Friday Thoughts
It’s been a while, but I’m pretty excited to be popping back in with a Friday Thoughts post (they’re my favorite because of YOUR comments). I have a lot on my mind. Like, a lot, a lot.
And I’m excited to get your feedback and thoughts on all my rambly venting today. 🙂
All the other past Friday Thoughts posts here.
1) Family Vacation: I need your help! This resident homebody needs to know: what is the best family vacation you’ve ever taken? To where? And why? (I’m gathering some highly scientific data to present to Brian next week, so thanks in advance.)
2) Sunday Dinner Assignments: Last fall I realized weeknights were not working when it came to teaching my kids how to cook. Too busy. Too noisy. Too distracting. Too stressful. Too much controlling OCD (ahem, taking full ownership for that one).
So we switched the system up a bit, and I can’t believe how well it is working. I love it! The kids love it! And honestly, they have totally shocked me and Brian with their rock star cooking abilities.
I call it Sunday Dinner Assignments. Super clever and catchy, huh? Gosh, I’m a marketing wizard.
How it’s working so far: I plan out a simple menu for Sunday night and assign one of the kids for each section. This involves a super high tech system of writing the menu on a post it note with one of the kid’s names next to each section.
Usually it’s a main dish, homemade bread or rolls of some sort, a side dish or two, and dessert. And in most cases, I let them choose the specific recipe they want to make (within reason and with approval).
I don’t put myself on the rotation. The kids execute the whole meal AND they are responsible for washing the dishes for their recipe. My role is to not helicopter and just answer questions and step in if they ask for help.
Yes, it’s a bit chaotic and messy; they try and work together to plan out oven usage and stagger the prep/cooking times so there are only a couple of them in the kitchen at a time.
The best part is seeing how excited they are to tell Brian which dish they made when we sit down to dinner. Of course we have had quite a few spills (including a whole bucket of honey) and arguments about who gets to use the favorite whisk first (that one ended in tears + at least one bruise)…and there have even been a few times where something was…um…slightly inedible.
But the learning process has been invaluable. Each one of the boys has made homemade rolls (or this buttery bundt bread is a fave choice) at least twice by themselves, and let me tell you, if they do nothing else in their lives, I’m going to hang on to some mom pride over this accomplishment.
They are all used to the system now and ask me on Saturday night if I know what their assignment will be yet. I’m sure this Sunday Dinner Assignments thing will go through several variations as we stick with it, but it’s working pretty great right now.
In the interest of full disclosure, about every fourth or fifth Sunday, I have a little “moment” and decide I can’t handle anyone else being in the kitchen and declare it “Mom’s Sunday Dinner Assignment All By Herself Please Leave the Kitchen Area Immediately.”
How do you teach the kids in your life to cook? Are you able to let go of the control and give them free reign?
3) Eagle Scouts:Both Walker and Jackson earned their Eagle Scout award a couple Sundays ago (with three other young men from church). Scouting has been a fun journey for them, even if they didn’t love every single minute.
Quite honestly, toward the end, I didn’t know if our relationship would survive the paperwork process, but I’m really, really proud of them for achieving this award. And I’m really, really proud of myself for making it through, too. Haha. No, but seriously.
At the ceremony, my 15-year old chose to give his mentor pin to me, which was so touching and sweet! The scoutmaster handed him the microphone so he could say a few words about why he was doing this, and Jackson cleared his throat and very meaningfully gave this tender tribute: “well, I’m giving this mentor pin to my mom because she basically threatened me that I couldn’t get my driver’s license until my Eagle Scout was done. And also, she drove me around to a lot of places.”
And you know what? I totally gave him a huge hug and kiss on the cheek because I’LL TAKE IT. The tribute and the mentor pin. 🙂 I love these boys and am really, really proud of their hard work, including learning the art of making real, live phone calls, which apparently might be the hardest, hardest, hardest thing to ask a teenager to do.
