Word of Encouragement for Mothers

Do you ever have those days when you are totally exhausted and are frustrated with having to pick up the same messes for the umpteenth time? I know I do. Here are some reminders I have found for those times when you questioning why you do the things that you do. And if you have a favorite encouraging quote on the topic of motherhood please share.

 

If you're going through hell, keep going. -Winston Churchill

 

Homemaking is surely in reality the most important work in the world. What do
ships, railways, mine cars and government, etc., exist for except that people may be warmed and safe in their own home? ... [The homemaker's] is the job for which all others exist. - C.S. Lewis

 

 There are no adequate substitutes for father, mother, and children bound together in a loving commitment to nurture and protect. No government, no matter how well-intentioned, can take the place of the family in the scheme of things.- Gerald Ford

 

The way that mothers nurture their children may make babies smarter, healthier and better able to deal with stress. These are qualities that will carry through their lives and into the lives of their own children. -Louann Brizendine, M.D. and neuropsychologist

 

There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one - Jill Churchill

 

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.- Abraham Lincoln

 

Children keep us in check. Their laughter prevents our hearts from hardening. Their dreams ensure we never lose our drive to make ours a better world. They are the greatest disciplinarians known to mankind. - Queen Rania of Jordan 

 

Mothers reflect God's loving presence on earth. - William R. Webb

 

I believe our problems, almost every one, arise out of the homes of the people. If there is to be reformation, if there is to be a change, if there is to be a return to old and sacred values, it must begin in the home. It is here that truth is learned, that integrity is cultivated, that self-discipline is instilled, and that love is nurtured. - Gordon B. Hinckley

Food Storage Friday: Homemade Salsa

When I think of food storage I think oats, beans, wheat, rice, potatoes and pasta. These are staples. Staples are important, they are your base. But it is also important to store things that help the staples go down a little easier. (Because no one wants to live off only the staples.) This week I invited a friend over and we made salsa. Salsa is almost a staple in our house. And I have a reputation for making good salsa. (A few friends were upset when I announced that I would be quitting my last job because I would no longer be bringing chips and salsa into work.) So here is the secret of my great salsa, which I learned how to make from my mom. I believe she learned how to make it from a friend when we lived in San Antonio.

Salsa

Fresh ingredients
18 tomatoes (give or take)
3 bell peppers (red & green)
6 Anaheim peppers
5 jalapenos
6 cloves of garlic
1 yellow onion
8 green onions
1 & 1/2 large bunches of fresh cilantro
2 Tablespoons of lime juice

Food storage ingredients
1 Tablespoon of white sugar
1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
1 teaspoon of salt

1. Rinse and chop produce. 2. Combine all ingredients in a pot and simmer uncovered until contents has gone down about an inch. (About an hour and a half.) 3. Taste frequently and add more ingredients as necessary. 4. Can according to canner instructions. Makes between 5-6 pints.

Now this is roughly the recipe that I use, but I never follow it exactly. Sometimes I'll throw in a yellow pepper or half a red onion or more hot peppers or more garlic. It depends on the potency and flavor of the produce that you have. Peppers vary in heat. Keeping the seeds in the mix gives it more kick. I always leave the seeds from at least a few of the peppers in. Once I decided to make "hot" salsa and put in 12 jalapenos with seeds. I tasted it before canning it and it had a fair amount of kick, so I labeled that batch "hot". I gave some to my in-laws who are big salsa lovers. When they opened a jar it was not hot, not even remotely. It was still good, but not hot. I don't know what happened, or why the canning process made that one batch weak, but it did. Years later, my in-laws still tease me about it. Whatever proportions of ingredients you use I believe that the secrets to a good traditional salsa are green onions, Anaheim peppers and lots of fresh cilantro.

The sugar is to neutralize some of the acidity of the tomatoes and the tomato paste is help give it the right consistency. If you don't have tomato paste you can achieve the same effect by just cooking it longer, but I'm all about cooking hacks to reduce my time in front of the stove. If you don't want to be hugging your stove for an hour or two, I have also thrown all of the ingredients in my crock-pot, left it overnight and canned the batch in the morning. It turned out ok, but not as good as batches that I have tasted and adjusted throughout the process.

My friend asked me if the flavor decreases over time. Honestly I don't really know. 30-40 jars of salsa lasts us a max of 6 months. Does it lose it's potency over time? Sure, maybe. We never wait long enough to see.

