Contentment

My husband and my son are easily my favorite people. I love the little family we have created. In my opinion, we do life well together. We have learned to communicate openly, learn from each other and grow with each other.
Since Sam was born my husband and I have worked very hard to keep alternating work shifts so one of us can be home raising our son. Creating these schedules and still fitting in family time is not an easy task. However, I look at it as a blessing. We have been given a gift that most people receive too late in life. That gift is learning to enjoy each moment and soak up the moments you want to remember forever.
I think we all struggle with wanting more. Which is natural and ok. However, if that consumes your mind and you can't focus on what you have then there is a problem. Contentment has always been a problem for me. I have had many growth points in this area in the past couple years. One of those was just yesterday...
The Murphy house is currently battling colds. Sam has the seal-like cough attacks that signal croup. Seeing my son exhausted, congested and struggling to breath is heartbreaking. Add to that, me fighting the same congestion and Ryan working all weekend and you get one very emotional Elyse. After a long day of blowing noses, checking temperatures, warming honey and preparing steam rooms I was exhausted. When Sam had finally fallen asleep, Ryan came home and I was off to go grocery shopping. At the end of the day, I looked around and realized the house was clean, the pantry was full and my family was home. I took a moment to soak up the contentment.
It is no secret that Ryan and I would love to have more children. It is also no secret that we went through many, many struggles to have Sam. In the background yesterday was the soothing voice reminding me that I have many, many blessings. Do not ignore those to focus on the possibility of more.

What else I am doing today...
Today I am just focusing on "doing it now". Picking stuff up and doing some cleaning when I have a minute.

Chores or Play?

I have been convicted in my thinking towards housework.
Somehow, somewhere I picked up the idea that housework was an option.
When I have a free moment I think “should I do housework or should I do something fun?” Well that is a no brain-er. Of course I am going to choose something fun!
What I didn't even consider is that housework is not an option!
The laundry needs to be done, the floors need to be mopped, the toilet needs to be cleaned.
I need to stop weighing housework against something more fun and just do it!
Didn't our mamas teach us that our chores have to be done before we can play?
Have you considered that when you choose not to do the housework you are asking somebody else to do it? It needs to be done. So if you don't do it, who is going to? Your husband? Your kids? Your mom when she comes to visit?
I believe that everybody in the house should have a role in the cleaning, but you have to set the example. If you set the example of reading, crafting, computer-time, whatever instead of housework that is what your family will do too.
I know from experience when I read, craft or play with Sam it is easier to enjoy when the chores are done. So now when I have some free time I spend 5, 10 or 15 minutes getting some chores done then jump in wholeheartedly to a fun activity.
My challenge for myself this year is to “Get stuff done”, with my new attitude towards housecleaning I think this is going to be much easier.

Are there chores you have been procrastinating on? Get up right now, set a timer for 5 minutes and do one!

What else I am doing today:
-Trying my hand at homemade Biscotti. It is in the oven now and oh my does it smell good!
-Spending 15 minutes organizing our important papers.
-Getting rid of 15 things from our “spare/office/craft/junk room”

Mini Smores Bites

...Because Smores are yummy in the middle of winter too!

After having so much fun clearing out my pantry I decided to have some fun in my kitchen and use up some of those ingredients that had been taking up valuable space, and that is how this recipe was born...

1 18.25 ounce package chocolate cake mix

1/2 cup instant cocoa

3 large eggs

1/2 cup softened butter

Mini Marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350*

Grease mini muffin pan (or use mini muffin cups). Of course you can use a regular muffin pan too, but these are the perfect size for Sam.

Mix ingredients until well blended. Use a tablespoon to spoon batter into muffin pan. Each cup should be 3/4 full. Top each muffin with 2 mini marshmallows.

Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool in pan for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

The next step is to try not to eat them all in one evening! Good luck!!!

What I am doing to today:

-Spend 15 minutes getting rid of paper clutter.

-Get rid of 10 things in our spare room (read junk room)

-Make a phone call I have been procrastinating about. (we all have them right? Dr appts., insurance questions, dentist appts. whatever yours is I challenge you to do it!)