4) Natural Deoderant:ok, you guys, I’ve tried a lot of natural deoderant out there, and I’m sorry for the inclusion of too much info here, but I’ve done so even at the cost of some serious underarm chafing and rashes (Schmidt’s, I’m looking at you). Lume, Tom’s, Schmidt’s. I still feel like I smell like a pre-pubescent middle school boy.
Help? Am I missing something? Is there a natural deoderant that actually works and doesn’t rip up my skin? Please enlighten me and the rest of humanity.
5) Being a Finisher: I’ve been working on teaching my kids the art of being a finisher. And instead of lecturing, I decided I better just model the desired behavior and actually finish a couple projects I’ve been working on for years.
I started this crochet quilt when Camryn was a toddler. Yes, that’s 5+ years ago. And I just barely finished it over the holiday break. And then I wrapped it up and put it under the Christmas tree as a present to myself. I’m embarrassed to say I actually cried tears when it was done.
It’s been a labor of love. And now I’m afraid to actually ever use it because what if it unravels? (Free pattern from Purl Soho and yarn from Knitpicks, which was enough yarn for my mom to also make one of these blankets, which she finished years before mine – she’s a rock star)
The other blanket I finally finished was this Fancy Forest quilt, pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. A couple years ago when I decided I wanted to learn to quilt (never had before), I chose this as my first quilt. Yes, you just go ahead and laugh at me, because everyone else in my real life did, too!
I admit it was a bit ambitious, but I figured if I was going to learn, I was going to learn. Anyway, you can see how well that worked out. It took me, again, about five years to finish this quilt. And there are so many mistakes I can hardly bear to look at it. (Sidenote: not sure quilting is the right hobby for someone with a brain like mine.) But I finished it! It’s legit the hardest project I’ve ever done.
And I am really, really proud of myself. I even took a long arm quilting class at a local quilt shop and long arm quilted the top of this bad boy all by myself, and I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE SCARED AND MORE PROUD OF ANYTHING I’VE DONE IN MY WHOLE LIFE EVER. Also, I sweated an obscene amount during the long arm process. Also, this may be why we need to really delve into topic #4 up there. Also, I promise to never talk about sweat again.
Do you have any goals to finally finish something this year that you started long ago?
6) Vegan, Vegan:A good friend of mine is transitioning to a plant-based/vegan/no sugar diet to combat a stage IV cancer diagnosis. We basically talk about the food part of this journey nonstop, and my brain is going a mile a minute to figure out how to help her (and also incorporate more plant-based recipes in my own life)!
She and I have already been experimenting with different cashew-based dressings and sauces among other things. We’ve had some wins. And some losses. Haha. Do you have any great vegan/100% unprocessed recipes to share? Favorite online sources? Cookbooks?
7) Grit and Resilience: this TED talk is really fascinating. I really, really want my kids to be gritty! And let’s be honest, I want it for myself, too. To persevere through hard things and not give up. Since I’m 1,000% certain lecturing does.not.help. I’m trying to find more ways to help foster resilience in my kids. Any experts out there on growth mindset? Have I gone too far? Is this too deep for a Friday? What are your thoughts?
8) Games:You know I can only go so long without talking about what games we are loving at the minute. One of you awesome persons recommended the game Patchwork – aff. link on my holiday game gift guide. We love it! It’s a 2-person game and it is so, so fun. You don’t have to be interested in sewing or quilting or buttons or anything to love this game. It’s super strategic with a little bit of luck, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
The other game we’ve been pulling out for a quick game sesh is Left, Center, Right (we have the basic version and also the wild version – aff. links). Super, super fast. Super, super fun. Everyone around here loves LCR!
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Ok, you guys, thanks for sticking with me through this rambling post!
Love your guts.
