I'm Not Making Breakfast Again For At Least 2 Weeks!

No more daily breakfast making for me! (Don't worry- my children will still be eating [marginally] healthy breakfasts.)

I hadn't been on a hunt exactly, for a better method to handle our Tribe Breakfasts, but I suppose I'm always a bit on the alert for improvements. One thing that constitutes "improvement" (in my book, anyhow) is something that takes less time without any serious depreciation in quality. Also, since I consider one of the job descriptions of a Mama is to work yourself out of a job, anything that promotes my childrens' autonomy is also an improvement. Hence, my quitting daily breakfast making.





I've been on a menu rotation for a while now (oatmeal with peanut butter on Mondays, eggs and toast on Tuesdays, scones and sausage on Wednesdays...) and it served us well. I was able to budget pretty closely because I knew what we would be eating/spending every week, I knew what the children were eating and that I had approved it, and there was no more sleepy-eyed, pre-coffee panic of what to make. But, even though I tried to make things quick and painless so that we could get our day going, it still took time.

Also, even though I planned fairly simple meals and my children are old enough to be cooking, it still worked better for me to be making breakfast while they did all their morning chores. Don't misunderstand - here we teach that teamwork is valuable and necessary for success; but this goes along with the whole autonomy thing. The more autonomy they have, the more time I have to do other fun things with them or things that can (hopefully) make more money for us.




So today we had a big kitchen day and made enough breakfast items that are either shelf stable (premeasured cereal and oatmeal), refrigerator sasfe (individual yogurts on sale, energy balls) or good frozen and reheated (muffins, breakfast burritos, crepes). It worked out conveniently that I had one recipe for each child and that they were pretty age appropriate. The 4 year old measured cereal into baggies, the 5 year old measured oatmeal, brown sugar, and cinnamon into baggies, the 6 year old made granola bars, the 7 year old made energy balls, the 9 year old made muffins and the 11 year old made crepes. I'll be putting together the breakfast burritos tonight.

There is a "menu" stuck to the fridge with magnets with a list of the things we made today and the reminder to choose any two items. On the containers are instructions for the warming up or preparing (for example, that you only add 1/2 cup of milk to your baggie of cereal), and another sheet of instructions posted in the kitchen in case there is confusion. The plan is that each child, upon finishing their morning chores will go ahead and get their own breakfast without having to wait on the others to finish their chores, and that I will have that 45 minutes I used to spend cooking to do something else. (Probably exercising for the first while, I've got 20 lbs I want gone!) Granted, these foods aren't perfect as far as my dietary ideals, but I'm learning to pick my battles. If I start noticing that health is less than optimal, then we'll head back to the drawing board, but for now, I'm excited to give this a try!

Are you interested in giving it a whirl? I got the idea here, and after giving it a try, I"m so impressed with how thorough the instructions are and how easy it actually was to pull off. For only $2.99, I'm convinced it's one of the best things I've bought in the line of meal planning and cookbooks. And it's enough food for a family of 4 to eat for about 3 months! There is a list of everything you'll be making, a shopping list of every little thing you'll need, simple recipes that my children had no trouble following, and directions on how to freeze and reheat things. It also kicked off my own creativity and I've been adding to the list all day of things we could make ahead and freeze like this. Sausage biscuits, cinnamon rolls, green smoothies, stacked pancakes... (that recipe should be showing up here sometime soon!) Once I can get together a plan like the one linked here, I'll share it with you, so then, if you juggle things right, you can have breakfast made up to 6 months in advance!

For now, head on over to the plan I followed and give it a try. Let me know how it goes for you, and what you might like if (when) I make one like it. And enjoy all that morning time!


---disclosure: if you buy the menu and isntructions through this link, I'll get a few cents of the sale. The price isn't any higher for you (and at $2.99 its SO crazy worth it!!), I just get a small cut. Thanks!

(a bit of) An Apology For What I Share Here (mostly so I can save face)

I've been feeling... not embarrassed, exactly, but... displeased with myself, over the random frivolity I put here. 

Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with frivolity, but when that's 

all.

I.

say.

then I'm not happy about it. 

Mostly because I know what I'm not saying here. 

All the things I think about, the things I want to mull over, the things I want to share, questions I have, ideas I want to share, growth I experience...

But at this point, I don't have... well, I don't make time to get it all here. 

And when I think about why, I'm ok with it. 

I'm comfortable with the priorities I have right now. 

Especially when I remember that they are right now. 

