Confessions from the Barbie tree fort @confessionsfromthebarbietreefort - Tumblr Blog

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I love homeschooling. Everyday I wake up excited about what new thing we will learn about and what kind of rabbit trail we will go down. I’m continually telling Benny how much I love school. He’s there about 50% of the time, but he’s always quick to point out he likes playing and eating chocolate better. Same buddy, same. I know if he sees me overly enthusiastic about learning, he too will become an enthusiastic learner. This season where they learn to read is so magical. I just can’t get enough of it. For lunch Benny had his favorite, Pineapple Pizza and you better believe that 6 year old can eat the whole thing by himself. It’s really quite impressive.😏 Dinner was a success. Upon making the Pot Pie, I would have given the GF pastry about a 5 out of 10. It was hard to handle and kept wanting to break apart. I had to gently roll and press it to get it to stay together. It redeemed itself though in the final product. It baked up great and had a very pleasant flavor. It’s around $7 for 2 pastry sheets but worth it when you really want a Pot Pie. That $8 Turkey is a superstar this week. I have 3 quarts of bone broth, tonight’s pot pie, a sizable amount of shredded barbecue turkey, tomorrow’s turkey and dumplings, and still a large amount of meat for sandwiches and salads. I’m going to need to keep eating those salads if I continue to make pot pies and chicken and dumplings.😬 #eatingmywords https://www.instagram.com/p/CnfwkAQLKml/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#eatingmywords

Nacho Night is going to be a keeper. Tim and I ate them like we were teenagers and it was 2:00 a.m. on a Friday night. 😏 Super easy and 100 different ways to make them. Tonight ours were a simple but fresh version with Rice, Meat, Salsa, a Corn Salsa topping and fresh Cilantro. In other news Benny announced he loves to do dishes. 😳 #eatingmywords https://www.instagram.com/p/CnNt9crrUF9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#eatingmywords

One of the easiest ways to save on your grocery bill is to cut out processed or prepackaged foods. Plus, it’s healthier to eat fresh. Those breakfast power bars can add up quick. They all seems to be shrinking in size and going up in cost. 😬 This morning Benny had Chocolate Chip Oatmeal and Yogurt with Blueberries. We had fun saying parfait all morning😉. I made enough oatmeal today that this breakfast will have a repeat performance tomorrow. I jumped back into my Sautéed Veggies and Kimchi in the morning. It takes me about four minutes to prepare it and helps me from having those sugar lows throughout the day. I’m definitely an out of sight out of mind person, so my water stays on the counter to remind me to drink it, instead of having another cup of coffee. I used up some over ripe bananas this morning and made a Gluten-Free Banana Bread. Which was delicious. The link will be located at the bottom. Tim came home for lunch so the guys had leftover turkey burgers from last night. I recycled some leftover ingredients for a salad. It really doesn’t take a lot of effort, it just takes being intentional. With the items I had on hand, our breakfast was probably a total cost of $1.50 in ingredients. Our loaf of GF Banana Bread was under $2.00 to make. It makes for a great mid afternoon coffee break or a delicious treat with your morning coffee the next day. My salad 🥗 used approximately $.50 worth of ingredients. I know with cooking, time most often is the bigger issue than money. But if you can carve out a little bit of time throughout your week, it really does make all the difference with saving on costs and creating a healthier eating lifestyle. Nachos are on the menu for dinner tonight and I’m hoping we can put a fun twist on those.💗 https://pin.it/5vsotRW 👈🏼 GF Banana Bread #eatingmywords https://www.instagram.com/p/CnNW4Ncv9EX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#eatingmywords

Can we just talk about summer break….

I’m not really sure why this feels like my first real summer break I’ve had in years. Maybe it's because Benny is more independent now. Maybe it’s due to having our first real structured school year for kindergarten? What ever the reason, it’s taking a bit of time to adjust. It is the strangest feeling to wake up and think “What are we going to do today?’ If I’m honest, it's almost like a reckless freedom. An open ended day that could wander anywhere. I haven’t wandered very much. I sit most morning clutching my day planner feeling like I need to write something grown up or extremely productive in it. Though I’m not really sure why. I could abandon all reasoning and watch tv all day, except we don’t have a television. I could sit on the couch and eat junk food and waste the day away, except we don’t have junk food in the house, and when I sit on the couch its usually to read a book. I’ve really fun proofed myself over the years and I fear I’ve grown into a very responsible adult. Though quite by accident. I now think about wild crazy stuff like shuffling around money in our budget to sneak off to Goodwill and buy a book. I mean when will this party train ever stop?

