Healthy Super Bowl Foods

The Super Bowl is coming up this Sunday, which means if you are trying to eat healthy and lose weight, all your hard work can be destroyed in one afternoon!!  This year i'm looking into trying out some new healthy recipes i can make for Super Bowl Sunday, that won't leave me feeling sad, discouraged, and just plain yucky come Monday!







Here's some recipes i have found that look really and that i can't wait to try...


Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili - This recipe from Half Baked Harvest looks really yummy. If chili is your go to meal for Super Bowl Sunday, why not give this healthy recipe a try!





Healthy Queso (Skinny Cheese Dip) - It's really not the Super Bowl without chips and dip, and with this skinny cheese dip you won't have all the regrets the next day.





Healthy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites - The flavor of buffalo wings, without all the calories!! Yes Please!!





Skinny Bell Pepper Nacho Boats - I love bell peppers and nachos, so i am so excited for this recipe!!





Zucchini Pizza Bites - Another classic Super Bowl food, Pizza! However, this recipe is super simple and healthier for you!!




That's it, 5 healthy delicious recipes to keep you on track during this Super Bowl Sunday. Which one looks the tastiest to you?



*Stock photo provided by Unsplash.*

Monthly Meal Planning

Recently I started making a monthly menu plan, my goal in doing so was to a.) have less shopping trips b.) stop eating the same dinners every week and c.) to *hopefully* save some money.


I shared a picture on Instagram, that had my January meal plan on it, and I got a few comments on it. So I thought I would just share how i'm monthly menu planning, in case you are wanting to start as well.




I had been weekly meal planning, up until December, so i'm fairly new to this, but this is how i'm doing it.


I started out by making a list of all the dinners I could think of that my family enjoys. My goal in doing this, was to have a list of at least 35 meals. Once I had that list of dinners, I used my 2019 Planner (which includes a menu planning page for each month) and added in a different dinner for each day.




When planning out where to put all the meals, I kept these things in mind:

1. Makeover/Leftover meals - For example: If I cook a whole chicken one night, there will be leftovers that I can then use the next night for a different meal, like chicken pot pie.
2. Themed nights - For example: We eat Mexican type meals on Tuesdays, and Asian inspired dishes on Fridays.
3. Meatless meals - I try to make at least 1 meal a week without any meat. (Baked potatoes, rice & beans, cauliflower chowder; to name a few)
4. Special occasions/holidays - We let the kids pick the meals on their birthdays, so when I am planning I need to keep that in mind.

If you notice, my monthly meal plan is just dinners. That's because I don't plan out breakfast and lunch. I usually just keep on hand breakfast and lunch type foods; cereal, oatmeal, bread, yogurt, etc. And lunch for us is usually leftovers from the previous nights dinner, or we will make sandwiches, some pasta, soup, beans, etc...


Once I have my menu for the month, then I work on a monthly grocery list. I do grocery shopping twice a month. I do a big shopping trip at the beginning of the month, and then a smaller fill in shopping trip half way through the month.

Things I buy in my beginning of the month shopping trip:

• Meats - All the meats i'm going to need for the month, I buy now and freeze.
• Bread - I buy enough for the first 2 weeks only.
• Pantry Items - All the the ingredients for the recipes, things that won't go bad.
• Frozen foods - All the frozen items we will need for the month.
• Produce - For the first 2 weeks of the month only.
• Dairy/Refrigerated - Mostly just for the first 2 weeks, with the exception of cheese. I buy enough cheese to last the whole month.

Things I buy half way through the month:

• More dairy/refrigerated products - yogurt and milk mostly.
• More bread
• More produce - fruits and veggies to get us through the rest of the month.
• And anything else I forgot to buy at the beginning of the month.

That's it, that's how I meal plan for the entire month. I think it has been working out really well for us. I like having all the meals thought out ahead of time, and having all the groceries on hand is really convenient.


How do you meal plan? Weekly or Monthly?