I'm realizing more and more how fleeting these days with my littles. For so long, I kept thinking "once I catch up on _____, I can sit back and enjoy my littles." That blank was filled with school, laundry, housework, prettying up the house, yardwork, gardening, sewing, canning, you name it.

Lately it's hit me, and hit me HARD, that nothing and nobody are going to sit and wait while I "catch up" ( I never will anyway), and I am MISSING OUT. 

And my very very VERY least favorite emotion - the one I hate above all others - the one that is to be avoided at all costs - is 

R E G R E T

So. 

Even though I'm not crazy about the way I look on here, and even though I'd much rather you see the "me" that is thinking underneath all the crazy blur that is homeschooling 7 of my 8 babies and hoping to figure out starting a business all while maintaining one of the happiest marriages on the planet ( and that takes work!), it's just not gonna happen right now. 

But I do want to show glimpses into my life, mostly for my own record (I don't do analog scrapbooks etc), and also for those family and friends who are interested, and for the customers I have to see just who is the person making the things they're buying, and that means there will continue to be silly frivolity showing up here in a greater proportion than it shows up in my head, because that's what I've got time for right now, because I'm too invested in living the non-frivolous to stop and share it. 

The time will come. I am both content in that knowledge, and a little fearful that it'll come too soon, and that I'll have missed things I regret missing. 

9 Out Of 10 Are Wrong About This - Are You?

I watched this yesterday.

I'm not saying much just yet, still processing.

To me, the most surprising thing is that some people are surprised.

Where do you find yourself in this?

Recommended Reading: When life feels like it’s stuck on repeat

Read The Post Here

I just uploaded video diaries for my children to their own...

I just uploaded video diaries for my children to their own (private) YouTube channels. Looking just. Like. This.

Hey-they’ve got to know how crazy their mama looked, right? #Tribe #Blog





via Tumblr http://mangotreemama.tumblr.com/post/61435347730

Fake It Til You Make It Has Its Place and Purpose

I'm finding out that "Fake It Til You Make It" has it's valid applications.

I could totally derail myself right there and start thinking of all the times it's not the way to do things, and all the implications of all of those, and how it's dishonest, and how self-deception is damaging and...

Well.

I'm trying to not derail.

Anyway.

Today, I was

SO.

EXHAUSTED.

Like dozing off mid-sentence tired.

So I got everyone settled in with an activity, popped the toddler in his bed, & took the preschoolers to my bed for a quick "power nap" (that's what they call a short nap these days, right?).

My alarm went off 20 minutes later, and although I'd slept hard, I did not feel energized or "powered up".

All I felt was "3 more hours please?"

But that wasn't happening.

Enter "Fake It Til You Make It".

Basically, you pretend you are a actress/actor and you take on a role, and play it well.

My role was that of the energized, chipper, well-accomplished, farm-wife mom.

And you know what? After I trotted blithely out to the back of the meadow to retrieve our "rough work" broom, checked on the corn in the garden with one of my little guys, swept a smooth spot in the driveway and settled down to a 15 minute game of marbles with 5 of my monkeys, I was "feeling it" a bit. Toss in some squealing over close shots and honestly trying to manage flipping a marble straight, and I think I'll make it till bedtime.

Self-Talk is really powerful.

Both Ways.

Tell yourself you're tired, exhausted, beat, worn out, can't make it til the end of the day, just don't have the "oomph" for that task, etc., and it's true.

But take on that role, and really try...

Oh yes you can! I know you do it when you're in the middle of scolding your child for not telling you about the jug of milk lying open on its side propping the fridge door open for hours and the phone or doorbell rings- you turn into June Cleaver! (yes, I'm that old)

So do it again. Convince that invisible audience, convince your child, convince yourself that you do in fact have the energy to pull this off well. With a smile, even.

Because if you had to, you could. And it feels so much better than just slogging through thinking about how hard it is.

And, most likely, you'll get some momentum going and actually feel more energetic and maybe even accomplish more that you were aiming for!

I did.

Learning to Deal with Anger and Overwhelm.

I have been operating under a consistent state of overwhelm for the last several weeks.

I don't recommend it.

I don't think my family does either, for that matter. :0P

My Hero (a.k.a. The Mr.) saw what was going on last week and told me to take the evenings "off" all week. So, as soon as he got home, I grabbed my handy dandy backpack, loaded with my netbook, my sketchbook & markers, and various notebooks where I scribble my thoughts, along with a fiction book for brain candy breaks, and disappeared.