This flows over into Benny as well. I continually fight the urge to entertain him when he tells me he’s bored. I usually say something lame like “creative people are never bored!" as I wonder what I’m going to do next myself…because creative people are never bored. Just sometimes. Do you know what creative people struggle with? The gap between their creative highs. It's true. I love nothing more then when I know an idea is brewing. I can’t see it yet, but everything tells me I’m about to have a new idea about something. It's when I feel like my creative coffee pot is unplugged that the restlessness starts. It’s funny because you can walk around your mind and try to go into rooms that you’ve stored ideas or things you’re interested in, only to find the door locked for some unknown reason. I get frustrated because I think “Hey this is my idea!” And my brain’s like “not today it isn't.” This is usually the time Benny wants a snack and I panic and wonder if I can muster the creativity to make a sandwich. I think this is where the idea of fruit shaped animals came from. Some creative barren soul panicked and was looking for a little self redemption. I hear you fruit sculptors of the world! I'm still obsessing over how to make those salami rosettes for my charcuterie board.

Wait. Where was I? Oh yes, waiting for my next creative inspiration, while trying to relax and not be over productive, but begging to be overly creative on my summer vacation. In the meantime, I’m sure grocery shopping will be taken to the next level tomorrow.

We went to lunch with some friends today and the food totally inspired me. Tonight’s dinner…Roasted Thyme Potatoes, Grilled Steak topped with Wilted Spinach and Tomatoes. My new favorite thing is the caramelized butter I roll our sweet corn in🌽. I mean why has that idea taken so long to present itself? 💕Yum! I walked into the bathroom tonight and saw my sweet little guy has started leaving me messages on the mirror. I love that even more then the caramelized sweet corn.💗 https://www.instagram.com/p/CeXXXXaLHzh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

My neighbor Helen, who went sky diving for her 80th birthday, has a bush in her yard called “the thinking spot”. She told Benny he can come sit in it anytime. Today I found Eden and Benny sitting in there, while she sat and told them stories. I seriously have the most wonderful neighbors.💗 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd6vTn4LIZf/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I’ll take 100 more Sundays like today.💗 A great message at church, lunch on the patio, a beautiful walk around town, and some time in my garden. To build the excitement even more, I think I’ll end it with a good book and a cup of tea!😏 I would tell my younger self to just breathe and know you’re going to love growing older. 💗 *Lunch was Grilled Salmon with Riced Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts. 🍽 https://www.instagram.com/p/CcMB266rKAe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I sat on our patio today and set some goals for the up and coming school year. As I wrote down goals for Benny, it only seemed fitting to create some for myself. Where will I be in a year if I intentionally do more of the things I love? Practice building skills, and allowing myself the liberty to prioritize doing things that bring me joy, instead of shelving them for months at a time. I purposely set up a painting area in our living room to encourage myself to watercolor more, because I love it, and it brings me joy. Am I great? Nope, but it doesn’t matter. I paint for the enjoyment it brings me in the middle of the afternoon when Benny is off playing. The same can be said for writing and cooking. As I stared into my fridge tonight asking the universal question, “What to make for dinner?” I thought, I don’t want to ever dread cooking. So this too went on my goal list... Create more foods that I love and that bring my family joy. Food should bring you joy. Food is family, food is love, food is everything I love about creating. It’s all the senses working together to create greatness. These are the revelations I have while clutching a bag of frozen fries... it’s true. Vision has to start somewhere. I repurposed last’s leftovers into Sweet Potatoe Fries with Roasted Veggies and Rice topped with a Chimichurri Sauce. It’s funny how a vegan diet makes French Fries for dinner exceptable. 😏 But you know what? I was excited about cooking tonight, and Tim even called me a Flavor Goddess 😏 I might be on to something. What brings you joy? Give yourself permission to pull it off the shelf. You never know where it may take you.💗 https://www.instagram.com/p/CRfXZ7jLcSE/?utm_medium=tumblr