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Morning Routine {For A Mom Of 5}

Hi Guys!


Today I thought I would share what my morning routine looks like, as a mom of 5.




Usually my body just wakes up around 5 o'clock, but if it doesn't then my alarm goes off at 5:30 and I get up. That's when I will let the dogs outside, use the bathroom, and weight myself.


Then I go into the kitchen and turn on the coffee pot, and then pour myself a cup of coffee. After getting my coffee, I walk back into my bedroom, sit down at my desk, and enjoy my cup of coffee, while chatting with my husband (who is also enjoying a cup of coffee).


Once i'm done with my coffee, I grab out my bullet journal and work on that for a little while (my husband is usually leaving for work at this point). In my bullet journal, I keep track of all my health/fitness stuff so that's usually what i'm entering into my journal in the morning.





After that, I try to get moving. I start with picking up my bedroom. I make the bed, pick up stuff off the floor, put away any laundry laying around, etc..


Then, at this point, I am just waiting for 7 o'clock to come around (when the children wake up), so I might; read a book, watch a YouTube video, write a blog post, or check my social media accounts, to kill some time.


7 o'clock rolls around, and all the children start to wake up. That's when I start making breakfast, after some morning snuggles with the littles. By 7:30 we are eating breakfast.





After breakfast, I clean up the kitchen (dishes, wipe down counters, etc.), then I start a load of laundry for the day. Once my morning chores have been done, I help the 2 youngest get dressed and ready for the day.



Then I get myself ready for the day, and then once i'm done it is usually almost 8 o'clock (which is when we start school). I call the 3 oldest to get their schoolwork and come to the table. We get started with math first (which we do for 1 hour) and while I go back and forth helping the 3 oldest with any math problems they are struggling with, I am also working with my 4 year old with his preschool work.




Then the rest of my morning is spent helping children with schoolwork, keeping the toddler entertained, and trying to move around as much as possible (so that i get my 10,000+ steps every day).



So that's what my mornings looks like pretty much every day, with the exception of the weekends. However, i still wake up at the same time on the weekends, and do most of the same things in the morning, with the only exception being schoolwork with the children.



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Homeschooling In Small Spaces

Hi Guys!



Last year we moved from a 2,600 Square feet house into a 1,900 square feet house. In downsizing, we lost a dedicated school room, so now we've been doing most of our school work at the dinning room table. I know, from first hand experience, that homeschooling in a small space can be tricky, but it's also completely doable.







Here's how we have been doing it...

1. Find a spot for your curriculum/books/Supplies (Tip: Think outside the box) - We have this little area at the top of our stairs, which i refer to as the "book nook area", where we keep all our curriculum, books, and supplies.

If you don't have a space like that, use a closet, or a bookshelf, or a cabinet, or keep your curriculum in containers that can be easily stored under furniture or a bed.

2. Only buy/keep what's necessary - I've had to get rid of a lot of things that we just really didn't need and things that were taking up space. Would it be nice to have a model skeleton? Sure, but the space it takes up makes it not worth it, when we can just look up pictures in books or online. Also i have to be very picky about what i buy and bring into our house, because we don't want to add more clutter.


3. Mini white boards - My big white board is probably the thing i miss the most.                    However, i found some mini white boards at Walmart that were only a couple of dollars. They work great to work one on one with each child, and can be easily stored.





I hope you enjoyed hearing about my tips on how we manage to homeschool in a small space. Are you also homeschooling in a small space? I'd love to hear some of your tips.



*Stock photo provided by Unsplash.*

Baby Fever {Will We Have More Kids?}

I think I will be 70 years old and still have baby fever.


It's just a part of who I am.





When I was a little girl, most of my fellow classmates dreamed of being; doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc., while the only desire in my heart was to be a mom. I used to proclaim I was going to have 13 children.



As I grew older that number of desired children slightly changed from 13 to 6.


After having my 5th child, I told everyone that we were done. That was it, no more kids. But I really only said that because I knew that's what everyone wanted to hear. People today don't seem to like big families.


