Easy Dinners for Homeschool Families: Crock-pot Pizza Pasta!

In searching desperately for a fast potluck dish to take to a function, I ran across this recipe for Pizza Pasta. It was a huge success, and I highly recommend it!

Pizza Pasta

Did you know that you don't have to cook pasta ahead of time for baked or crock-pot dishes? True! Just add pasta uncooked, with a bit of extra water, and you're set. It cooks up beautifully and removes one of the most time-consuming parts of pasta casseroles (just like with the Crock-pot Lasagna!).

I used penne pasta instead of lasagna noodles - anything you have on hand will work just fine.

Enjoy! 

Easy Dinners for Homeschool Families: Instant Black Bean Soup!

This recipe has been in our family for years, and it's probably one of the easiest on the books:

Instant Black Bean Soup

We make several changes. The original recipe is great, but we find it far too watery (we reduce the broth by half), and we add an onion for flavor. Here is our version:

Instant Black Bean Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 cans black beans, undrained
1/2 cup jarred salsa
2-3 tsp. chili powder (less when there are children eating)
1 cup chicken broth (we found that 2 cups was too much)

Saute onion. Add black beans; mash partially. Add all other ingredients and heat. Serve.

Serve with: Sour cream, cheese, green onions, chips.

Good addition: Cumin!

One recipe feeds two adults and three young children - for larger families (or to have leftovers!) double or triple (or more!).

Enjoy!

Introducing the Pink Stork! (Natural Morning Sickness Solutions)

Hello, dear readers!

I'm very excited to introduce a brand-new company to you, Pink Stork Solutions - the only company on the market dedicated exclusively to all-natural supplements designed to combat and/or act preventatively against nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (both normal morning sickness and hyperemesis).

One of the most exciting things about Pink Stork Solutions is that it was founded by an actual hyperemesis mama. Most "morning sickness" supplements on the market today seem to be created by individuals who know very little about severe NVP (nausea and vomiting of pregnancy) - and thus think that a simple ginger and peppermint concoction will be all that any mother needs. But with Pink Stork, the founder has first-hand experience with the worst that pregnancy nausea has to offer.

"A few weeks after what should’ve been the start of nine happy months, Amy was admitted to the hospital for 47 days due to hyperemesis gravidarum, or severe morning sickness. Pregnancy wasn’t fun, it was survival."

Read the rest of Amy's story here.

Another exciting part of Pink Stork Solutions is the fact that, while working independently, both Amy (Pink Stork's owner and founder) and I came to very similar conclusions regarding the supplement regimen needed to combat hyperemesis. What an awesome confirmation that we're on the right track! Read about their individual products here.

Here are some more awesome things about Pink Stork Solutions:

• All sources are organic!
• There are great options both for mothers seeking to treat current NVP, and for mothers wishing to do pre-conception work to lessen the severity of NVP or hyperemesis in future pregnancies. 
• Products can be purchased either individually or in product "packages" (everything you need in one package!). Read about the 30-day package here. 
• Free two-day shipping!

Make sure to sign up for Amy's blog and the Pink Stork Newsletter (sign-up box is at the bottom of the homepage) to keep abreast of discounts and news! 

We wish all the best to this mama as she starts a much-needed business! Friends, please remember to refer mamas to this awesome online store for their morning sickness needs!

Full Disclosure Statement: I am thrilled to be a new referring associate for Pink Stork Solutions, and I would love it if you used the link on my sidebar when you order your supplements! However, I received no goods or financial reimbursement in return for writing this post! 

Our First Experiment With Cooking Doughnuts!

This past week, the 8yo begged for homemade donuts. I'm very new to deep-frying, but my nausea levels are finally down enough where I can handle bigger cooking projects. So... we gave it a go!

We used this donut recipe and this glaze recipe.

After rolling and cutting (next time I'm making them the old-fashioned way, without holes!):

The 2yo insisted on being in the middle of it all, and he was sooo helpful.

Thankfully the 8yo is finally starting to be a bit on the helpful side (instead of just asking which ingredients he can eat)!

Then - cooking time! This is where a super-expensive culinary degree obviously paid off:

That's right - burned beyond recognition. But let's blame the candy thermometer (which is obviously measuring low and is now in the trash!).

The not-too-burned ones were pretty good. I should know - I tried one and ended up spending the morning good and sick because of it! (Just can't handle the sugar.)

