28 Day Reno

That's reno... as in short for "renovation."  Not the city in Nevada.  Or is it New Mexico?  I actually have no idea.

Anyways, it sounds like a dare, doesn't it?  My boys are big into dares these days:

"I bet you can't do a full home reno in 28 days."
"I bet I can."
"I dare you."
"No."
"I double dog dare you."
"Okay."

((Although with our kids,  the dare usually involves eating some sort of insect or jumping from somewhere insane, like the roof.))

Any way you slice it, we did another renovation.  It was our first reno in Canada.  We bought a type of house that locals refer to as a"BC box."  Basically, it's a rectangular/shoe-box shaped house that started popping up in the late 70's + early 80's.  They lack character and are fairly small (usually less than 2,000 sq. ft.)   And they are a dime a dozen around here.

So our adventure began when we bought it back in October, took possession November 2nd, and moved in December 1st.  That's 28 days, if you're counting.  And yes. We renovated it in 28 days.  I use the term "we" very loosely here...Ryan renovated.  I babysat.  And I picked out everything, which should count for something.

I have waited until now to post any pictures because while the nuts and bolts of the house were done....so many details weren't.  And, actually, still aren't.  But it's getting there.

I felt the need to finally post a picture today because this morning we had our BIG DAY. It was appraisal day. (And, for the record, it came in over what we were hoping. THAT is a good thing!). Most of our friends up here know that since starting the reno in November, we've been total recluses.  No dinner dates. No friends over.  No weekends out.  For a very social family, it's been super hard.

So, to reward my hubby on an amazing job, and to show proof to our friends that we did indeed do a renovation, here are a couple before and afters:

There is a house behind all of those trees.  Can you see it? Here's a little bit closer:

And because I feel that we need a close-up of the magnificence of the window over-hang thingys:

Once we got the trees removed, we got a better view of what we actually had to work with:

So....drumroll please....here is our house as of this morning:

I realize this picture is totally and completely off-center.  Sorry.  I was excited. Here's another one:

Here's a few more:

And here's a few before and afters of the kitchen:

Here's Ryan and his dad re-designing the kitchen:

This is after day 2 or 3 in the house.  We took out two of the kitchen walls to open up the house:

Here's a different view:

And...here it is now:

So, to re-cap:

And:

That's it for now! I'll post more pictures as things progress.  But for now.... we are resting!!!  (and possibly meeting up with friends again, inviting people over for dinner, and going on dates again. Woo-hoo!!!)

Xoxo,

E

Tithing my Time.

I've developed a problem in the last year or so.  I used to be a person who was prompt and organized, even after my kids were born.  And now...I'm not sure what's happened.  I just can't seem to pull it together.  We are late for almost everything.

It bothers me on several levels, but none more so than what it teaches my kids.  That it's ok to be late.  That we can make excuses.  That school, or church, or that kid's birthday party, or that dinner with friends isn't really that important, so we can be late.  Obviously, I don't actually speak those words to my boys.  But, what's that old saying?  They learn from the way we live, not the way we speak?  I may not have it verbatim, but the idea is true.  I can tell my kids all day long that they need to manage their time better. That when I say get dressed, I mean get dressed.  Now. Not in 45 minutes after you've played with lego, punched your brother, and rummaged through the fridge for a third breakfast.  I can tell them...but what does it really say to them when I'm still in my bathrobe, sipping coffee, and in no rush at all to get myself ready?

But, here's the thing: so often when we are battling with our kids about something or some issue, I find that  what's really happening is that the Lord is trying to work out that exact same thing in me.  In this case, it's my time.  How I use it.  How I manage the days, the hours, the minutes he's given me.  It goes far beyond being late (because, let's face it...something about having kids just slows us down). I believe it has more to do with how I tithe my time.