Don’t leave until you add your thoughts below. I need your insights, humor, wisdom and recipes in my life. 🙂
UPDATE!!!! You guys. YOU GUYS! I have spent hours (days!) reading through your comments. I’ve read every single one. I wish I had time to respond to you each personally. Instead, I literally just made a MASSIVE spreadsheet (ahem, nerd alert) with all of your vacation, deodorant, vegan and grit recommendations. And you guys, this spreadsheet is gold. I can’t wait to organize it (ahem, second nerd alert) and read through it and learn from it and PLAN A VACATION and make some plant-based meals and try out the 5,000 deodorant recommendations all while telling my kids to stay gritty. Haha. But seriously, I could kiss all of your faces for all of the comments. The insights. The personal stories and experiences. As always, you’ve made me laugh and think and think some more. And you have given so, so many good recommendations. WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU? No really, what would I do? I’d actually have to find friends in real life and that would just be super lame. So glad you guys are my people. I loved reading every single one of these comments. I promise to update a future Friday Thoughts post (or maybe just at the bottom of this one) with my spreadsheet findings! xoxo
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Try the Oh She Glows cookbooks for vegan, plant based recipes. We love the instant pot butternut squash curry recipe.
Native deodorant
I’m sorry to hear about your friend. I hope her treatments go well. That is so hard.
Love your quilt! So beautiful . I have a favourite
vegan soup recipe for your friend. I apologize for the name . Best wishes for a full recovery You will find it on Pinterest. It is called “Creamy cauliflower soup to die for” by Proline organics. Another vegan recipe is
“Rad rainbow pad thai ” from Oh she glows. Also found on Pinterest. Lots of chopping but so worthwhile.
Re vacation; everyone’s ideal vacation is different. I remember my travel agent asking questions like;
Pool or beach, snow or sand, We enjoy snorkeling so any snorkeling destination is great. Costa Rica is a beautiful diverse country. Check out
Entercostarica.com Wonderful company, visited Arenal volcano area, cloud forest, suspension bridges, canopy zip lines, hot springs and beaches.
Family vacation- Come to Arizona! Grand Canyon is amazing. Kartchner caverns super cool. Lots of beautiful desert hikes and gorgeous sunshine in the dead of winter. You can stay at my house . Deodorant- I love the clinical strength secret and only use it about once a week or 10 days probably- it reduces your pore sizes in your underarms and then you just don’t sweat as much. Family cooking- I just cooked alongside my mom and I have surpassed her in talent (her words) and creativity. I think any system is awesome as long as it is intentional and your system is clearly intentional! Eagle Scouts- hard. Good. Done! Yay! Vegans- love it, also do chemo! I worked in oncology and chemo and cancer suck, but dying is way worse. I’ve adapted your sweet potato burritos into bowls with rice and avocado and salsa and sour cream and toasted pine nuts- they are a favorite at my house!
Indian butter chicken is also made meatless/vegan with red lentils (dal), coconut milk, a head of cauliflower, and peas- I call it Indian butter dal (vegan butter is easy to find). As far as grit goes- life is hard and living it develops character. Don’t shy away from hard things and (Ralphie warning:) practice a growth mindset. Life is hard enough to develop grit as long as we engage! You are awesome, Mel. I am grateful for your Friday thoughts and the chance to reflect on my own life and opinions. Keep up the good work (and quilting because, dang!)
Deodorant: I get a lump in my armpit when I use antiperspirants and some deodorants (non cancerous, doctor checked). I’ve used a few “naturals” and even made my own for a while – now I use Lavilin and I’m very happy with it. If I don’t work out, I can go two days without reapplying. For real. (I shower every other day) Not sure how natural it is compared to say, Toms, but the lump is dormant so I think that’s a good sign. Make sure you apply when freshly showered and you should be good to go for quite a while (I find trying to touch up later doesn’t work as well with this one; it’s a preventative type if you will)
Vegan: Oh She Glows! The blog isn’t updated much right now (I think she’s working on another cookbook), but has a TON of content. Plus she has two cookbooks and people I know in real life love the first one plus Amazon reviews are great. She’s from Ontario, Canada. I recommend the sweet potato enchiladas with avocado crema; have made them as a meal for a baby with a newborn to rave reviews.
The Love & Lemons Every Day cookbook is great too (mix of vegan and vegetarian recipes) – I’m hosting a cookbook club next month with L&LE as the cookbook!
