An Unexpected Real Life Disaster Drill

I have a few blog posts about being prepared and having your family ready for a disaster or other hardship.  In truth, I had thought my family was pretty darn prepared for just about anything that would come our way.

And then we got a lot of wind and our power went out for almost 10 hours.

Seems like nothing right?  Eh- 10 hours without power?  You'll live.  It's certainly not anything devastating.  No, no it's not.  But you guys- it was a much needed lesson for the entire family.  A really great disaster drill if you will.

A little background-

Earlier in the week we had lost power for the day.  Seriously, I have NO idea why and it appeared to be just my little neighborhood.  Since they were doing construction at the main intersection, I simply figured it was attributed to this.  No biggie.  The kiddo was at camp all morning so he didn't get to experience being without power for long.  Later, we went to the library so I could charge my phone and out to lunch and when we returned, the power came back shortly after.

But then over the weekend it was for casted to expect 60+ mile per hour winds, heavy rain and thunder and lightening storms.  Now- usually I just ignore these warnings.  I know....I know...but in my defense, we live in the Pacific Northwest.  These warnings occur almost weekly in the Fall and Winter and well....the news crews are a bit of hypochondriacs.

We've weathered storms much worse than this one and had no problems.  Since we have underground power lines, we almost never (see twice in almost 5 years) lose power so I figured we would be just fine.

What happened next had all the ingredients for an epic disaster.

The storm blew in hard and fast.  I had left work at noon to go pick up the kiddo from church with his Auntie and by the time we got home at 12:30 there were trees down everywhere.  Now, anyone knows that the first big storm of the season will blow all those loose leaves and limbs clean off- so it might look worse than it actually is.  Not the case here.  It was bad.  The kiddo was getting worried that it felt like the car was being pushed off the road and I wanted to get us home ASAP.

Literally two minutes after walking in the front door, the power went off.  Thank Goodness I had bought some tacos on the way home!

Now- here's the bad part.  If you've glossed over the story above, pay attention to this part.  This is where we learned all the lessons.

I had not gone to the grocery store in well over a week.  I should have gone on Friday but was simply too tired to deal with it.  Working non-stop will do that a Mama!  In addition to having a very bare looking fridge, we had also been eating out of our freezer/pantry as a part of our No Grocery Store Shopping Challenge.  So this meant that all those things like hot dogs, burgers, frozen lasagnas- yeah, we had eaten all of that good stuff.

I had nothing that I could BBQ (pretty much the only way to cook when you don't have power) and I didn't even have the makings for a sandwich.  Although we rarely have sandwich fixings because we just don't eat them often but you get the idea here.  No food.  No bueno.

Moving on, I had NOT charged a single thing and I didn't have ANY backups.  I had been using my cell phone while at work all day and by 2pm it was pretty much dead.  Since the husband was out working in this awful weather, I wanted to save whatever battery I had left so we could reach each other if necessary.  We don't have a house phone.  While I was prepared enough to have a portable power bank, you need to charge those.  Apparently mine was dead.  Get the idea here?  Everything was dead.  Great.

We have BOBS but I can't reach them.  Oh.  My.  Word.  You guys, I'm an IDIOT.  These emergency bags are a bit on the heavy side and the husband put them way up high in the garage.  There's simply no way that I can easily access them.  Our hand crank radio, that can also charge things like your CELL PHONE, was out of my reach.  Gah.  The other items in there weren't really needed in the here and now but that hand crank radio- yeah, that would have been nice to have.

And finally, I had no idea where the husband had put all of our lanterns and super powerful flashlights.  While we do have a few of those teeny little cheap flashlights dispersed throughout the house, the really good ones- yeah, the husband holds on to those.  We also have several free standing lanterns and I could only find one.  Thankfully it wasn't dark yet but I was trying to get us set up for a long, dark night and all I had were the cheap flashlights (that aren't very bright) and a butt ton of candles.  While candles are great, with an active 10 year old boy and a hyper Rat Terrier running around, they are not ideal.

We have a generator but the husband had long ago rotated the gas.  While we do make sure to start it up and check it yearly, we hadn't refilled the gas in the gas cans yet.  We typically don't do this until the Fall begins in late September.  This meant that we while we had the equipment needed (ie. the generator) we lacked the fuel to actually use it.

Let's Recap:

• No food that could easily been prepared.  No cold options and nothing to BBQ.
• Almost no way to communicate.
• Completely dead electronics.
• Emergency supplies out of reach.
• Less than ideal lighting options.
• No fuel.

Thankfully the husband got home around 5pm.  He dug out the lanterns and good flashlights and the hand crank radio and then we decided to venture out in search of food, fuel and a few provisions.  Umm....yeah.  With over 500,000 people without power- we clearly weren't the only ones in the same situation.