But it was a fun experiment, and I'm looking forward to trying again!

The best of the lot. 

Week 28 Pregnancy Update

Howdy, folks!

As usual, we're nearing the 29-week mark as I write my 28-week update, so I'll have to hurry up to get this published on time! Who knew that I would have such a hard time posting pregnancy updates every four weeks?

In the big news...

We have hit the third trimester! Hurray! We're really in the home stretch!

It is my experience that pregnancy crawls through week 20, and then races by till the end. Before week 20, it's a matter of watching the seconds tick by ever... so... slowly. But after week 20, it becomes, "Ack! No! Slow down! I have so much to do!"

That's pretty much the state of things around here.

So here we go:

Pregnancy Health Update

Both baby and I are progressing exactly according to textbook measurements. No known issues of any kind, and all appointments have gone swimmingly.

Weeks 20-24 were a huge improvement in my nausea and energy levels, and weeks 25-27 were similarly another big improvement. The 20's are just a time of great improvement for me!

Third trimester aches and pains (and the good ol' pregnancy waddle!) are once again with us, but I'm definitely not complaining - anything is better than nausea!

Speaking of nausea! I am feeling anywhere from "moderately yucky" to "almost normal." Not bad, eh? I am still nauseated almost all of the time, but my nausea levels are often low enough for me to ignore completely, and they're almost always "comfortable" - if there's such a thing as being "comfortably nauseated."

Getting ready for baby:

• Afterpains tincture - ordered! Hurray!
• Calcium-Magnesium supplement (also for afterpain prevention) - starting this week!
• Supplements for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) prevention - alfalfa tablets (for Vitamin K) and Floradix (for iron) - in the process of getting these started!  
• My birth supplies are gathered, sanitized, bagged in plastic, and ready to go!
• The only thing left to do (beside finishing the spring cleaning) is to order my birth kit! 

A note on blood draws:

My pregnancies are usually needle-free, but thanks to various persons-who-shall-not-be-named in the state health department becoming a pain in the neck lately, I had to get several blood tests. (Thanks a bunch, guys.)

That was the BAD news. But the GOOD news was that Phoenix now has a brand-new technology whereby many standard blood tests can be done by finger-poke instead of the big-horrible-needle bit that can put me under the table faster than anything else. Local friends, if you're interested, check out Theranos for your blood work - good stuff!

Of course, I still did a good bit of inward panicking. However, I did make it out of the office without hitting the floor (always good), and discomfort was minimal.

The hilarious part was that my bottled-up panic decided to burst the bonds of my self-restraint some time later - in the middle of the night, as a matter of fact. I woke up at 2:00 a.m. totally stressed out about blood work: "Ack! Yuck! Ew! No! This is so disgusting!! Aaaaahhhhh!!!" I've never had a delayed reaction like that, and it was hilarious. In retrospect, at least.

Let's just say that needles (of any kind) and I don't mix well. Or rather, at all.

A later note:

The results of my blood test (CBC) were extremely good! Apparently the dessicated liver pills I've been taking for the past sixteen-odd weeks have really helped! Hurray!


***


Pregnancy What's-Going-On-Around-Here Update


Baby Names

Can you believe it? We still don't have baby names! We need to get moving!

Speaking of moving...

This past weekend we took a two-night trip north to visit DH's family. This is the first trip that we have made since this baby made his presence known, and I was thrilled that I was able to pull it off. Trips are stressful! A month ago I would not have been able to manage this.

While there, we managed to pull off our once-a-year blackberry picking trip. Our total take was very low - we were a bit late in the season - but it's still my all-time favorite activity and my all-time favorite fruit. You may remember that blackberries were the one thing that sidetracked me from completing an entire year carb-free (only one week away from the finish line!). It's worth it.

This year, being pregnant and even more susceptible to nausea, I did my best to practice restraint. Sort of.

Actually, I did pretty well, all things considered, but I did indulge twice: (1) about one-third cup of blackberry cobbler, and (2) about a quarter cup of ice cream (on different days). Lesson learned - again - sugar is still evil. Very evil. Nausea levels increased each time.

But the cobbler was soooo delicious.

My mother-in-law is truly the best cook in the world. 

The kids had a great time swimming and indulging in forbidden-at-home activities (namely, television and junk food):

Meanwhile, on the home education front...