(PS – I’m an omnivore who happily makes/eats vegan meals too)
Your baby blanket is so. precious. I love it! I’ve crocheted 15 baby blankets for my grandchildren. The quilt you made ia an heirloom. Wow!
Deodorant is disappointing. Schmidt’s eventually gives me a rash, too, and the price is pretty steep right now. I try using the salt crystal block but I just stink. Big fat bummer.
We love Pamela Salzman’s recipes — so so many are vegan / plant based, always unprocessed (or plant based adaptable). She did a lovely stories post recently on foods she was making for a friend just coming out of surgery – all anti-inflammatory, nutrient dense, and plant based.
For your friend, have either of you heard or followed @kimcankickit on instagram? She is also an amazing lady fighting late stage lung cancer who has turned to vegan diet as a mean of recharging and trying to heal her body. Try checking her out for some ideas!
LOVE the quilt!! Will it become a wall hanging?
Your children are amazing. Don’t know how you find the time and energy for all you do. Keep up the great work.
I just copied down a recipe for Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger, sounds delicious, looks simple enough to make.
Your site is one of my go-to sites on a regular basis.
1. two words: cruise, baby! We have done several with our 3 boys with the most recent being last spring, and we have LOVED all of them. Nothing makes mama happier on vacation than having someone tidy our rooms twice a day. Dad and kids love the limitless food options and 24/7 activities.
2. I divvy up the Sunday meal, as well, but only certain parts. They start with beverage duty (Sunday is “special beverage” day), move on to homemade salad dressing, then graduate to homemade bread/rolls.
3. That’s a “Mom Win” for sure!
4. Interesting…
5. Those are some great accomplishments!
6. I love onelovelylife.com. She’s not all vegan, but a large portion of her recipes fit into that category.
7. I’m soooo interested in this. Being a youngest child, I’m pretty sure that I didn’t develop grit until I had kids of my own. I want my kids to learn before their mid-20’s…
8. Love your game recommendations!
A favourite family vacation growing up was always to go to the Oregon Coast. It’s beautiful there! I have not been recently, but we are planning to go this summer.
My mom in law is vegan, so I sometimes make taco salad for her when she visits. I cook and drain some regular green/brown lentils, then put them in a skillet with some homemade taco seasoning and a little water to simmer for a few minutes. She uses that instead of meat, then add that to the lettuce, salsa and other veggies. Easy to make, easy to customize for various diets (the rest of my family usually uses ground beef etc)
Your quilt and blanket are both beautiful. And unfortunately I can’t help you with the natural deodorant… I sweat way too much to try that route! But good luck!
I have used the Crystal deodorant, and I felt it worked.
Minimalist baker has the best vegan recipes and your animal quilt looks like something you would buy from Pottery Barn for $1000. It’s beautiful! Best family vacation has been to Maui! Lots of beach/pool time and dinners out! Try to go mid February to see whales breaching everywhere!
Hi! Try Native at night (showering at night) and Toms lavender in the morning. After lots of trying different brands this is what works best for me. No skin rashes, good control with odor and wetness which is what we want right?I liked PiperWai for awhile too!
Vacation: Sanibel Island, FL, with a side trip to Clearwater to see Winter and Hope. Best trip ever.
Deodorant: Girl! Try Bali Secrets. I use the Aloe scent.
Hi Mel,
I don’t know if you have the strength to read this many comments, but the central coast of California, Cambria, specifically, was our best family vacation ever. Yellowstone took the second place spot. We live in Nevada and Oregon and Cambria was a great meeting spot. A laid back Cali vibe with jaw dropping Hearst Castle and Orca sightings, looooong, breathtaking ziplines, easy fish tacos at friendly stands and a firepit and grill dinner every night. We enjoyed a California county fair, breezy beach walks and Cayucos’ brown butter cookies. Our dogs loved it; we loved it; we were our best selves on that trip. Eleven family trips later, it was our best.