It was BLISSFUL.

I actually got to THINK!

Whole thoughts!

And finish an entire email! (in fact, lots of people got emails from me last week as I worked my way back to "inbox zero") :0)

And I got in some reading on some very helpful subjects, like preventing overwhelm, and how to handle it if it does happen. I've been learning how to stop reacting and start responding; which I've known for a long time is the way it's supposed to be, but not how.

Because I know from homeschooling 8 lil monkeys that teaching or telling someone else what you just learned is the best way to really "get it" yourself, I'll be sharing here as I learn.

First then:

When I am angry or overwhelmed :

B R E A T H E.

Repeat.

Remember that there are very few true crises. This most likely can wait 15 more seconds.

Pay attention to the breathing.

Breathe all the way in, fill up. Feel the air going into you.

Hold it a second or two.

Let it out slowly, feeling your self relax as you do.

Now.

Ask yourself: "Why am I angry / overwhelmed? What do I want?" Usually we get angry or overwhelmed because we're not getting something we want. Often what we want isn't realistic, or is dependent on other people, and we can't make others do as we want (so wanting to isn't realistic!)

Just realizing that what I want isn't realistic is enough for me to calm down and deal with things without feeling so frantic.

There are more questions I ask myself, more steps to take, that I"ll share in the next few posts.

Meanwhile, a great blog to read to learn about how to handle things when you realize that what you want is dependent on other people is Assume Love. It's technically a marriage blog, but the principles there are applicable to almost any relationship.

Mulberry Picking and Our Backyard Jungle (pictures)

Not much to say, just a peek into our day :0)

Idyllic

My life is absolutely idyllic.

In the midst of unfinished work galore,
my refusal to be dominated by what I haven't accomplished allows me to see the bliss my life is drenched in.
So grateful.

Choices

I can't turn my glumness off.
I can't chase the gloomy away.
But I can refuse to wallow in it.
I can make choices.
Not create feeling: simply make choices.
I've got myself a nice little Spotify playlist built.
( it reminds me of making a mix tape way back in the 90s)
Now I'm off to clean the boys room.
And look at the sunshine.
And later walk in the sunshine.
I can't make my feelings change, but I can do things that I know will make my feelings change.
See the difference?

My Epiphanies (one of them, anyway)

Actually, I had three yesterday.
Isn't that some sort of record?
I think it might be for me.
I usually take a l-o-n-g time to "get" somthing.
Then a l-o-n-g time to "process" it.
Which makes me look a bit slow or something.
BUT,
once I've got it, I've got it good.
(Yes, I know "I have it well" would be better grammar, but it just doesn't say it the way I want to.)

My big "AHA!" moments came closely together, and are on the same subject, but I'm excited about them both and I see them both separately because, like I said, I usually take my time about these things.

I was reading this article, and it was encouraging for me, but not as much as it was intended to be; not as much as I knew it could be.
I read things often about how being a perfectionist is crippling, how you don't do anything because you can't do it perfectly, how seeking perfection is demoralizing, and how we should just strive for excellence instead.
Which all sounds great, except I can't (couldn't!) figure out the difference between perfection and excellence, so what it really sounded like was "be lazy, cop out, slide into doing things poorly..."
Last night I was frustrated, because I knew I was missing something by not being able to separate "perfect" and "excellent", and my awesome husband helped me (finally) figure it out.
Even thought he wasn't in the mood, he tried first one way, then another to explain the difference to me, but still all I could hear was "right way vs lazy way". Eventually I decided to put him out of his misery (it's GOT to be frustrating to try to explain a new concept to me!), and sweetly said "Well, I know one thing that's perfect. Our marriage." To which he wisely responded "No, it's not."
He went on to ask me if there is any room for improvement or growth, or if I want our marriage to be exactly what it is 10 or 20 years from now. Well. As happy as we are, one thing I have learned in our first 10 years of marriage is that there is always room for growth, and even though I can't imagine how anything could get any better, I couldn't imaging things any better than our honeymoon 10 years ago either, and it IS better now!
He explained, that means it's not perfect.
Then he asked if I'm completely happy and satisfied with the way it is right now.
Um, YES!!
He explained, that's "excellent".

I GET IT!!!

!!!

(Yep. He's awesome. Best Husband On The Planet. I mean, c'mon- he can explain things to an aspie!!


Y'all.
This is huge.

I've never understood the difference before! All kinds of things are falling into place and making sense now!!

