Christmas Traditions

When I think of Christmastime, family traditions come to mind. During all the hustle and bustle of the season, it's comforting to come back to traditions, either ones from childhood or new ones that you've chosen to start with your own children.

When I was a kid growing up on Whidbey Island, we would always go to a local farm and cut down a Christmas tree. The farm had a "reindeer" that we got to ride and hot apple cider and cocoa for afterwards. I still remember the styrofoam cups and how scalding the cider was to drink. Another special tradition that started at my Aunt Judy's house was the Christmas tree fairy. Each tree had a fairy that lived in the branches and I would talk to her about anything and while I was sleeping, she would leave gumdrops for me in my bedroom. I remember kneeling under our tree and truly believing that this fairy was there and listening. Oh, childhood innocence!

When my kids were small, I knew that I wanted to start new traditions. It's easy to get overwhelmed and think we need to DO IT ALL or our kids are somehow missing out, but I think having just two or three traditions makes it fun and special. We enjoy family movie nights where we pick a Christmas-themed movie, get in our pjs, and have a special snack like the individual bags of kettle corn from Trader Joe's. Another favorite tradition is jumping in our van and driving around nearby neighborhoods looking at everyone's Christmas lights while listening to carols on the radio.

Lastly, it's important to me to teach my kids about giving (because in reality, they are obsessed with their wish lists and what they are going to get) so we have done different family giving opportunities over the years. For a few years, we bought small gifts and wrote cards and stuffed them into shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child; one year we bought gift cards and wrote encouraging notes for foster teens and I had the kids draw pictures in the cards for them; and another time, we let each kid pick an animal donation out of the World Vision catalog for needy families in other countries.

Now that you've heard about some of my favorite Christmas traditions, I'd love to hear about yours!

Merry Christmas!
Rachel

Super Simple Chicken & White Bean Chili Recipe

Ingredients:
4 c. cooked chicken (rotisserie works great!)
3 cans Northern white beans (strained)
1 yellow onion
32 oz chicken stock
1 jar salsa
2 c. pepperjack cheese

Chop onion and add to pot with chicken stock. Heat on medium low for 10 minutes. Combine the rest of the ingredients in the pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Enjoy topped with sour cream and tortilla chips or crusty bread. 

Serves 8. 

~Rachel

Wrapping up the Year and Taking Time to Breath...

Well hello Mamas! Where has the time gone and how can we be entering in to the last weeks of school/Mops?! I don't know about you but I am always amazed at how hectic this time of year can feel. As a former teacher it was always a busy season too and knowing how I felt as an educator,  I am certain it may feel the same for our school aged kiddos. Even as parents we may be feeling different stresses as we prepare for the home stretch. Extra events are piled on the calendar, sports activities multiply as the weather improves, end of the year parties are planned and the lists go on.

It has me thinking about several things. One being how thankful I am to have the time with you all every couple weeks, to refresh, share our stories and encourage one another. To fill our tanks and face the week ahead. It is truly a blessing. Also reflecting on all that I have learned alongside you ladies. The wonderful speakers, the lessons and the wisdom we gain from being together. Specifically, that whole piece we heard on breathing and some simple relaxation has been beneficial to me as of late.

Today I stopped the piles of laundry, the dishes, the many many to do's.  I could feel my chest tightening as I ran through through how everything would possibly get done.  I remembered to stop and take a breath, actually many deep breaths ;)... We headed outside, enjoyed the swings and breathed it all in. Sometimes, in fact most times, I think it is ok to take a break and step away. Isn't that what we are doing while we enjoy each other's company each week? What a wonderful gift!

Glad as always to have your company this year and hoping you take a little time to slow down when things get tight or just a little too busy. Stay tuned for some upcoming announcements and open positions for our MOPS groups in the next week or so.

Thanks so much you all and happy May!

Annie

Upcoming Dates:
5/4 and 5/18 MOPS Meetings 9:30-11:30 a.m.
5/12 and 5/26 NCPC Play Dates 10:00-11:30 a.m.

Spring is on it's way and thank you...

Hello Mamas and hope that your February was well.  I meant to get on here before the end of the month and wouldn't you know, sickness hit our house again and it just throws everything off. Thankfully spring is around the corner and sunshine will do everyone a little good!

I wanted to extend my gratitude for letting me share with you a couple weeks ago, that was such an honor to share my story and journey with all of you truly amazing women.  I can't tell you enough how much your open arms and feedback meant.  I am lucky to be a part of this group...

I just wanted to check in briefly and leave a couple of the handout's information for any of you that may be interested.

