If there’s one area of our personal expenses that deserves our time and attention it’s our food budgets. Groceries are often overlooked as an expense that you cover with the money left over in our budgets, but it’s often worth the effort to create a food budget and stick to it. Without a food budget and a plan when we head to the grocery store, expenses can add up quickly. We also can end up buying too much, resulting in food waste and thus money waste. Or we could buy too little and end up eating out, which is going to increase our cost to feed our families by a lot! Grocery stores are incre ..read more

Meal prepping has to be one of my favorite tricks for getting healthy, easy meals on the table when I’m battling a busy schedule. Preparing ingredients, and moving through cooking steps in advance saves me so much time when it comes to actually cooking dinner or throwing together lunch. I just pick a day that I have a little more time to prepare my meals and ingredients, and then I know I have healthy meals ready to eat later that week! For many people it’s a Sunday afternoon, but it doesn’t have to be; pick the day that works best for you and most sets you up for success. I always try to inc ..read more

House projects and family time are five words that can sum up a lot of life around here lately. I don’t know if it’s the elation I’m feeling about the spring weather (now that I’ve been taking allergy shots for a year and can actually get outside and enjoy it), or the anticipation of fun things to come in May (Hammock Beach and Harry Potter World, here we come), or the peace I’ve found through better balance/regulation of phone time for myself I’ve struck recently, but I’m feeling good. That was quite a run-on sentence, but in short- I’m currently experiencing a sweet spot of contentment and ..read more

Hello and happy Friday! Today is going to be 80 degrees and sunny, just another sign that the season is changing. Spring fever has hit us and we are in the process of finishing up our year. We are transitioning into review mode, to then be followed by SUMMER mode. Our end of year test is on the books for early May. We do the Woodcock Johnson and Elizabeth, the woman that proctors the exam, is a wealth of information so I always look forward to picking her brain for resources and recommendations after the test. Review mode for us looks like tying up loose ends of projects/papers the girls have ..read more

Beginning when my kids were little, we talked about food: how it tastes, how it makes us feel, etc. Read more here on why I don’t label foods good or bad. As they have gotten older I’ve started to teach them about the components, like macronutrients. We talk about how carbohydrates give us energy, fat helps protect our cellular function, and protein helps us build and maintain muscle. Simplified? Certainly. But I like that they understand they need all three. Today I want to dig into protein, since it can be the one that takes a little more effort. Protein is an essential nutrient — especiall ..read more

I knew was that from early on, back when Hailey was newly a toddler, that I wanted her to be driven by an internal force. I wanted her to have thirst for problem solving and a sense of personal responsibility. I wasn’t quite sure how to verbalize why I didn’t want to offer rewards for potty training or sticker charts for good behavior. In fact, it took me years to realize the correct terminology of what it was I was so wanted to instill in my children. Now I learned the correct terminology for my parenting goals- I wanted my children to be intrinsically motivated. Intrinsic motivation refers ..read more

We eat a lot of rice around here. It’s affordable, nutritious, and makes a great base to soak up the flavors of so many types of cuisine. Rice is an amazingly versatile food that’s been a staple in a variety of cultures around the world for centuries. In fact, rice is the staple food for more than half the world’s population! Part of this popularity comes from its suitability for growth in parts of the world like Africa and Asia. It’s also a great source of carbohydrates, fiber, and even some plant-based protein. Another reason rice is so widely eaten is that it stores very well and has an ex ..read more

Happy Friday from Greenville, SC! Mom and I are enjoying a quick getaway with the girls and I must admit, I haven’t minded being away from the house which is currently dusted in a thin layer of drywall residue. I’m hopeful this is the final push to having our home projects complete. In the kitchen we extended the ceiling over an odd angle that used to exist and are getting ready to install backsplash and the hood. Then it’s finalizing the cabinets and paint. I’m starting to be able to see the finish line! It’s been a fun week around here, as most of the schools are on spring break. So while w ..read more

You may have come across slow cookers and Instant Pots in the past — but did you know there’s another option known as the Instant Dutch Oven? The Instant Dutch Oven takes all the things you love about a traditional Dutch oven and makes them even better by adding helpful features at the touch of a button. And if you follow me on IG, you know I use this helpful appliance almost daily! You can read my Instant Dutch Oven review for a complete rundown on how these amazing cookers work, but here’s a quick overview. With the Instant Dutch Oven, you have the option to set your cooking time and specif ..read more

Have you ever asked yourself that? Have you ever looked back on a period of your life and realized, only after the fact, that, wow, that was a lot. How did I make it through that? I try to be a self-aware person. Sure, I fall short often enough, but I try. One extension of this is trying to be cognizant of hard things (and good things!) as I walk through them. I want to ensure I feel my feelings and not try to shove them down. However, recently I was reflecting on the past few (five or so) years, kind of combing through the events of the year and milestones for our family. I got to 2020 and a ..read more