If you have a PO Box or an address you feel comfortable sharing I would love to send you a bottle of deodorant to try. I am in the process of starting my own line of deodorant after years of trying to find something all natural that actually works. I’ve been selling it locally for about a year now and getting great feedback, and would love to see how it works for you.
My niece makes her own deodorant and really likes it. here’s the link.
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/recipes/green-beauty/homemade-deodorant
Hi Mel!
Random replies:
I tried Arm and hammer natural deodorant and it would sting if I put it on after I shaved. Also, I’m used to anti-perspirants and the natural deodorant did nothing to stop the all the sweating I do here in AZ. So I’m back to Secret. I’m guessing there are more likely things in my life that could kill me than the aluminum in my deodorant, like driving my car.
My sister in law is vegan and I love cooking for her. So many lovely recipes on minimalist baker. Also I drool over the rabbit and wolves site often. I adore Naturally Ella on YouTube. I’m going to try to get my SIL to comment with her favorites.
I have high hopes for a dinner cooking rotation when my oldest turns 12. She is currently 7. My youngest is 6 months and I have high hopes for making quilts when my life isn’t so consumed by tending to small children’s needs. Props to you for completing those projects!
Some of my favorite vacation spots are the Snowbird resort in Utah and renting a beach house in Newport Beach (any old house will do). We just stay in that one spot and do the same things every time. Oh, and we’ve gone beach camping at South Carlsbad State Beach in San Diego and I love it! I’m not a huge camping lover, but I love the beach so much, so it’s worth it. Falling asleep to the sounds of the beach is incredible.
We did the Oregon/Cali coast and it was by far our favorite trip. We roadtripped From Utah to Bandon, Oregon and stayed in a beach house for 3 days (deep sea fishing, played on the beach, played games) and then headed down the 1 highway and hit the redwoods, stopped and hiked Fern Canyon (amazing!) until we reached San Francisco. we stopped somewhere along the way to stay the night. We did the coolest kids museum in San Fran that was seriously amazing and worth every penny. We have so many fun memories from that trip!
Ohhh and favorite game ever…Castles! It takes a min to understand but I could play it over and over again!
You are a darling and deliberate mother, and even tho my children are raised and I mostly cook just for 2 now, I love your web site. As for finishing, I love the quote by Calvin Coolidge’Nothing will take the place of persistence, talent will not, education will not, genius will not. Determination and persistence are omnipotent’ 🙂
The Redwood Forest is magical. Daily adventures without feeling exhausted. We stayed in an house rental with another family.
The quilt is darling. I have so many unfinished projects. Tackle one at a time.
Vegan is hard. I love cheese. Nutritional yeast is a nice sub for a cheesy taste like parm in stuff. My cousin and her family transitioned to plant based diet. You could look at her site for ideas http://www.veggiefunkitchen.com
After years of reading and making your awesomeness, I can’t believe my first comment is about deodorant. But, for the good of humanity- I use – megababe. I prefer the “sunny pits” scent. I’m not a huge sweater, but I do run quite a bit (both on the trail, and after my kiddos) and it does a great job.
Natural deodorant … Piper Wai
I’m giving suggestions for vacations in Arizona. Tonto Natural Bridge (https://azstateparks.com/tonto). It’s a fantastic outdoor park with several mini hikes with one of them leading to the natural bridge. You might spot wildlife such as javelina, deer, turkey, etc. especially if you arrive early. During winter, you will need to verify the roads are open as it does snow there. Then head over to Out of Africa (https://outofafricapark.com/). It is THE BEST natural habitat “zoo”. I was amazed at the love between the animals and their caretakers. The tigers have there own show that kids love. You can feed them at the end of the show, too. And the zoo has a zipline, too. Best of all, you get in for FREE every single day of your birthday MONTH!
One of our favorite vacations was to Yellowstone National Park. We stayed at two different locations in the park but had to make plans early because the hotels in the park fill up super fast once the park service opens them. We went in July and had the best time hiking, kayaking, horseback riding and enjoying nature. We saw a lot of wildlife and had the best time. My girls were 14 and 12 when we went and would love to go back.