If you've grown up in church, you know about tithing money.  10% of your income goes FIRST to the Lord.  Not to visa or mastercard.  Not to the mortgage company or your landlord.  But to THE GOD WHO PROVIDES every need we have.  For Ryan and I, that's been a non-negotiable. Almost 11 years later and every pay check or bonus gets 10% (often times more) taken off the top and tithed to our local church.  It's almost mechanical now.  It's just part of our lives, part of our budget, part of how our household is run.  (Our boys also tithe when they make money from their chores.)

But a tithe on time?  Is this Biblical?  Is this hidden somewhere in Leviticus?  Is she making this up?  ...Well, yes and no.  I do not know of a scripture that says "thou shalt tithe 10% of your time to the Lord at 6 am each morning."  But, I also don't believe I'm making it up.  It's a concept I started thinking about last year when it became evident that I was struggling with how I managed my time.

Because, if you're a mom, let's be honest and say that many days are challenging when it comes to time.  You wake up early (and if you're lucky, it's a little before your kids, so you can have that coffee while it's still hot).  Then it's a mad rush to get breakfast made,  (do I feed them eggs, toast, and a yogurt parfait? Or homemade oatmeal?  Or should I whip up gluten-free, whole-grain, flaxseed pancakes?  Or do I throw cereal at them because it's easy and fast?  Cereal it is).  THEN it's time to get the kids dressed.  And if you live in my house, many mornings it's as if everything that can go wrong, will go wrong:  SETH!! What are you doing IN the toilet?  Ahh! Now you need a shower.  JACKSON!! Why are you coloring on yourself? Again? In permanent marker?  I hid those 2 months ago!  NOAH!! I know you're not actually doing anything wrong, but you're also doing nothing, which by default means you're doing something wrong because you're not dressed for school.  AM I THE ONLY SANE ONE IN THE HOUSE?

And then once your kids are dropped off at school or preschool, you have an exact amount of time in which to do your "out of the house errands".  This is only magnified if, like me, you have a baby or toddler that still naps.  In which case you have like 2-3 hours to go to that play date, have a coffee, go grocery shopping, and change the world. Then during nap time, you once again have to manage your time:  what do I do during this blissful time of peace when I am the only one awake in the house?  I'll work out! I'll do laundry that's been piling up for a week! I'll get dinner ready! I'll clean the floors! ...and then instead you end up falling asleep or (worse!) "quickly" checking your instagram and Facebook posts and then suddenly the kid is awake and its time to go get the other kids from school.  And then the dinner rush and then bedtime (best and worst part of the day) and then ... exhaustion.

I am tired just writing that.  And it's not even 8am. So, here's what I am getting at:  after far too many days like the ones above, and praying "Lord! There must be a better way.  I can't stand having so much time and yet so little,"  the Holy Spirit did what he does best:  He spoke to me and convicted me.  That my time is not my own.  That I needed to set aside a portion of "my" time to Him.

So, I started waking up at 5:15.  Because our youngest wakes up at 6, and I knew that while I hated to wake up that early and I was certainly still tired, it was all I had to give.  And I started looking for Scripture to back-up this thing that had sparked the whole tithing my time concept.  And here's 2 of the verses that stuck out to this non-Bible scholar:

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple.  If you do," says the Lord Almighty, "I will open the windows of heaven for you.  I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in!  Try it!  Let me prove it to you! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.  Your grapes will not shrivel before they are ripe," says the Lord Almighty.  "Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight," says the Lord Almighty.  

Malachi 3:10-12

...I know this is talking about tithing food (in essence, their food was their money back then.)  But I felt that this could easily translate to my time.  To bring my time to Him and then he can do the things I can't during the day.  He can open my eyes to the needs around me.  He can bless me, not just for the sake of me being blessed, but so that I can be a blessing to others.  He will guard what I entrust to him (my time) and help me to manage it well so that it doesn't shrivel or escape from me.

"Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.  Cry out for insight and understanding.  Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure.  Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.  For the Lord grants wisdom!  From his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.  He grants a treasure of good sense to the godly.  He is their shield, protecting those who walk with integrity.  He guards the paths of justice and protects those who are faithful to him.  Then you will understand what is right, just and fair, and you will know how to find the right course of action every time.  For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.  Wise planning will watch over you.  Understanding will keep you safe."  Proverbs 2:2-11

...This challenged me to keep a tight perspective on WHY I am waking up at 5:15 every morning. That to have wisdom, understanding, and insight, I need to LOOK for them.  That to carve out a portion of my day everyday and give it back to him, spend it with him, is not without purpose. It has results. Real, tangible results that affect how the rest of my day is spent.

And by LIVING out the way I hope my boys will behave, I pray that they catch onto not only how to manage their time, but that the BEST, FIRST, and MOST IMPORTANT thing they can do is give it back to their heavenly Father. To sit at his feet, learn from him, allow him to break them, build them, and become men after God's heart.

A Fall Family Tradition: Pumpkin Chip Cookies

Ok, I know that Fall is pretty much over and that it's almost Christmas time.

Oh, who am I kidding?  Thanksgiving has come and gone, Black Friday is over, and we are basically counting down the days 'til Christmas.

 Nonetheless, I've had it floating around in my cluttered, exhausted brain that I wanted to share this little  pumpkin story/recipe.  Finding the time, however, is another story entirely. So although we have pretty much said goodbye to pumpkin and have welcomed cranberries into our pantries, please indulge me for a moment, k?

Growing up in the South, we always looked forward to that first cold snap of the season.  If you've never experienced a southern summer, then you cannot fully appreciate the relief that the first "cool" day brought.  And when I say cool, I mean when our temperatures actually dropped below 80 degrees.  By Canadian standards, it was still summer.  But, oh boy...let me tell you: for those of us born and raised in the south, that first Fall day had the power to make you forget the heat and humidity and it would suddenly feel like Christmas was on its way.  If Starbucks had existed back then, that first fall day would have warranted a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

But, we didn't have Starbucks.  (Age revealer?).  We did, however, have my mom.  My dad, brother, and I, that is.  And she made THESE on the first cold day of every fall:

Behold pumpkin chip cookies.  If it's possible to bundle fall in a cookie, then these do it!  And because it's now a family tradition that both my brother and I have passed on to our kids, I wanted to share my favorite part of fall with you.  Here's the step-by-easy-step of my childhood. I mean my favorite cookies:

First, you mix up the stuff that should be in any good cookie: butter and sugar.

Mix it 'til it's nice and fluffy.

Then you add some pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla...

And mix it until it looks like this:

Then have your kid come help you mix up the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon).  And maybe, if you're lucky, they'll throw up a peace sign like mine did.  

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones....

...but just a little bit at a time. You don't want your fancy mixer to break under all the stress!

Once it's all done mixing, it should look like this:

But, then you add the "chip" part of the cookies...chocolate chips.  Mix it by hand. And by hand I mean with a spatula.  Unless you actually want to do it with your hands. I trust you'll make the right decision.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an un-greased baking sheet.

And bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack and congratulate yourself for making your house smell so good. And if your kids are anything like mine, food is their love language and they will sing your praises and beg you for "at least 5 cookies...because they're so small."  At least that's what my oldest tries to pull.  

So there you have pumpkin chip cookies.  Some of my favorite memories growing up involve these little guys...making them, eating them, giving them away for teacher gifts (which I now do with my boys teachers), and coming through the door from school on that first cold day of the fall and smelling these.

Spoiler alert! I'm crying now. Because I'm so grateful for memories like these.  They carry me through this season of being apart from my parents and my brother.  We still group text each other on that first cold day of the season and say "it's a pumpkin chip cookie day!"  It warms my heart and makes me so grateful that, although we live in 3 different cities, the 4 of us still have a strong bond that no distance can take away.