• We are now done with one third of our school year. Wow, it's flown! Now to try to cram in another third before the little one makes his appearance. Can we make it? It all depends on how soon this little chap decides to join us! But the race is on!

• About five YEARS after I should have started this, I have finally (after much prayer, blood, sweat, tears, etc.) managed to pull together chore charts and a chore system for the 8yo. Chores are so much work - for ME! Goodness! I'll post soon and share the journey we've been on with chore systems.
  
• Okay, actually, in my defense, I actually started this process several years ago - it's just that now is the first time I feel that we're finally getting somewhere. But wow, is it hard!

• I have made a mid-year decision to add composition to our daily to-do list for the 8yo. He does the composing, I write it down. We'll see how this goes. 

• I am trying a trial program of eliminating our morning snack time. (Heresy!) But seriously, our mornings are so incredibly busy. Lately it's felt like I'm cleaning up breakfast in order to serve snack, and cleaning up snack in order to serve lunch. Pure exhaustion (and more mess!) on top of an already-busy schedule. So far, getting rid of morning snack has worked very well. It's less work for me, the children don't seem to notice, AND (best of all!) they are eating lunch much more enthusiastically (and with less pickiness). All around WIN!

"Spring" Cleaning

I am now two months into my "spring" cleaning project, working 30 minutes (sometimes more) per day (all days but Sunday). I estimate that I have about a month left before I finish.

Who knew this could take so long?

However, it's lovely to have things cleaner - even little things that I can't see!

Speaking of which, I finally got our couches cleaned! Yes! After meaning to do so for at least four years! And guess what?

They look just as bad as they did before we got them cleaned!

The technician who came to do our cleaning said that the basic cleaning (covered by our Groupon) would do some good, but that to truly resuscitate our couches we would have to add in an extra $250 "deep cleaning" fee. Um..... no.

So I take comfort in the fact that our couches *are* cleaner, even though they look just as awful as ever. That's just life with toddlers (especially one of whom who is a professional mess-maker).

Now onto the carpets!

***

And there you have it!

Life around here is insanely busy, but it's a good busy (though far too stressful at times). I find that I don't ever feel that I've "arrived" as a mother or homemaker or home educator - it's a constant (and usually steep) learning experience that involves mastering one step and then tackling the next. It never stops. I don't think it ever will.

But that's a good thing. And it certainly keeps me humble.

Have a wonderful week, dear friends! 

I'll leave you with this picture from the archives - DH at a much younger age. Local friends, do you even recognize him?

Easy Dinners for Homeschool Families - Crockpot Lasagna!

This is another one of those "I can't believe it's THIS easy" recipes. But seriously, it is. Ten minutes and an afternoon in the crockpot, and you're set. Unfortunately I can't eat this on my current diet, but it is an awesome family dish.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

8 lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
2 each 28 oz. jars spaghetti sauce
4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, optional
15 oz. ricotta cheese, or cottage cheese (my choice!), or cream cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Spread a bit of sauce on the bottom of a greased crockpot. Break noodles; Place half in bottom of slow cooker.

2. Brown ground beef in sauce pan, stir in Italian seasoning. Spread half over noodles in slow cooker.

3. Layer half of sauce, half of mushrooms (opt.), half of ricotta/cottage cheese, and half of mozzarella cheese over beef. Repeat layers.

4. Cover, cook on low 5 hours from fridge or 3-4 hours from prep (room temp).

The Benefits of (Too Much) Baby Stuff!

As a budding minimalist (who still has way too much stuff), one of the hard parts about having little children running about is the fact that they come with... stuff. Lots of stuff. Toys, papers, clothing, you name it. Our house may or may not explode any day now.

But the good part about this is that my husband and I constantly have to ship more and more of our stuff out the door to Goodwill to make room for their stuff.

At the end of this parenting journey, we will have practically no stuff left!

YES!!!!

Take my dresser for example.

Looking at it, you'd think, "Wow, she has a lot of stuff!"

Well, I used to. This thing used to be crammed full of all of my clothes.

Now?

Ha! 

These are the drawers that actually have my stuff in them...

And this is now what's in the other drawers:

Who knew that children could be such aids to minimalism?

I'll make that 100 Things Challenge yet!

(It's also really nice having so many fewer clothes!)