grabbed some chocolate morsels out of the cabinet.
• I peeled the bananas, cut them in half, and put them on parchment paper
• I melted the morsels in a micro safe bowl at 15 second intervals, stirring in between. I even added a splash of milk to thin it just a tad.
• I drizzled and rolled the bananas in the the chocolate until they were good and coated
• I skipped the nuts part because MM2 is allergic...but you could use crushed toffee of rice krispies---I was just fresh out of those two things
• I put them back on the parchment paper and put them in the freezer.
• And what a yummy treat we had a couple of hours later...YUM!!!

Try it...I promise you won't be disappointed and you won't feel sorry for your uneaten bananas that get thrown away and you won't pay an arm and a leg for the ones in the freezer section at the store!

Re-purpose.

Practically Yours,

CLUELESS vs. FLAWLESS

One can always hope and pray that they are raising COGNIZANT, THOUGHTFUL, CONSIDERATE, SOCIALLY "AWARE", EMPATHETIC, and SYMPATHETIC children. I look for teaching moments constantly by discussing feelings (good or bad) and asking them "how would you feel if...?"  I mean, don't they learn by example? Don't they pick up on awkward things that maybe they should let someone know? You know...things that a person can fix, like ketchup on their face, a zipper that's down, etc.  I wouldn't let them go to school or church with their pants on backwards or to school with 2 different shoes on. I know S & F are still young and I cut them a lot of slack, but I do expect them to recognize obvious things.

Well, the other day, we had been to the doctor and gotten the "you're so brave" sticker. Oliver chose a Thomas the Train sticker. I quickly removed the paper and stuck it right on his chest. He was wearing it with pride! We ran several more errands and I had to get Ollie in and out of his car seat. I went in Hobby Lobby, Target, and Walgreen's with all 3 in tow. Their behavior is not always the best, especially, after a few "boring" errands. So after some pleading, (Yes, I did it) I bribed them with a Yumilicious yogurt stop. We went in so they could claim their bribe...

AND IT WAS THERE THAT I NOTICED...

Wait for it..



Wait for it...



Wait for it...

I was wearing the Thomas sticker on my left boob!!!!

(And I was sportin' my JLC t-shirt loud and proud. So if the organization gets labeled as a bunch of "flakes"...you can blame me!)

And for how long???...who knew???

When I noticed, I said, "HOLY COW!!!" And asked, "Guys, how long has mommy had this sticker on her chest?" Fulton nonchalantly said, "Oh, for a really long time, Mommy."

Mortified, I asked, "WHAT??? Like how long is a long time?"

Sam said, "since you put Ollie in the buggy at Hobby Lobby."

Did it not look a little odd to them?

Are they totally clueless?

Or am I totally failing at my job?

Or am I flawless to them?

Discuss (and laugh) amongst yourselves.

Practically Yours,

Service

Before we say "goodnight", The Shan and I take about 5-10 minutes to do a devotional for couples. The one for last night was on living by a "non-negotiable list" and praying on how to apply each one. This is the list posted on the devotional:

1. Seek God, not sin.

2. Fear God, not man.

3. Love God, not the world.

4. Believe God, not the deceiver.

5. Obey God, not your appetites.

6. Serve God, not self.

7. Worship God, not comfort.

I haven't blogged in several days because it seems that the "volunteer bus" ran slam over me!!! Soooo, when I read this last night, the one that slapped me in the face the most was #6 -Serve God, not self.

I love volunteering and helping others, BUT-----I feel like sometimes when I sign up to "help", I'm not really serving God or others. I say yes to the task because I worry that I will hurt someone's feelings or they will think ill of me if I say no. So, ultimately I am serving myself and trying to justify myself!

When I agree to voulnteer, I quickly forget all the strain it puts on the other aspects of my life; scheduled meetings which take me away from my family, busy-work during the day which causes me to neglect my home and spend less time with my children. I wind up feeling out-of-sorts, guilty, and not so justified, afterall. And all of this because I didn't want to let someone down (...which in a nutshell, is where I am and how I've been for a couple of months now.)

Don't get me wrong! I LOVE a good cause, contributing to my church, and lending a helping hand to my children's school, but none of those things really justify or define who I am in God's sight. I am not justified or serving God at all just because my daily agenda is maxed. It only means I'm over-committed from trying to serve myself and have others justify me.

I have been thinking a lot recently about what defines me and how I am justified. And really, I should look no further for justification than our Lord! I am quite good enough for Him and that is what truly matters. Nothing else should matter. I am now commited to only serving others when I feel I am also serving God. I have no intentions to put all my current commitments to rest. I will gladly finish all that I have started. I will continue to participate in the ones that don't leave me to be justified by someone/thing else. However, in the future, I will NOT say yes immediately, nor will I justify myself by being the girl who always says "yes" and I will only "serve" if it means I'll be serving God!

Practical Tip- (see #6 list above)
Practically Put- But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.
-Joshua 24:15

Practically Yours,

E-mealz meets Coupons!!

Just in...a post about using coupons with the e-mealz service.

Read about it here!

It's a great plan and well worth it.

To subscribe to e-mealz click the link below or to the left and it'll take you there!!!

Practically Yours,

Why I Love October.

If you've read my "About Me" page you know I love October. There are so many reasons why I feel it is superior to any other month. So in my opinion...
October is AWESOME because of some obvious reasons that most people can appreciate...

• leaves are changing colors
• cooler temps
• short sleeves by day, snugglie sweater by night
• football season is in full swing
• the world series begins
• HALLOWEEN and seeing our precious little peeps in their get-ups
• pumpkin patches are billowing with those gorgeous orange gourds

However, in addition to those, I have my own personal list...

• have you ever noticed the color of the October sky? A-MA-ZING.
• it's my BIRTHMONTH! (a shout out to my fellow October birthday friends...Holla!) and in my family, we seem to celebrate all month long
• it's MM1's birthmonth, as well as several other family members who I love dearly
• the SC State Fair (yes, I admit, I am a sucker for the fair)
• it's the month the Yard Man and I celebrate our anniversary of being together
• so many great theme parties to be had (I'm torn between 3 & 4 for this year)
• costume parties for adults
• costume parties for kids
• Halloween brunch complete with a Bloody Mary bar and Mimosas
• a pumpkin carving party
• a Harvest supper with friends (which could also be done in November)
• tailgate parties
• chili cook-offs
• and the list goes on...
• our visit to the pumpkin patch where we try to find the ugliest pumpkin and where the MM's pick out our "family"
• the Pine Island fall carnival and costume contest that my in-laws have been taking us to for years
• costume making with my uber talented mom
• I love to decorate for Halloween and fall in general and drag out my old trusty-rusty Halloween decor that the MM's love. I devoted a post to it several years ago.
• and finding new inspiration for projects, such as:
• my friend Shannon over at Bunco Belle who has some great links to ideas for pumpkin decorating
• a fall mantel---some awesome ideas from readers of The Nesting Place can be found here
• these great burlap wreaths by at Confessions of a Plate Addict and Loola-bee Simplicity (See pics below)
• making a fall outfit for MM3
• time change...there's something so so comforting about the sun setting early on cool crisp night and settling down with my sweet boys
• Boo at the Zoo
• Corn Mazes

I could probably think of a million other reasons why I love October so much but that's just an idea. So in the meantime, y'all check out the links and if you'd like, add to my list of reasons. I'd love to hear more!

Practically Yours,