Now go make some memories and bake some cookies!!!

Pumpkin Chip Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup chocolate chips (I always use a little less...closer to 3/4 of a cup)

1. Cream butter and sugar together 'til fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon).
4. Add the the dry ingredients to the wet ones a little bit at a time and mix thoroughly.
5. Add the chocolate chips and mix until well incorporated.
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheets.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or 'til lightly browned.
8. Cool on a wire rack.

The Joy of A Boy

So, I was deleting some pictures off of my i-phone because, apparently, they have a 2,000 picture limit.  Who knew?! And as I was scrolling through the last year and a half, I realized how many pictures I had of my boys playing in dirt, playing with worms (or some other kind of bug), or just being all-out boys.  Case in point:  

And I realized, while looking at all of our weird and wonderful memories,  that my boys have taught me how to have joy in such little, seemingly insignifcant things. Like finding a dead worm on the sidewalk.

Don't get me wrong.  I do not enjoy finding dead worms on the sidewalk.  But they do!  It's like Christmas morning for them.  How they stop and lay down on the ground and hover their noses above the nasty dead thing before them.  It's kinda funny to think of an adult doing the same thing, right?  Totally socially-unacceptable for a grown man or woman to lay on the sidewalk and just stare at something for an inappropriate length of time.  But for a kid, its ok.  Right?

Seth prefers catching ants. I have no answers for these things. I fail to understand my kids.

Finding slugs are just as good as finding worms.  Better, actually. 

Ladybugs are ok in a pinch

So go find some joy with your kiddos today!!  Maybe it's a worm walk (as we call them in our house) or maybe a splash walk through the rain (because if you are near me, it is raining. every day. until at least next June.)  But whatever you do, do it joyfully!!

A Recipe From My Best Friend

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Pioneer Woman is my best friend.

Ree Drummond, aka: The Pioneer Woman.

Granted, she has no idea who I am.  And she certainly has never heard of my blog.  But that's okay.  I have high hopes of meeting her one day and presenting her with my running list of reasons for why we should be best friends.  Or at least pen pals.

Until then, let me share one of my favorite recipes with you from her first cook book.

If you don't own this cookbook, go buy it.  Right now.  Literally!  Run to your nearest Target (if you're blessed to have one near you, unlike me) or Barnes and Noble or whatever store is close to you and BUY THIS BOOK.  (See Ree?  I'm promoting you. We should be best friends. Call me maybe?)

On to the real reason we're here: FOOD!

So, let me start by saying that my children have a slight obsession with meatballs.  Seriously.  As long as something is round and has the appearance of a meatball, they will eat it.  It can be turkey, it can be beef, it can be pork, it can be homemade or the frozen store-bought ones you throw in your crock pot and serve as an appetizer at a football game.  (Er...I mean hockey game. I'm still trying to get used to my new-found Canadian roots.)  But you get my drift?  The boys love 'em.  I always welcome new meatballs into my repertoire.  So, when I saw this recipe in her cookbook, I knew it was going to be one of my first ones to try.

Introducing comfort meatballs.

These were a pleasant surprise because my husband hates meatloaf.  And these meatballs taste like bite-sized bits of heavenly meatloaf.  He will argue with you, of course, and insist that they don't taste anything like meatloaf. But after you read this and you go home and make these, like I know you will, I'm sure you'll agree with me that they do in fact taste just like really really really good meatloaf.  And every bite has ketchup on it.  Which is the best part anyway, am I right?

And if you, like my man, dislike meatloaf...give these a try.  You may share the same tastebud DNA as him and think they just taste like good 'ol fashioned meatballs. If there is such a thing.

(...I think at this point, it's fair to offer a disclaimer that this recipe is in no way, shape or form a part of our clean-eating system.  But my oldest boy asked me to please, please, please make meatballs because it had been a while, so I did.  And now I'm sharing with you because I felt like, hey, some of you aren't doing the eating-clean thing, and you might enjoy these bad boys. Some of you may just need ideas for food that your kids will actually eat.  So, here they are. Blame my son, ok?).