My friend and I were discussing whether or not making your own salsa is cost efficient. I figured that if you add my hourly wage x 4 (for chopping, cooking, canning & clean-up) + jars, rings and lids (which have to bought in packs of 12) + a new canner and canning tools (as it's not convenient to borrow my mom's anymore) +  the cost of ingredients (I find that fresh produce is more expensive in St George than anywhere else I have lived) ÷ 6  ≈ $31 per jar of salsa. Dang, that's expensive salsa. However, I will continue to make it for the following reasons. 1. I like making salsa. It's more fun to chat with a friend while working in the kitchen than it is to purchase mediocre salsa from the grocery store. 2. The cost will decrease as I won't have to purchase a canner, jars or rings again. 3. Although my garden was a failure this year, I have family and friends who have more tomatoes than they know what to do with and also know that I like making salsa. So the tomatoes were free, which are the most costly ingredient. 4. While I'm at work I also have to pay a descent amount for daycare, whereas while making salsa I can be productive and listen to them squeal in the backyard. 5. And of course, I make really good salsa. So, although I may do other canning projects in the future, I now no longer have any illusions that canning my own food is saving me money.

Something so funny it just has to be shared

A few weeks ago I came across the blog "Hyperbole and a Half". It's pretty hilarious. Last night I read "The Party" It was so blasted funny that I was laughing/crying/sobbing uncontrollably. (Maybe part of that was because I was really tired after 2 very long shifts at work.) My husband sat across the table looking at me like I had lost my mind. I think it is an incident that many mothers can at least sympathize with. And then I dreamed about it and was woken up by my own laughter. So that's why I'm up in the middle of the night letting you know about this. Warning: Don't read that web comic when someone is watching you, they will probably think you are insane.

Walgreens 101

Now I am well aware that many people around the internet have already discussed this topic in great detail. However, I have to talked to five different people who read my blog that were totally unaware that you can get free (or at least very cheap) stuff from Walgreens. That seems like enough reason to cover the basics here.

1. Every week Walgreen's offers several items that are free or under $1 with Register Rewards or in-ad coupons.
2. You can combine manufacturer's coupons with Walgreen's coupons. (i.e. If you have a coupon for $3 off Huggies diapers, it can be stacked with a Walgreen's coupon for $2 Huggies diapers, making a sweet deal on diapers.)
3. You must more manufacturer's coupons than you have items. (A Register Reward is considered a manufacturer's coupon. Let's say I have 1 packages of diapers and 1 coupons plus a $3 reward. To use my reward I must have some filler item like candy or a pencil. My favorite is the little boxes of apricots for $1. That's cheaper than other local stores for that item anyway.)
4. If you coupon amount is greater than your total the value will be changed. (Once they had Reynold's Foil for 95¢ and I had a coupon for $1 off. I can either apply it to 2 foils or the coupon amount will be reduced to 95¢.)
5. Unless your coupon is a Register Reward, in that case you must find more items to get up to the value of your reward.
6. Register Rewards and coupons can not be used to pay for sales tax. (Even if the item is free, you may need to pay a few pennies to take it home.)
7. If you have a coupon for a Register Reward eligible item and the reward is for the full value of the item, you can get overage. (Once I got Alive! vitamins for $7.50 after coupons and then received a $10 Register Reward.)
8. Register Rewards can be rolled over to purchase other items that provide Register Rewards as long as it is not the same item. (I could not use my $10 reward to purchase more Alive! vitamins, but it can be used to buy Carmex lip gloss that provides a reward .)
9. You should use the Walgreen's coupons before your manufacturer's coupon. It just makes the computer happier that way.
10. Make sure you double check your ad. I've found that prices on many items vary from store to store, but the register rewards  and Walgreen's coupons are consistent.
11. If you have any FSA elligible items, swipe your FSA card first, then use your regular payment method.
12. If you order photo print online through Upromise.com, you get a small kick-back to your kids college fund.
13. If you "like" Walgreen's on Facebook you can get the inside scoop on many Walgreen's deals including coupons and free photo prints.
14. Register Rewards must be used within 2 weeks.
15. Sometimes this can be kind of time consuming, but it is a great way to save on your grocery bill especially if you have more time to spend than money.

Here are some of the many things that I have gotten for free at Walgreen's: Dial NutriSkin Body wash, Gillette Men's Body wash, Reynold's Aluminum Foil, various Herbal Essences hair products, various feminine products, Carmex, bubbles, Air Wick air fresheners, school supplies, cold cereal, vitamins, hard cover children's books, Pepto Bismol, contact solution and snacks just to name a few. It took me a few times before I could do it smoothly, but it's worth the time to not have to spend money on items that you need. (There's a Walgreen's in the same parking lot as the closest grocery store, making it convenient to stop there when I get my groceries.)

Freebies2Deals and GrocerySmarts are both great resources to find what the current hot Walgreen's deals in Utah are. (Grocery Smarts covers several other states as well.)

For more details here is the Walgreen's Coupon Policy.