***Happy Dance ***

In the next few days, I'll share 

Epiphany #2: You can have it all, just not all at one time.

and

Epiphany #3: They're not all doing what I'm doing.

Learning About Bedtime

I'm learning a lot lately.
Or else I'm zooming down The Slippery Slope to mediocrity and apathy.
I'm not sure which.
Of course, I know which I want it to be. I know which I think it is.
But really, who ever says "Hey, I'm falling down into apathy and inadequacy now, have a nice day!"
I want to share what I (think I) am learning.
BUT.
One of the things that is making all the other possible is that:
Mamas have a bedtime too.
We (I) can't hang on to my self-image of the Energizer Bunny and accomplish all I set out to and be the sweet, happy, helpful, playful, fun, engaging Mama I am determined to be.
So.
What that means, practically, is that:
Even though I feel like I had an epiphany today,
and ever though I feel like I am bursting at the seams to write it down to concrete it and make it real
(because, are things real when you don't write them down?),
and even though I always think of all the good stuff to write and all the good ways to write it at night and I can never remember just what and how I was going to say the next morning,
 ...
I. am. going. to. bed.
Right. Now.

well.

right after I nurse Caedmon.

Hopefully I'll remember just what and how I was going to write in the morning.
After I get up at 5:30, drink my green smoothie, and do my workout.
I'm serious.

P.S. Read This Now

This is one I'll be reading several times a day for a while.

Go here, and scroll down past the pretty printables and read the blue box.

About Hurry

Go on, go read it.

...

...

...

Now.

Breathe deep.

Carry on, with those pieces of wisdom ringing in your ears.

Choosing Focus and ::Monday Musings::

I woke up this morning and looked at the "Weekend To Do" list I'd compiled for myself friday evening.
Very little is checked off.
I realized that I can look at that list and see a weekend of failure, and start my week feeling 'behind',
OR
I can look at all the things I did do.
I helped my husband wrestle some monster logs onto our trailer to bring home firewood. (I'm talking 200-300 pounds each! Yes, my muscles are sore.)
I performed and emergency plumbing repair.
I took my daughter with me for some one on one time when an urgent errand popped up.
I did some work on my first "Virtual Assistant" gig.
I sorted through and put into storage clothes for 7 children.
I went salvaging in an old barn with my daughter, and we had a blast wrestling out some treasures from under the heaps.
I cuddled 2 toddlers to sleep for the first time in a long time.
I took an impromptu nap (haven't had one of those since baby was born 6 months ago!)
and, of course, the usual maintaining that goes with a family of 10 (with 2 in diapers).
Laundry, sweeping, meals, sweeping, potty trips, sweeping, goodnight kisses, reading stories, answering questions...
I had a good conversation with one of my children, who was very disgruntled at the time, about how whatever we choose to see, to focus on, we will see more of; how that can snowball and form our personality and our outlook on life.
It is easy for me to see which to focus on, which will make me happier, and which will make me more productive. That last part is counter-intuitive, for me at least. I always think that I should look at how much I didn't do to motivate me to move faster, but really all it does is make me feel like a failure and like I'm too behind to ever catch up. When I look at what I did, it seems to carry me on it's inertia into accomplishing even more than I would plan.
Of course, I do wrestle back and forth with wondering whether it's right or wrong or OK to choose happiness.
John Piper's "Christian Hedonism" comes to mind, even though I no longer identify as a Christian. Also, the simple fact that I am more kind, gentle, patient and loving when I am happy.
Then my background comes through and I hear echos of the teachings that seeking happiness itself is shallow and carnal, and that the righteous are at peace in persecution and suffering, and that if I were really "good" I would be all those things in spite of unhappiness, and that I would be reflecting the glory of God that way. 
Sigh.
That's another post.

For now, I will do what allows me to be kind, gentle, patient and loving to my children, and wrestle privately with the ethics of what makes me that way.

::Monday Musings:
Hands Free Mama
Brave Moms Raise Brave Kids
Learning about becoming a Virtual Assistant
Learning about Chalk Paint & DIY
Inspired to Action- one of my favorite encouragements places
Power of Moms- another of my favorites for encouragement

{Five Minute Friday} Afraid

Have you seen / heard of Five Minute Friday?
Lisa-Jo Baker hosts it on her blog.
What??
You don't know who Lisa-Jo Baker is??
Wow.
I am honored to point you in her direction.
This may sound sappy or melodramatic, and only those who know me will "get" just how much this means, because I don't say things like this lightly.