I’m very curious about your natural deodorant search. After tons of research I tried Native because it seemed the best but it did not work at all for me so I went back to my old stuff because I was sick of smelling!
Love your Friday thoughts! I’m commenting on the kids-cooking-dinner topic. I’ve started something very similar to this in our family, but at the moment, it is just a summer break/school vacation thing. One child per week sits down with me when I’m making the meal plan and gets to choose an entire meal: main dish, side dish, vegetable (but it’s nearly always a bag of frozen veggies), dessert. Then that child and I make the dinner one-on-one on their assigned night. Depending on the age of the child, I give them more or less free reign in making it themselves. They all seem to enjoy doing something they can be proud of, no matter how much or little they actually like cooking. (I also really really like the one-on-one time!) During the school year, I tend to look at the week ahead while I’m meal planning and choose a child that has a “light” homework/extracurriculars day and assign them to make an after-school snack (like muffins) or dessert or something extra. 🙂
P.S. That quilt is BEAUTIFUL!!
“Practical, no pretentious, plant-based recipes”
https://shaneandsimple.com/
I have to weigh in on the deodorant debate. I spent several years trying deodorant after deodorant, in search of a natural deodorant that didn’t make me stink. I finally tried Schmidt’s Rose and Vanilla just over a year ago, and it was the first one where I could get to the end of the day and not stink! I was hesitant to try it after reading all the review about people getting rashes, but ultimately I did. I was really careful for the first few months and just dabbed it on, never rubbing it, and never had a problem. Once summer came and things warmed up, I got lazy and started rubbing it on. After maybe a week I had a horrible rash! I stopped using the Schmidt’s, and it went away. I tried another kind and just was stinking again, so I decided to go back to the Schmidt’s and just be careful. It has now been 8 months, and I would recommend Schmidt’s to anyone—as long as they’re careful when putting it on.
I’ve been using this for deodorant – it’s simple, vegan, cruelty-free. Here’s the website: https://scullyswonderfulstuff.com/
Also I would LOVE to see your take on more plant-based recipes as well!
@ #6 Cookie + Kate is a whole food/vegetarian website. Almost all of her recipes can easily be made vegan or plant based. Your website and hers are my go-to’s when I need something new – both of you never disappoint! She could be a great resource as you look into plant-based recipes.
Natural deodorant- my favorite that doesn’t irritate or chafe and actually works is Jade Bloom in Lime Bergamot or Grapefruit Well Being. Go to Jadebloom.com
Hello!
#3- Eagle Scout- I, too, had a 15 year who completed his Eagle by the skin of his teeth! So Congrats mom, I know that to get 2 boys to get it done you did a LOT more than make threats and drive. Although, threats do produce results:) #4- Native, you can find it online and at Target! I love it, it’s the only natural deodorant to not cause a reaction and to keep me smelling nice (even survives 75 minutes of jump class which is more than I can say for my legs!) Hope this helps! I know my family loves your website and your recipes, we talk about you and your recipes like we are the best of friends! Thank you!
I have made a mountain of scones in my life but your basic scone recipe is best. Not too sweet, not too dry, and not too hard to make. The cinnamon scone got an especially loud approval from husband and ladies group. I freeze the butter then grate it so the cold butter melts into the scone when baked. Yum.
My favorite vegan recipe is adapted from Moosewood Cookbook. Their Lentil Stew is rich and filling,. I love it with lots of black pepper!
Moosewood Lentil Stew
3 cups lentils, any type
7 cups water or stock (more as needed)
1 to 2 Tbl. cooking oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup minced celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 Tbl. minced garlic
1 1/2 to 2 tsp. salt
black pepper to taste
a few pinches of dried herbs (thyme, oregano, or basil)
2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbl. fresh lemon juice
vinegar (optional)
scallions (optional)
Place the lentils and water in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and let cook until the lentils are mushy (about 45 minutes). Add more water as needed, until the soup is your favorite consistency.
Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add the onion, celery, and carrots, and saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, 1 tsp. salt, pepper, and herbs of your choice, and saute about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to the lentils.
Stir in the lemon juice. Taste to correct seasonings, then simmer for at least 15 minutes longer. Serve hot. If desired, drizzle a little vinegar onto each serving and sprinkle minced scallions on top.
I tried to go the natural deodorant route a couple of years ago but it was an exercise in futility. I spent 40 dollars on 3 Native brand deodorants, but noticed over the next few days that my underarms were slowing turning an unsightly black! There was no way I was going to walk around with black pits, so I ditched the Native and, sure enough, my underarms returned to their normal color within a few days. I looked this up online later and there’s a small but mighty community that also suffer dark pit syndrome after using Native. Pity because it smelled great & I was really looking forward to going the natural route. I went back to swiping Secret.
The only natural deodorant I have found that doesn’t give me a rash is from Pure Haven. https://shop.bydesign.com/PureHaven/#/shop/detail/16021/from/1
I’ve made my own deoderant with good results, but I just recently tried Lume, and I really like it!
Thank you so much for your terrific recipes. I am an older “newbie” who has cooked a lot but needs/wants new ideas and takes on recipes/food and you are a great source!
1)When my 3 children were young, we were able to go to London, Disney World, Cancun, LA, and church history sights many times (my husband is from Buffalo, NY, close to Palmyra). When I ask them what their favorite vacation was or their favorite memory, they answer with statements like, “I remember listening to The Chronicles of Narnia on that trip”, “Dad had a bunch of points and we got to be in first-class for that trip”, “I remember how much we laughed at that restaurant”, “I hated that place because the toilet got plugged and we had to call the front desk”, “That tour guide wasn’t even watching the road when he was going 90mph. We are lucky to be alive!” It’s not clear yet to me yet if it mattered where we went.
2)I admire your courage and trust in the Sunday Dinner Assignments. I wish I had done it sooner with my kids!
3)Congrats to your sons and you and your husband on two Eagle Scouts!
4)Herban Cowboy Blossom Vegan Deodorant
5)You are a great example to your children and to us on your “finisher” goal! The outcome for each project is beautiful!
6)Here are a few vegan successes from 2 years vegan cooking for a family:
~ATK Vegan For Everybody: Creamy Breakfast Grits, Blueberry Muffins, Mixed Berry Smoothie, Pinto Bean-Beet Burger, Nacho Dip, Pecan Pie, Coconut Ice Cream
~Chloe’s Kitchen: Chloe’s Award-Winning Ginger Nutmeg Spice Cupcakes
~Chloe’s Vegan Italian Kitchen: Penne with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce
~The Vegan Air Fryer: General Tso’s Soy Curls
~Minimalist Baker’s 5 Minute Liquid Gold Sauce
7)Grit will come, cause, you know, life.
8)Love your game recommends!
My regret when the kids were little was not taking vacations with them enough. I don’t have any insights there as our only trips were to see family in NYC, except a trip to Dinosaurland with a step filled 2nd grader and a trip to Yellowstone with our foreign exchange student. Those were as good as we could make them. As far as natural deodorant and believe you me I have super sensitive skin, Native is the brand I use now. I order it online although Target sells it and some Walmarts, but they were more expensive by far! I put it on before bed, as was their recommendation, and it works beautifully for me. Hoping the same for you.
I could really use some of those vegan recipes!!! My son and daughter in law have been vegan for the last couple of years and the only thing I can make that the entire family agrees on is spaghetti – and that is getting kind of old. A couple of weeks ago I found the BEST vegan chocolate chip cookies recipe on the youtube site for “Cupcake Jemma”. No weird ingredients and even the non vegans loved them (read debated who should get the last one)! She also has a recipe for Vegan Biscoff Cookie Sandwiches that I can’t wait to try. Here’s a link to the chocolate chip cookies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eCq2xNI95k It’s definitely worth the 5 minute watch. As a side note, she said to chill overnight but patience isn’t my strong suit so I chilled until the dough was stiff and then continued and they turned out great! Thank you for all your recipes over the years, it has improved our dinner quality by leaps and bounds.