Favorite Things About Being A Mother

1. Everyday my kids say something that makes me laugh out loud.
2. I am often endowed with super powers. Not only can I do all the things that are part of being Mom, last week my daughter told me that if I touched the sides of the trampoline I would get wet powers so I "can save the earf".
3. My kids are always ready to give me kisses on the cheek.
4. I get to and am expected to play with toys on a regular basis.
5. When my kids are sad, they still like to snuggle and I love it.
6. I can and must purchase fruit snacks.
7. Every day holds a new discovery, something to learn or share.
8. My kisses have magical healing powers.
9. If the laundry doesn't get folded, I'm the only one who even remotely cares.
10. My kids have such soft kissable cheeks.
11. I totally have an excuse to buy all my favorite movies and cartoons from when I was a kid. Ducktales Whoo-ooh!
12. When I'm looking less than fabulous (which is the vast majority of the time) the people who really matter, really don't care. And it makes me smile when my daughter compliments an outfit that may be embellished with boogers and/or ketchup because it happens to be her favorite color.
13. My Heavenly Father has trusted me with this great responsibility and blessing because He loves me and my little family.

Food Storage Friday: Breakfast Cookies

Using your food storage at dinner time is great and all, but if you were to be living off your food storage, I certainly hope that you would be eating more than once a day. You need to plan for breakfast and lunch as well. So let's do a few breakfast recipes, shall we?
Today's recipe comes from my very own mom. The smell of these cookies brings back memories. My mom used to make a big batch of these, freeze them and send a few with me on field trips. And they're certainly healthier than many other quick breakfast options. (The original recipe calls for 1 cup of Crisco, and although the characters in The Help raved about it's greatness, I find the stuff revolting. They still taste great with mashed beans and applesauce instead.)

Breakfast Cookies

Food Storage Ingredients

1 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup cooked and mashed white beans

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup oat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 3/4 cups oats

1 cup raisins

1/3 cup dried grated carrot
3/4 cup dried apple pieces (broken up)

1/4 cup flaked coconut
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup apple sauce

(1/4 cup apple juice)
(1/4 cup water)

Fresh ingredients

(grated carrot and apple if you don't have the dried variety)
 2 eggs

1.If using dried carrots and apples put in a bowl with apple juice and water. Heat oven 350 degrees. 2. Mix peanut butter, bean puree, apple sauce, vanilla, and sugars with eggs. 3 Mix powder ingredients and gradually add to wet. 4. Mix in apples, carrots, raisins and coconut. 5. Bake 9-11 minutes or until brown around the edges.

They taste even better than they look.

 A few notes:  When I made this I added an extra 1/4 cup of apple juice to the apples and carrots because I put my raisins in the mix and they were really hard. The original recipe calls for only all-purpose white flour. I used the different kinds of flour to make it healthier, but if you don't want to bother, that's cool. The original also called for fresh carrots and apples. I used dried because I had them and it meant that I didn't have to grate anything and I hate using my grater. For the mashed beans I previously took a can of cooked white beans, rinsed them, mashed them, measured them into 1/4 cup blocks, and froze them in some Tupperware. It made things a lot quicker. I was inspired by this recipe.  I promise that you can't taste the beans. But if you would rather use Crisco instead of mashed beans, go ahead ;).

Favorite Places to Visit in St George Part 2: Creative Minds Learning Center

I love taking my kids to children's museums and hands-on discovery centers. We've been to several around the country and have been kind of sad that there is nothing like that in St George. Well, not anymore! Just this August a new learning center opened in St George. We checked it out last week and we will definitely be going back.

  Creative Minds Learning Center has several imaginative play areas based on local businesses including Lin's Grocery, Staheli Farms, Tuachan Ampitheater, Sunrise Tire and Cooper Construction. Admission is $5 for kids. Group, party and monthly rates are available. Plus they offer classes that include a craft for $3 per child. (Sign-ups are available online through the link above.) Here are the reasons that I'm pretty pumped about this place:

Parents are free! (It always seemed silly that I had to pay for myself and my husband in children's museums.) It's local and it's a family run business. There's a ball pit. (I miss those.) And it's shallow enough that diapers are not going to get lost in it. There's pirate ship for my scalawags to play in. There's a princess castle complete with throne and dress-up clothes. There are lots of simple toys that allow for creativity. (Many hours of fun can be had with PVC pipes, ping pong balls and few blow-dryers.) It's small enough that I can keep track of both my kids and read a magazine/book. It's so much easier to clean up after my kids there than at home. They play happy Disney music in the background. Because it's local, I don't have to fight my kids as hard to drag them out. I let them play until they're tired.

Mini Ball Pit Ahoy Mateys!