Here is the breakdown of how we do meal planning and budgeting (taken straight from the handout)...

Here are the 5 key ways we save each month (some I have gone into detail with previous posts and some I will share soon)...
1. Once a month shopping
2. Making our cleaning products
3. Growing a square foot garden
4. Thrift shopping
5. Making beauty products

Today I will go more in depth as to how we "once a month shop". After doing some research and practicing for a couple months I was able to cut our grocery bill in half. Now for food, cleaning and diapers/wipes we are able to spend about 500 dollars. While this system may not work for everyone it has worked wonders for us and enabled me to quit my job to stay home. I know that with some extra effort we could probably cut this even more and I am working on figuring that out!

Here's how it works...
- we shop one day a month (usually a Saturday and as close to the first of the month as possible) and it typically takes about 4-5 hours there/back. We most often bring the kids with us!
- we stick to 3 stores (Costco, Trader Joes and another grocery store such as Whole Foods or Albertsons)
- we buy in bulk as much as possible. For example at Costco we get chicken, beef, fruits, some veggies, sugar, bread, tortillas, butter, milk, cream, cheese, paper towels, toilet paper, etc...
- we buy other organic or high quality items at Trader Joes such as Cereal, lunch meat, fruit, veggies, Bronners Soap, shampoo/conditioner, etc...
- then at the other store we fill in the gaps with whatever we could not find at the previous two stores.
- we come home and unload - cook, chop, and freeze. We cook all our meats and freeze them in portions (so they will last throughout the month). We also chop/freeze some of our fruits and veggies (if not already frozen) so that they will last all month. This step helps tremendously with time... When you need to make a meal you have everything ready and it just needs to be thrown into a crockpot or defrosted.

Some helpful tips
- having a second refrigerator in the garage has been nice - when shopping once a month it gets crowded. Having only one refrigerator would still be possible - just take extra orgnization.
- we shred our cheese ourselves (it is cheaper than buying shredded)
- eat fruit and veggies that are not frozen and will spoil quickly first. Apples and oranges will last a long time so we eat those later in the month.
- we use Greek yogurt for everything - not really... but almost! We use it for yogurt, sour cream, dressing and pasta sauces.
- we eat many eggs, beans, etc for other sources of protein.
- I make our granola, cookies, pancake mixes, etc... from scratch
- we don't buy snacks... nothing other than fruits, nuts and the occasional cereal to snack on.
- we meal plan! This piece is important. This allows you to strategize how you will stretch those groceries throughout the month!

I was overwhelmed at first by the idea of once a month shopping, but now I wouldn't trade it. Before I was going to the grocery store 1-2 times a week and like I said spending twice as much! Now I have more time and money! Our meals are planned and they taste better because I am planning and changing it up.

Here are my goals this year to bring this budget down even more...
- make my own bread (this could cut our budget down by about 20 dollars)
- once #2 is ready for potty training this year we will save around 60 dollars a month!
-continue to research what veggies/fruits to buy organic or not.

You can also find some of my meal plans and recipes on my blog -
www.zevyjoy.com

Hoping that March is off to a wonderful start for you and that you each find encouragement and rejuvination in your visits together tomorrow.

UPCOMING EVENTS
3/2 and 3/16 Mops Meetings 9:30-11:30
3/10 NCPC Play Date - 10:00-11:30 a.m. at NCPC

Success

Hello Mops Mamas! It was wonderful to see you this morning and we missed those of you who were unable to make and praying those feeling ill will be on the mend soon.

Today's talk (from both Lauren and Tricia) was packed full of wisdom, encouragement, vulnerability and gave us mamas a chance to authentically connect. I took away many important points that I hope to keep as a part of my daily internal talk/encouragement when self doubt or frustration sets in. A reminder that we can't do it all (the butler, the maid, the chef, the hostess, etc...), but that we can choose to do one thing well and focus on that. Our gifts/choices as mothers may be different from one mama to the next; comparison and judment are void when we make this acceptance. I loved the encouragement that God made each of us and for that very reason we are special; seeing our children in this very same light is priceless.

What does success look like this day in age where we are expected to be running the top and bottom floors (as Tricia shared) and how do we compat the need to acknowledge the failures over the triumphs.  Because let's face it, every day is a triumph even when it involves diapers and cheerios. Our children are our gift - and we are theirs.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead and till next time...
Annie

Important Dates-
January 26th - Girl's Night Out - Shawn O'Donnells Trivia Night 7:00pm
January 28th - NCPC Play Date - 10:00 - 11:30