We make a ton of your recipes vegan at our house! Particularly thinking of some of the ones with quinoa and/or beans in them. We just take out the cheese (dairy allergy) and the chicken. Viola! Vegan. Healthy. Flavorful and delicious still!
Our favorite family vacation is Maui. It’s relaxing, it’s active, there’s some seriously good eating… we’re planning our 4th trip as a family there. It was everyone’s choice over a big European vacation. I only have two kids though so probably a little harder with your brood. Your Sunday assignments sounds like a great way to get the kids in the kitchen.
Skip Native deodorant. It irritates me so badly. These are things I wish I would have known before I bought four deodorants at once.
Our favorite vacations (we have four kids) have been a Disney Cruise, Hawaii (Oahu), bit my kids love Disneyland the most! We’re heading there again this summer. They also love southern Utah (st.george) they’d be so sad if we ever missed a spring break down there!
Just.ingredients deodorant is really good.
Banff and Lake Louise in Canada are so beautiful. We also love Cabo, Mexico and Hawaii
Native deodorant (coconut and vanilla) – love it!
Best vacation was camping & white-water rafting in Stanley, ID, and that’s close to you!
Your forest quilt is gorgeous … and only you see the flaws. Great job!!
Native deodorant is amazing! I still sweat, but I don’t smell! I’ve also tried a bunch of natural deodorants and I love Native.
Lemongrass spa deodorant
My kids are grown now, but as an avid home cook, I had the kids in the kitchen more and more as they got older. I love your Sunday Assignments, it made me remember a Thanksgiving where I was actually dreading pulling off the whole meal while the family just laid around and did nothing 🙂 My youngest was 5 and the oldest 15. I put a picture of each of the traditional family favorite dishes on an index cards and they had to draw one out of bowl, including my husband. They were in charge of busting out that dish for Thanksgiving. I would help depending on their age. At first, no one was super happy, but it end up being a fun way to work together and be together as a family. My then five year old surprised me the most – he got “mashed potatoes”. I was sure that he might peel one potato and be done, but he went on and did five pounds. He was totally into it all the way to the end. This kid has grown up to be a cooking enthusiast, another son an avid home baker and a daughter that can meal prep like a pro. So know ones thinks it went perfect, I have one son still that could care less about cooking and being in the kitchen, but we still love him anyway 🙂
It is not always easy, but I tell everyone get those kids in the kitchen as much as you can. Not only are they learning life skills, but it is a fun way to be together and build fun memories. Besides everyone loves to eat!
Vacation, these were our best, up the north shore of Minnesota, go after spring floods like mid summer, ther are lots and lots of hiking along all the creeks that run into lake Superior. I. ts an old tourist trip. We went into Canada spent the day at a reenact ment settlement Fort William I think, Yellowstone was always a favourite
My favorite place to vacation is San Diego. I could have spent all week at Balboa park. So many museums and gardens! I also really love San Antonio, it’s a busy kind of fun. But my favorite slow paced vacation is the Oregon coast, Oregon Zoo, and Multnomah Falls, probably because I don’t have to fly and it’s the same time zone. lol Same goes for Victoria Canada.
As for deodorant… I tried Tom’s of Maine when I first tried to transition to aluminum free, the lavender smelled so good. I felt like I was smearing goop on my pits. I then found Schmidt’s, but not without disappointment. I think the first one I had was a dud. It was so HARD and scratchy (and yes I know you’re supposed to hold it and let body heat do it’s thing to apply it) but this particular stick did NOT cooperate! It was like rubbing a brick on me ARgh. I did not give up, bought a new one from a different store and I’ve been happy with the brand ever since. I’ve heard of Native, but can’t seem to find it as easily as Schmidt. Or I don’t need one when I do find them.
Board games- I’m boring. I love any of the Carcassonne games. My husband is a total board game geek. He’s always dragging home a new game to play.