-

Cleaning up our dirty little secrets...2

The thing I was dreading the most about organizing our kitchen was our pantry. Every time I try to organize the shelves it seems like they return to the crazy clutter within a month. I was getting tired of putting in the work when it only lasted a short time, so I let it get out of control. Keeping our new motto in mind I decided to just “get it done”. I did it alright, a complete overhaul. Here it is step-by-step:
First, I took everything out of the pantry (took 10 minutes)
Second, wiped down the shelves with a damp rag (took 2 minutes)
Third, filled a bag with food to donate. If you haven't done this in a while you may have more then a bag, we were just visited by the local boy scouts, so one bag was perfect. (took 4 minutes)
Next, consolidate any items that we had more then one package for. This step is what freed up the most space, we happened to have 3 jars of peanut butter, all less then half full, that's just one example of what I consolidated. I also put rice, lentils, quinoa and beans in large glass jars instead of storing them in the original packaging. This will also encourage me to buy these items in bulk. (took 15 minutes)
Then, put everything back in the pantry. Make sure to put all similar items together. For example, put pastas and rice together, snacks together, canned items together. I also put healthy items in front of those that aren't as good for us. For example, putting oatmeal and peanut butter in front of cold cereals or putting whole wheat pasta in front of enriched pasta. This way when we are looking for something to eat we see healthy choices first. I also put items that I only use together in plastic shoe containers. For example, baking items such as baking soda, extracts, organic sugars or paper/plastic products such as napkins, plates and forks. (took 20 minutes)
I took my time with this to make sure that how I was organizing was realistic and would be easy to maintain. Some of these steps can be completed in much less time then I took, I encourage you to do something, even if it is just one step. I am so happy with our finished product and it encourages me to get in the kitchen!

What else I am doing today:
-Made a “bed” out of a cereal box for Sam to use with his stuffed animals. He learned how to put his favorite monkey “nigh nigh”.
-Rake more leaves to add an extra layer on top of my garlic, getting ready for the cold weather tonight.
-Add to and rotate compost bin.

I would not love God.

I would not love a god who discriminated.

I would not follow a god whose plan was destruction.

I would not love a god who made us to judge.

I would not be passionate about a god who is passionless.

I would not love a god who saw us as our sin.

But the truth is I passionately love and follow a God who has dealt with our sin, sees us as his perfect creation and passionately loves me right back.

What does this mean?

I choose to love.

I do not discriminate.

I do not judge.

I am free to live and love life.

More importantly, I am free to love me.

I love you all too. I hope this encourages you to live in love. To stop the negative self talk. To stop judging yourself and others.



What I am up to today:
-Attended my dear grandma's funeral. Looking forward to celebrating her amazing life tomorrow at her memorial service.
-Pack up some clothes to take to goodwill (along with the 3 boxes of Sam's clothes we already have ready).
-Actually take the clothes to goodwill (haha)
-Sort through Sam's toys and get rid of anything that isn't age appropriate or broken.

New Year's Resolution (and a science lesson)

As I recently described, the Murphy Family had great success with our “New year’s resolution” for 2010. Because of this success I have decided to come up with a new “resolution” for 2011. I am hesitant to call it a “New Year’s resolution” because there are so many preconceived notions about the phrase. We are not resolving to stop doing one thing. We are creating a theme for the year to keep us focused.
Our theme this year is to “get stuff done”. Basically we are tackling our ever growing procrastination. I know it is a very general statement; it was designed to tackle a wide variety of things. This statement has already proven itself as helpful. Especially when I make the mistake of sitting down after work (you know, it is the law of inertia) I tell myself “this year I am going to get stuff done” then I get off my rump and do one thing. Chances are that one thing will propel me into something else. Then I can relax peacefully when stuff is picked up and laundry is started.
I am also going to add a section at the end of each blog I write. That section will be titled “What I am up to today” and will include a list of 2 or 3 things that I have done or will do that day. This is how you all are going to keep me motivated and accountable to getting stuff done. Also, please consider this list a challenge. If you see something pop up on the list that you have been procrastinating about consider it a dare to get it done (or even a double dog dare if you need more motivation). This way we will all get stuff done and stop the negative self talk that procrastination feeds.
I am also applying this phrase to the chores I do every day. Such as laundry. Oh, how I loathe folding and putting away laundry. Some weeks we live out of laundry baskets because of my hatred for putting away laundry. Well this year I am going to “get it done” this means that I am going to just fold and put away the laundry when it comes out of the dryer instead of letting it sit (again inertia, who said science class wasn’t helpful?!) In the same way I am going to follow every chore through to completion. This means: clearing dinner dishes right away, picking up crafts when I am done and teaching Sam to pick up toys when he is done with them.