First we tried our local grocery store.  They were open but with only limited emergency power.  The kiddo had great fun using his flashlight in the store and thought it was a great adventure!  The employees were covering all the perishables with plastic wrap and had completely sealed off anything in a freezer or refrigerator case.  A surreal sight for sure!  The deli was also closed.  So I was unable to buy any cold cuts for lunches and couldn't buy a single thing to BBQ.

I bought bread (we could at least make some PB & J's), apples, cereal and alcohol.  Hmph.  But the husband was less than thrilled at the idea of PB & J for dinner.  The grocery store also had a gas station attached.  But since they didn't have power either, this meant no gas.

We decided to venture a little further down the street to see if we could find a store and gas station with power.  Thankfully we came across one and only about 10 minutes out.  Sweet!  I bought some hot dogs to BBQ, stuff to make sandwiches for lunch the following day and pre-popped popcorn for a snack.  Ick.  Healthy right?  The husband was able to fill up at the adjoining gas station while we were inside shopping.  On our way out, we noticed that one of our most favorite restaurants was open so we decided to place a take out order and save the hot dogs for the following day.  I was sure that with this many people without power, it would be awhile before it was restored.  This way, we had food for the next day and could get a hot meal for tonight.

Gah.  Worst decision ever.

We waited well over an hour (even though they only told us 20 minutes) and I'm sure this was actually much faster than others in similar situations.  I heard that many of the restaurants open had a wait time of 2 or more hours.  Holy Buckets.

Tired.  Hungry.  Bored.  I'm over it.

The kiddo enjoyed eating by candlelight and he even took a shower by lantern light.  Thankfully by the time he was out of the shower, the power had been restored.  Praise Jesus!

Let's highlight the good:

• We had plenty of flashlights, extra batteries, candles, lighters and matches.  Proper lighting was never an issue.  We just needed to find them all!
• We did have a hand crank radio that runs on solar as well and can charge your electronics.
• I had purchased a back up power bank prior.  Next time I just need to make sure it's fully charged.
• We had plenty to keep us occupied.  Books, games, portable DVD player etc.
• We had alternate means of cooking via the BBQ and had plenty of lighter fluid and charcoal on hand.  Sadly, just nothing to throw on the grill.
• We have plenty of emergency supplies and fully stocked BOBS.
• If the credit/debit machines were down, we had enough cash on hand to buy a few necessities.

This entire 10 hours proved to be a great learning experience!  Seriously, think about it.  If you were to loose power right this very second, would you be prepared?  The answer for our house is that in general we are very prepared.  However, since we typically don't worry about wind storms we were simply not as ready as we usually are.

If I could say anything to you, it would be to simply encourage you to think NOW about becoming prepared for LATER.  Because I can promise you that one day, later will happen and you'll need to be ready.

Want to read more?  Check out my previous posts about Emergency Preparedness.

• Do You Have a Car BOB?
• The First 72 Are On You.
• It's An Emergency!

13 Things That No One Tells You About Marriage

Let's just get real here for a moment mmkay....marriage is good.  Y'all know how much I value my marriage and being a traditional wife but let's face it, there's some stuff that you just won't know about marriage until you're knee deep in it.

           #1- How deeply you will feel love.

          #2- The constant work that is required.

          #3- How you can feel alone at times.

          #4-The ability to hurt each other more than anyone else.

          #5- The power and influence you wield as a spouse.

          #6- How people are rooting for you to fail- just like they did.

          #7- How adding a baby to the mix will mess your shit up.

         #8- The In-Laws, 'nuff said.

         #9- The ability to hate someone and love them at the same time.

        #10- How fun it is to live with your best friend.

        #11- That sex is much more important then you think.

        #12- Communication is hard.

        #13- What it feels like to be loved unconditionally.


Marriage is not perfect.  It's not meant to be perfect.  It's real and it's honest.  At times it can be difficult but there's so many moments of goodness that make it all worth it.  My hope for all of you is that you feel loved and safe in your marriage just as I do in mine.  Because perhaps the very best thing about marriage is life you are creating together.  It's messy, loud, fun and at times a bit sad but when you look back upon it- it brings you tears of happiness.  This is a real marriage.  So hang in there, feel the feels and keep pushing forward because it's so very worth it.

Tips to Get Your Red Meat & Potato Lovin' Man to Eat More Veggies

I was a vegetarian when I met the husband and he was an "everything BUT vegetarian" when we met.  Just let that sink in a moment.

While I didn't eat meat- I also didn't eat a lot of veggies.  My idea of being a vegetarian was eating potatoes and pasta.  So yeah, not good.  The husband on the other hand ate as much red meat as he could and showed NO signs of ever stopping.  Clearly we both needed some work in the diet department.