She has changed my life.

I won't go into the many things I've learned in her company, there's not room or time. Plus, I couldn't yet do them justice.

One of the things that has been a vehicle of learning for me, is her Five Minute Friday Party. Here is her description:

Friday, time to crack open the chocolate ice cream and unscripted version of beautiful you!
Got five minutes? Let’s write. Let’s finger paint with words –>{click to tweet}.
Let’s just write and not worry if it’s just right or not. Here’s how to play along:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in {you can grab the button code in my blog footer}
3. Go leave some comment props for the five minute artist who linked up before you {and if you love us, consider turning off word verification for the day to make it easier for folks to say howdy}
It’s a great way to catch your breath at the end of a long week.
OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes for the prompt:

This week, I decided to jump in.

Then.

I saw the prompt.

Can I back out??


Afraid

What am I afraid of? Lots of things, despite what I would've told you only a few short years ago. My worst fear? Not sharing that one. Nope.
But my next worst?
Messing up with my children.
Hitting the brick wall of Mommy Burnout.
Focusing on the "Wrong Thing" and missing the "Right Thing".

 Living with regret.

For a long time, I was afraid to Write Naked.
Still am, actually.
Then I read this, and my definitions changed.
I'm still afraid.
But not so much.

I'm afraid that my chidlren will remember that I was grumpy when the house was messy but not that I played lots of games with them.
I'm afraid that they will think that they aren't the most important people in the world to me.
I'm afraid that they will think they are responsible for my feelings.
I'm afraid that my friends will think I'm a slob.
I'm afraid that people will think that I'm a poor mom.

Times' up.

Our Weekly Rhythm

I've finally got a daily rhythm down that WORKS.
(Yes, I said "finally" even though I have 8 children)
It took me WEEKS of work and thought to whittle my expectations for a day down to 24 hours.
Seriously.
I read this post, and thought, "Well. I'll write down a rough idea of what all I do (er, try to do) in a day, and add up the time spent and see how much spare time I have, because since I can't fit in all the reading and crafting and playing with my children and other things that I want, then I must be wasting copious amounts of time in utter frivolity."
My first attempt came up at 28 hours on the light days, 32 on the heavy ones.
Ahem.
Another day, I'll share with you  my steps from there to here.
Today, I'll show you the weekly rhythm we're trying (& liking!).
(Hint: backing off and looking at the weekly rhythm before the daily is a bit of how I whittled my day down to 24 hours)
I saw this online somewhere and snapped a screenshot of it and moved on, so I can't give credit to where I got it, but if you know where it is, let me know and I'll gladly put a link here!

Mondays: Make Something Monday
We do a craft, or even just build a really great train track in the living room, or (like last week) have sewing lessons... Make something.
Tuesdays: Time To Read Tuesday
We either go to the library to trade for "new" books, or we pile up all over the living room on couches and bean bags and read the library books we do have. This is separate from reading lessons and literature class in school. This is recreational reading, cozy, fun, and with a snack.
Wednesdays: What's Cooking Wednesday
Each child has a day of the week that is "their" day, and one of the things they do on "their" day is to be my sous chef. For What's Cooking Wednesday, we all cook something together, either supper (something new or special) or we all bake a sweet treat together.
Thursdays: Thoughtful Thursday
This one I hesitated about, only for a millisecond, out of habit. For so long, I would've scoffed at this, and sanctimoniously told you that I teach my children to be thoughtful every day. Ugh. I'm sorry. Now, yes, I try to teach my children every day to be thoughtful. But I do see a value in setting aside a time to be deliberate and intentional about it. It reminds us, because, let's face it, we are selfish and forget easily, even though I want kindness to be a habit for us all. And I think it will inspire some creativity and "special" acts of thoughtfulness when we know it's coming every Thursday.
So.
Thoughtful Thursday.
Moving on to:
Friday: Somewhere Fun Friday
This one's kind of easy, as there is a sweet mama-lady who heads up a playdate for lots of other sweet mama-ladies that I amm getting to know. We change that up every so often with other things to cater to different ages, so eventually everyone gets a turn to do something that's not so fun for them for the sake of someone older or younger, and everyone gets a turn to do something that is really fun for them.
So there you have it: our weekly rhythm.
This is all in clay, not concrete. I am not perfect, and we don't do perfect here.
I am (slowly) learning not to try to do perfect.
In the words of a lovely friend of mine:

"I am too busy for perfect. I'm just hoping shooting for happy."