Truth be told, I don't know if we are done adding to our family. I will tell you that sometimes when we are all together hanging out, I will all of a sudden get this feeling like someone is missing. I then start counting the children, only to see that all 5 of them are there, but yet this missing feeling still lingers inside me. My husband believes that feeling comes from the baby that we lost.


Who knows what God has in store for us for the future. I would absolutely love to have another baby, but if that doesn't happen I know i'm incredibly blessed with the kids I have been given.



*Stock photo provided by Unsplash.*

Current Health Journey

Hi Guys!


At the beginning of the month, I shared my goal of losing 10 pounds this month with you all. Well, today I thought I would share how i'm going about doing that, in case you are also interested in losing weight/getting healthy/etc...





First i'll start with my workout schedule.


I'm currently working out 5 times a week, with my two off days being Wednesday and Sunday. For my work outs this month, I am running on the treadmill for 1 mile. My goal is to slowly work my way up to 2 miles, however that probably won't happen until next month. I'm just not there yet.


I'm also getting over 10,000 steps every day, workout day or not.


Now for my diet.

I'm trying to stay away from: Chocolate, Candy, Soda, Bread, Rice, Pasta, and Ice Cream.

For the first part of the month I've been just doing my own thing, no real diet plan other than avoid those foods i just previously mentioned.

Starting today i'm going to be doing the Beachbody meal plan for a 1,200 calorie diet.
I used that meal plan last time I was focused on losing weight and I believe it really did the trick. I just adjust the meal plan to my liking for example; I don't do the Beachbody shake they recommend, and I also don't use the portion fix containers.


Here is the meal plan:


Breakfast (M/W/F): Veggie Egg Muffins on Whole Grain English Muffin with Orange Slices
Breakfast (T/Th): Sweet Potato Veggie Hash with Turkey Sausage with Red Grapes
Shakeology Snack (DAILY): Vanilla Chia Shakeology Smoothie **I don't do this**
PM Snack (DAILY): Apple with Peanut Butter
Lunch (M/W/F): Cilantro Lime Shredded Chicken with Black Eyed Pea Salad
Lunch (T/Th): Avocado Chicken Salad on Toasted Whole Grain Bread
Dinner (M/W/F): Roasted Pepper Tuna Melt
Dinner (T/Th): Roasted Chicken over Wilted Spinach Salad



The meal plan covers Monday-Friday, so on the weekends I just do meals that are similar to these meals. If you are interested in this meal plan, the recipes/shopping list are on their website.


That's how i'm going about getting healthier/losing weight/getting fit/etc. Now for my results so far, I've lost 7 pounds!!! With my total goal being 10 pounds this month, i feel like 7 pounds so far is a great start!!



Are you on your own health journey? I'd love to hear what you are doing, and how it is going.



*Stock photo provided by Unsplash.*

December Favorites 2018

Hi Guys!



Today i'm sharing some of my favorite things from December 2018.





Water & Cranberries - I've been adding a couple cranberries to my water lately and i'm loving it. It gives it just a slight sweet taste, which helps me drink more.



Perfectly Posh Lotion - This is the only lotion that doesn't sting when i apply it to my dry cracked hands. Plus the smell of Posh Boss is amazing. (*No, I do not sell their products, just sharing what i like.*)





Olay Face Moisturizer - My skin has been so dry because of the winter weather, that i am so glad i found this product. I just started using it so i can't give a full review yet, but the times i have used it, i sure to feel a difference.






Jesus Calling For Christmas - This book is very well written and the pictures are breathtakingly beautiful. I really liked how short each message was, because i was so busy last month that it was nice i could just get a minute or two here to read each message.





Bernat Super Chunky Yarn - I've been working on making each of my children a blanket, and i am really loving the super chunky yarn. Right now i'm using a Sea Foam Print on a blanket for Lincoln.





WOW Hits 2019 - I switched over to Christian music almost a year ago. We got this CD for Christmas and i really do love every song on it.






