My friend, Shandee, asked for some easy 5 ingredient recipes. Well, I realized that most of my recipes were more complicated than that, so I went looking for some! I have tons posted on my recipe blog, The Flagging Chef . Check them out! And yes, I added "Moving Day Crock Pot Sauerkraut Butt" to the blog just because the word "butt" is so funny.
Do you have any great 5 ingredient recipes? I'd love to hear from you.
As Kyara will attest, I am the queen of "programs." With six kids, motivation can be a problem, so I am always coming up with ways to entice them to do what I want. :) This summer, a brilliant idea came to me, so I thought I'd share it with everyone.
Every morning during the summer, I have the kids do a whole-house tidy before they can do anything fun. They are actually ok with this, because it means they have the rest of the entire day free without any work to do. However, my children have been known to bicker (gasp!) and finger-point whenever they have to work together.
In a sudden stroke of genius (inspiration? revelation?), I came up with our current system. Each day, I appoint one child to be the "manager." In order to be a good manager, they have to lead by example. They also get to give the other children assignments. However, again, to be a good manager, they need to assign tasks that are keeping with the other children's abilities and disposition. For example, if Kyara hates cleaning toilets, but Gavin doesn't mind, he should get the job. Also, Gavin shouldn't get the hardest jobs in the kitchen.
At the end of the tidy, the other children then rate the manager on how well he/she did on a scale from one to five. The manager then gets that many treats from my treat bowl as a "bonus." The manager then draws three jobs from the job jar, and whoever did those jobs during the tidy gets a little treat. (The job jar is just a jar with a bunch of small chores written on pieces of papers. It is also used as punishment throughout the day. :) )
It has worked wonders for our family this summer! I think we'll keep managers any time the kids have to work together.
(Yes, I am WAY behind!)
Rom and I enjoyed a fantastic three-night weekend in downtown San Diego for our 20th anniversary. It was so much fun! When we arrived at the hotel, they didn't have any more rooms available in our price range, so they had to upgrade us! That let us have the free breakfast every morning, and it was really very delicious.
We took it super easy -- no plans, no schedules, no obligations, no responsibilities. We'd go walking along the harbor, looking at boats and the art down there. We saw a cute little seal playing with his food. He had to dive under a number of times because the sea gulls were trying to steal it. We found a cute little art shop. We ate French pastries every day :). We ate at nice restaurants every night. We stopped at a bookstore our first day, so I had something to read in the afternoons.
You know? I really like my husband! Overall, it was just the best getaway, and I think we'll have to do it again next year!
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All right, I'm back at it. Rom and I are doing a detox this week. The, I'm going to go back to South Beach for two reasons: I have to eliminate a suspected Candida (yeast) overgrowth and stabilize my blood sugar (both are to help CFS). And, last time I tried to get healthy again, I actually gained 8 pounds! (Taking a deep bow.) Yeah, not too happy with my body image right now. I am taking two weight loss supplements from Enlyten -- one is an appetite suppressant that works by stabilizing your blood sugar (just what I need!) and the other is called a calorie burner, but it looks like it boosts your metabolism and increases your energy (again, just what I need!).
I'm giving away free samples of the new supplements, if anyone is interested. You can check them out here: Enlyten
If it's something you too would like to try, let me know and I'll get you some.
Also, since I don't tolerate exercise very well, I have bought and am using Fit Flops! They are from Victoria's Secret, and they are flip flops that tone your stomach, legs, and butt while you work. Stealth fitness, the only way to go!
Wish me luck!
We have someone from our ward who wants to get into the photography biz (not you, Shandee -- you're already there!), so he took these for Kyara for free! Too fun! I love her smile.
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Is it just me, or is this just too small a group of kids? We had a great time together, but we miss all of you that couldn't make it!
Well, yes, I do have a lot to catch up on!
We had a wonderful time at Mom's house with Suzann and Mike and their lovely little ones. Here are the highlights, as far as the kids were concerned:
I left the rest of the pictures at home, so I'll post more later.
I know I'm behind on posting about our family -- with the end of the school year in sight, there is plenty of that to come in the next couple of weeks! In the meantime, here is a video that I thought was wonderful. It brought tears to my eyes and made me want to go out and do this!
My famous friend Shandee (you were famous long before your new blog, Shandee!) just got back from Canada, and what did the ward do? Immediately gave her a calling as our Ward Welfare Specialist. Inspired by her calling, she has created a new Emergency Preparedness blog, Ready or Not. Check it out, and check it out often! I love the idea, and I know Mom was going to be sharing some emergency prep ideas with us, also. Great minds think alike!
I'll put the new blog on my sidebar, too, for future reference.