"Fix it! Quick!" or Public Beta??

You know how it is, when you think something is going right, and you kind of even forget about it because you assumed it was going right?
Then you stumble across it totally serendipitously and realize that it is, in fact, not going right at all?
Yeah.
I'm there.
I was dinking around online, checking out tweaks on a different blog platform than I'm used to, figuring things out with a friend who is setting up a new blog, and now I'm finding that my rss feeds aren't doing what I thought they were, my delicious feed is all wonky and cluttered up, and I don't remember how WordPress works! (I kind of never knew- that's why I left them for Blogger)

Now I have two options. Stay up all night (and miss time with my Superman) figuring things out and fixing them; or remembering what I'm learning about "Public Beta" and relaxing tonight with Superman and figuring it out slowly over the next little while when I can do it without neglecting anyone important..

Guess which I choose?

Looking at a long week (and some marriage encouragement)

Not to sound grumpy or pessimistic, but it looks like this week is going to be a long one. I had a much needed date with my 17-year-old daughter on Saturday, and then spent the day away with a friend on Sunday. And result? I didn't get to see my husband very much this weekend. Now it's Monday, and I have a whole five days to wait before I can spend all day with him again. That looks like a long time. You better believe I'll be making the most of the evenings this week, but there's nothing like spending the full day together. Words defy me to share how inexpressibly happy I am to have the kind of marriage that we do, that we are both so hungry to spend more time together. If you don't have this kind of marriage, or even if you do (because they can all use some work and improvement), may I suggest that you check out the marriage blogs over on the right-hand side of this blog?There are links there to some excellent resources that will help any marriage to grow and be even better.
Have a happy week, and be sure to spread some loving to all those around you!

100 Pound Loser

I did something a little out of character for me:
I read a weight loss book.
I usually avoid that topic, I know my weaknesses and my triggers.
This one though, really pulled at me, in a different way. Maybe it's because I kindasorta "know" the author; at least I've been keeping up with her online for a few years now. Enough to feel pretty confident that reading her book wouldn't be unhealthy for me.
I was right.
I think her book came at a really good time for me, as I'm getting pretty excited about life, and what all I hope to accomplish, and stepping out from behind my fears and trepidations {sometimes} to seize my life before it slips by me. I want to be strong and healthy, and able to fulfill my favorite quote:
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the
intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, 
but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming -- WOW-- What a Ride!"
Being pretty sure that baby 8 is the last one has me feeling like I"m on the brink of the next chapter of life... Which is both exciting and frightening. 
One of the ways it's a bit frightening is that I'll be looking at my eating tendencies and seeing if I really am master of that part of myself or if it's only that I've known that I have to eat "properly" for my babies.
This is why this book came at a good time for me. 
It's a good, cheerful, conversational read; a lot of books try to make you feel as if you're chatting with the author over coffee: this one achieves that.
She covers the ground she sets out to, without being too wordy and bogging you down.
I was really helped and encouraged be her honesty about her own struggles with food, it made me feel so much less like a weirdo, and gave me so much hope to see someone standing successfully on the other side of "managing your weight". 
I love that she reminds us just how simple it is, and keeps it there, without a lot of complicated diets and workouts, and gives practical little hints based on her own trial and error, like changing up your workout every so often to keep your body from plateauing.
My very very favorite part of the book? The last few chapters, where she shares "troubleshooting" and the reality of it all in day to day life. For me, that brought it down from ideals and hopes into plans, goals, and "I'm gonna get there!"
I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to lose a few pounds (or a lot- she lost 100, as her title says: "100 Pound Loser: How I Ate What I Wanted, Had 4 Babies, and Finally Took Control of My Weight"), or manage healthy eating & exercising habits, or really, hoping to conquer any bad habits in their lives. Her story is inspiring, how she grabbed ahold of the basics, kept going when it got hard, kept her focus in a healthy place, recognized that she is human, didn't quit at "failures" or "plateaus", and knew when to enjoy her success. 
Here's where you can get it- let me know if you do, and what you think of it! 

Click here to visit Jessica Heights & get the book.

Budget Tornado

I am still working on meal planning, and I am still working on updating the calendar until I have a full six weeks of meals. This has always been my method & has always worked for me. However once in a while the cold front of bills move in against the warm front of the paycheck and creates a tornado with my meal plan at the center of it! Once the dust clears and we move the rubble out,the construction on the meal plan will be continued. ;0)