These meatballs aren't the store-bought-frozen-ones you make in a crock-pot, as I mentioned earlier.  No sir. These are homemade.  You combine the meat with some oatmeal, milk, a little onion, salt and pepper.  I used lean ground turkey, because, although it's not necessarily a "clean" meal, I still feel an obligation to feed my family a certain way.  But, hey, you can use whatever meat you have in your freezer or whatever is on sale.  I'm not judging!

After your roll them up into their meatball shape, stick them in the fridge for a bit, about 45 minutes, just to firm 'em up.

After they are nice and cold, take them out of the fridge (or if you're like me and always forget this step because you don't have 45 extra minutes for your meatballs to just be sitting there when they should be cooking, take them out of your FREEZER after a 15 good minutes in there.  Shhh...it's my shortcut. Don't tell PW.)  

Now we dredge the meatballs in some flour and brown them in canola oil (or, if you're like me, you'll use some coconut oil!).

Can I just pause for a minute to brag on my little electric skillet here?  This is one of the few items Ryan and I bought when we were first married almost (cough cough) 10 years ago.  It's one of my favorite versatile kitchens items.  At the risk of sounding like Bubba, you can fry in it, saute in it, make pancakes in it in the morning and make a stir-fry in it at night. It has sides so you can make big batches of things without the risk of spilling over.  Let's  have one more look at her:

As the picture above shows, when the meatballs begin to get brown, put them in a 9x13. Or if it's dirty and you don't feel like washing it out, like yours truly, then grab 2 smaller dishes. Voila! Problem solved.

Stir together the sauce ingredients (which you'll find below).  And pour the sauce all over the meatballs.  Make sure each meatball feels some of the love, ok?  Don't let any of those guys go without sauce. 

As a small side note, to make the sauce, it requires minced onion.  How do you mince your onion?  I use THIS:  

It's not a slap chop, but it's the same idea.  Mine is the pampered chef brand and, much like my electric skillet up there, I love this little gadget.  It keeps my tears to a minimum, literally, and minces  my onion up so fast it takes about 15-20 seconds.  Oh...to think of all the years I spent without this little guy.

Speaking of little guys...this is what my 3 guys were doing while I made dinner:

 Amazing, isn't it?  I put newspaper and paint down and said "go."  Worked like a charm.

Back to the meatballs!

Stick them in the oven for 45 minutes or until they are bubbly and hot. Watch and be amazed as your kids hover around your oven waiting for dinner.

When they are ready, serve them to a house full of hungry boys.  Or, whoever you are blessed to feed.

In my case, it's boys boys boys. And I love it! 

Now go make some meatballs!

Comfort Meatballs

from: The Pioneer Woman, aka Ree Drummond

Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (or turkey or pork)
3/4 cup quick oats
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons very finely minced onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper
(and, if you are feeling healthy, throw some wheat germ in there...I did!)


1. In a bowl, combine all of the above.
2. Roll the mixture into tablespoon sized balls and refrigerate 30-45 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350.
4. Heat 4 tablespoons canola oil (or coconut oil!) in a large skillet over med heat.
5. Dredge the meatballs in some flour.
6. Brown the meatballs until light brown.
7. As they brown, stick them in a 9x13.

Sauce
1 cup ketchup 
2 tablespoons sugar (or you could use honey or agave nectar; just slightly decrease the amount to 1 or 1 1/2 tablespoons as agave is sweeter than sugar)
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
4-6 tablespoons minced onion

1. Stir together all of the above and pour evenly over the meatballs.
2. Bake for about 45 minutes, or til hot and bubbly.

Serve with mashed potatoes, or even better...quinoa!! 



I promise that the next time I post a recipe, it will be a clean-eats recipe. :)

Until next time, my friends!

E