DAVIDsTEA - We did the 24 Tea Advent Calendar and found some really yummy teas. The Candy Cane Crush was probably my favorite out of them all.





That's it, i hope you enjoyed hearing about some of my favorite things. I'd love to hear what some of your favorite things are right now.



*Stock photo provided by Unsplash. This post may contain affiliate links.*

Goals For January 2019

Hi Guys!

Instead of doing a blog post about all my goals for the year, i thought i would share each month my goals for that month, because they can change.

There are some big goals like "get down to my goal weight this year", which doesn't change monthly, but most of my goals this year will change each month.

So without further ado, here are my goals for January 2019...

1. Read 4 books - My major book reading goal this year is to read 50 books, so for January i want to read at least 4.
2. Lose 10 pounds - Almost 2 years ago now, i lost a lot of weight, but unfortunately i gained all of it back and then some. So for January i hope to lose at least 10 pounds!
3. Buy only 1 coffee from a coffee shop - I've gotten so used to every time i leave the house i buy myself a cup of coffee, i want to put a stop to that. So this month i have challenged myself to only buy myself 1 cup a coffee from a coffee shop this month.
4. Go on at least 3 field trips - We have been slacking in the field trip department, so i really want to start making them a priority.
5. Get at least 10,000 steps each day - This shouldn't be too hard of a goal, as i usually get 10,000 - 12,000 steps every day, but i want to start being more intentional with my steps because next month my goal will be even higher.
6. Drink at least 4 bottles of water each day - When the weather gets colder i find it harder to drink water, so i'm really pushing myself to drink lots of water each day.
7. Workout 5 times a week - This can be hard for me, because if i'm getting 10,000+ steps every day i can convince myself that i have moved enough so working out isn't necessary, when it really is.
8. Put my phone down more and be present with my family - I wouldn't say i am obsessed with my phone, but i can get lost in mindless scrolling versus being present with my family. This goal isn't specifically for January, but for the whole year.

That's it, those are my goals for this month. I'd love to hear your goals.


*Stock photo provided by Unsplash.*

January Reading List

Hi Guys!


I'm back today with our January reading list!





Here are all the books we have planned to read this month...


Samuel (13 years old/ 8th grade)



The Prince Warriors - This is a 4 book set, we just bought the first book to see if he will like it.


Dasean (10 years old/ 5th grade)



The Green Ember - His brother read it back in October, so he is wanting to read it as well.


Karina (7 years old/ 2nd grade)




Boxcar Children book 2 (Surprise Island)


Cruz (4 years old/ Preschool)



Sneezy The Snowman


Veronica (Me!)




Dance, Stand, Run: The God-Inspired Moves Of a Woman On Holy Ground - I'm not sure if i shared this book before, i really wanted to read it last year, but never got around to doing so.





Mothering From Scratch




Rush of Heaven




The Orphan Keeper

That's everything we have planned to read this month. What book(s) are you reading?



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Happy New Year!!

Hi Guys!


I hope 2019 is off to a great start for you!






We had a really great Christmas and New Year, just enjoying the time together as a family. Right now we are still on a little break from school until Monday, which i am so ready to get back to a somewhat normal routine.


A little update on what's coming up on the blog...

• With every new year, comes new goals i set for myself for that year, so i plan on sharing all those goals in a different blog post, coming soon.

• Tomorrow i will have our January reading list up on the blog.

• Last year i did some favorites posts (January favorites, February favorites, etc.) and i thought that was fun, so i'm bring it back again this year! I'll be sharing my December favorites next week.

• Other things i will be sharing this month include; Winter themed learning, baby fever, menu planning, morning routine, and more!

That's all i really wanted to say, i was hoping to get this post up Tuesday, but life happened instead.


I hope you all are doing well, and be sure to let me know what your goals/resolutions/intentions/etc. are for 2019, i'd love to hear them.


Take care,



*Stock photo provided by Unsplash.*