Homemade Croutons

I love croutons. In my family we eat them as crackers, and when we have homemade croutons in the house we generally munch on them throughout the day. They are so simple to make, and the homemade version taste SO much better then what you buy at the store. I make these every couple weeks, I would make them more often if we could stop ourselves from eating them!

Preheat oven to 400*

Start with some stale bread (yes, you read that right, delicious and a great way to use up old bread!)

Cut it up into bite size pieces.

Place the bread on a baking sheet lined with foil.

Drizzle bread with olive oil. I use olive oil that comes in spray form similar to cooking spray, this works great for getting an even thin coating of olive oil.

Now comes the important part. Seasoning. It is important to not skimp on the seasoning, if you do, you will end up with toast not croutons.

Sprinkle granulated garlic and seasoning salt generously over the bread pieces. You should use the same amount of both and the top of the bread should be completely covered. Then lightly sprinkle with pepper.

Cook in oven for about 10 minutes, or until bread is toasted. Time may vary depending on how big the bread pieces are. Once pieces are toasted stir them around, turning most of them over. Add another thin layer of garlic, seasoning salt and pepper. Toast for another 2-3 minutes.

When done the bread will be completely toasted and crunchy.

Tonight we ate these croutons on caesar salad as a side to lasagna. Yum!

Enjoy!

Cleaning up our dirty little secrets...1

`Ok, here we go.

A couple weeks ago I shared a few of our dirty little secrets, now the work of cleaning them up begins. 

I started by organizing the catch-all cabinet by our microwave and oven.

Here is what we started with...

Because this cupboard is centrally located it should be designated for things that are frequently used and needed in a hurry.  Things such as oils, vinegars, salt and pepper.  As you can see this was originally my intention but then it began overflowing with things that can be stored elsewhere.  

I began by removing all of my baking items and putting them in a container to be placed in my pantry.  Generally, I only use these items together.  So I can easily grab the container, use the items I need then put them all away together.  This will also stop me from making several pantry trips during baking or rummaging through this catch-all cupboard for vanilla extract. 

My next step was to remove empty bottles and containers or combine half-full containers.

Then I removed stray spices that should be in my spice drawer.  When I did this I got distracted by my spice drawer (haha).  This drawer is at toddler level and often gets raided by little fingers.  My theory has always been, they are only spices for the most part they are inexpensive and they are not harmful.  However, the little fingers have been slowly turning this organized drawer into spice soup.  The bottles have been tipped over, shuffled around and some of them are missing their tops.   To remedy this situation I placed all my spices in a tin container that has a tight fitting lid.  Now while I am cooking I can remove the lid, use what I need and then return the lid during kitchen clean-up.  This will stop little fingers from shuffling around these spices during kitchen down-time. 

Sam has recently learned that he can open the column of drawers in our kitchen and use them as steps up to the kitchen counter.  Since the tin container is almost the same size as the drawer, it has stopped him from stepping into this particular drawer.  I will consider that one step in the right direction.  (pun intended, haha)

Ok, so after removing all the unnecessary items and rearranging what is left here is what we have...

Much better!  It is clean, clutter-free and we don't have to remove 10 things to find what we are looking for.

Here are some usable tips for your kitchen:

1) Keep oils and vinegars within arms reach while cooking and preparing food.

2) Keep spices in a dark, dry place also within arms reach of cooking and preparing food.  I have found a drawer works perfectly for this, just make sure to label the lids of all your spices.  This will ensure you can find what you need with a quick glance.  Spice racks may seem handy and attractive sitting on your counter but the truth is when your spices are exposed to light and heat their flavor does not last as long.  What is the point of flavorless spices?

I hope this helps!