Let Candy Day begin! Appetizers for breakfast... bring it on! My mom doesn’t mess around.🍽 https://www.instagram.com/p/CJEQuYkrDV5/?igshid=ew0y5f80hd6m

We all squeezed in around the coffee table and had a feast in front of the fire.💗 I love the holidays! https://www.instagram.com/p/CICBeVtrKig/?igshid=17f2q7j1furua

Hanging garland, Take #2 I’m not sure if he’s more Chip Gaines or Joanna. My favorite thing he says is... “Honey, would you like me to help you with that? I can straighten it, make it more even, measure it out, fix it...😂 I have most of the crazy ideas. He knows how to make them look good or better. I’m the “starter”, he’s the “fixer”💗😂 Total project..$10 https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5VzkgLQs0/?igshid=8bfcmu7g4oo8

When your crochet posse gets together 🧶 #teaandyarn 💗 https://www.instagram.com/p/CHtxmYnLQFD/?igshid=unrwwb9dm5fb

#teaandyarn

Today we walked down to The Mole Hole to pick out our Christmas cards, Advent calendar, and wrapping paper for Benny’s Advent book tree. Benny picked out our Christmas cards this year after saying, “Mommy, just look at how cozy this puppy looks by the fire.” Plus, they reminded me of Christmas cards from the 70’s, so of course I’m going to buy them. I feel so lucky that we have such a great place like this in Marshall. One that we’ve formed so many traditions around. We will head back the day after Thanksgiving, after we cut down our tree, to buy a new ornament before we decorate. As we were leaving, Benny found 3 Dino ornaments for his tree in the little clearance basket. It was like it was meant to be.💗🌲🦕 https://www.instagram.com/p/CHI0gR3L3Z1/?igshid=1govufhrv3p87

We started on Benny’s Dino tree for his bedroom. My $3.00 score from GW a few weeks back. I love the fact it’s just a little bit crooked. 😏Round #1 of Dino hunting 🦕 begins. 🌲 🦖 https://www.instagram.com/p/CHIek-FLyoj/?igshid=1nd0zraqktekp

Today was Benny’s special day at preschool and it was Pajama Day as well. He got to take a snack for everyone and something for show and tell. He talked about it all weekend he was so pumped. We started to bring out our Christmas village yesterday and are continuing on with it today. I planned a special lunch this afternoon to officially kick off the holidays.🎄💕 Bring on the Christmas music 🎶 https://www.instagram.com/p/CHGQ2nVr6VE/?igshid=y1sj1x6fjbx8

I am without a doubt, a total and complete homebody. A larger house has just made me more so, due to more spaces to occupy my time. November 1st is when the first tree 🎄comes up from the basement. I’m almost having heart palpitations, I’m so stinking excited about decorating. The guys have taken over our den with legos. Benny can hardly wait for Tim to get home from work to get started on their nightly build. My husband discovered all the Lego instructions on the internet, so there will be no stopping him now. I’m really not sure who is having more fun currently, Tim or Benny? My reward for FINALLY having an organized basement? A whole box of yarn Caleb had stashed away from back in his knitting phase. I’m set if something happens and we can’t leave the house for a month. Brace yourselves, my new winter accessory will probably be a scarf in every color. Tomorrow we jump back into home improvement projects. Our goal, to get everything checked off our to do list, hopefully in time for the holidays. https://www.instagram.com/p/CG8wnpjLaIU/?igshid=hy3l9ofy9olu

I love that lighting a fire is now an event we look forward to. As the evenings grow colder, I can see how much we will enjoy a warm fire after our walk. The older we get, I continue to be amazed at how much enjoyment we get out of the simple things in life. A good book, a warm fire, one another’s company, all simple pleasures I never grow tired of. Tonight we had Korean Pork Chops on a bed of Rice Noodles served with Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Cauliflower. I do believe tonight calls for a cup of hot cocoa before bed.💕☕️ #eatingmywords https://www.instagram.com/p/CGyW4EJrSRl/?igshid=d1ee4t65i7qu

#eatingmywords

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