We continued on this path for several years and I eventually started eating meat again because it was easier to just make one meal for us both than two separate ones.  Let's face it- the husband certainly wasn't going to give up eating meat so my only choice was to start eating it again.

Then the kiddo was born and my view of food changed drastically.  It no longer became about buying and eating what was cheap and tasted good but rather about food that would nourish your body.  I slowly began changing our diet and converting the whole family to a plant based whole foods lifestyle.  But as any wife with a picky husband will tell you- this was a serious struggle for the husband.  He understood the why, his brain knew the logical reasons and the methods behind what I was doing but his heart and his stomach just weren't in it yet.

Fast forward over 7 years later and the husband is now eating completely vegetarian meals at home Monday through Friday as well as at least one vegan dish during the weekday.  In addition, he's making better food choices when eating out and staying away from most fast food options that he used to love.  You can click here to read about how this journey has personally affected his health but for this post- it's all about HOW this has happened.

How do you get your red meat and potato lovin' man to eat a plant based, whole foods diet?  Seriously, how?!?  Below are some tips on how I've accomplished the impossible and they can apply to anyone in your family, not just your husband.

• Acknowledge that this will take time.  Baby steps folks.  It took the husband just over 7 years to get to this point.
• Be patient but don't give up.  Persistence pays off!
• Slowly stop buying and cooking meat.  Since I do all the grocery shopping in our house, I control what comes in and what doesn't.  Take advantage of this and simply stop buying it.
• Introduce one vegetarian meal each week.  As you get into the routine of doing this, I suggest a designated day that is dedicated to going vegetarian- perhaps Meatless Monday? 
• Keep this simple- nothing too weird or unknown.  My suggestions are anything chili based (because what man doesn't love chili?!?) or cheese based.  Cheese or black bean enchiladas are a great 1st vegetarian meal!  Soup also works well.
• Watch some of the documentaries on this list together- if your husband will do so.  Education is key.
• Add veggies to every single dish.  Start with ones your family likes but slowly start experimenting with new veggies.  It's OK to serve two different veggie sides- you can NEVER have enough veg.
• In the beginning, do NOT worry about the meals outside the house.  Focus on what you have ultimate control over and that's the food you are cooking at home.
• Learn how to convert your family's favorite dishes to vegetarian meals.  It is so easy to do!  Simply leave out the meat, add in extras like rice, beans, lentils and learn what items make great substitutions for certain meats.
• Change your dinner plate.  No more meat, starch & veg.  Meat is no longer the star of the show.  In our house it's veg, veg, grains/legumes.  Half the plate is veg and typically the other half has veggies in it.
• Become a fan of the one pot meal.  Cook it all in one pot, serve it in one pot- combine everything and it's more difficult to notice that the dish is missing meat.  Think orzo with veggies, soups, pasta with tomatoes and spinach etc.
• Serve fruit bowls on the side.  The kiddo calls these our "appetizer" bowls and they work perfectly for cut up fruit.  Replace the junk in any meal with a fruit bowl.  Things like chips, fries, tator tots, crackers, pretzels etc and then start reaching for the fruit bowls for snacking instead of that junk food.
• Buy an immersion blender and make a big pot of soup at least once per week.  Soup is by far one of the easiest vegetarian dishes to make and by using your immersion blender, you can add TONS of veggies and then just blend them away into the soup.  Your family will never know!
• Adopt a "2 bite rule".  We've always had this with the kiddo but the concept is simple- you MUST try something and take at least 2 bites.  Why two bites?  Well because usually for the first bite, you're busy moaning and complaining about it and not really paying attention to the flavor.  By the 2nd bite, you've calmed down just a bit to really taste it.  And if after those 2 bites, you don't like it- then you don't have to eat it.
• Pack your husband's lunch.  Lunch time can be difficult for anyone but make a commitment to packing a healthy, "real" food lunch every day.  Check out this previous blog post to learn about how I go about packing the husband's lunch.

The key here is really all about "slow and steady" to win this race.  A few small changes really add up over time and it's MUCH easier for your meat eating husband to deal when it's just a few small things spread out
over time.  Trust me on this one.

I would also like to say that once we tackled the food inside our house, we began working on what we were eating while away from home.  Eventually the husband began making healthier choices all on his own simply because he was used to the way we were eating at home and he felt better.  He was able to feel and see a big difference in his body and this provided much needed encouragement for him to make even bigger changes.

It can be done.  You can convert the meat eating folks in your life to adopt a more humane diet full of rich, whole foods.  If we can do this, you can do this.

Building Your Travel Wardrobe & Other Essentials

Well it should come as no surprise to any of you that I carry my OCD tendencies over into our vacations.  Yep, it happens.  For most of our vacations, I'm big into planning and doing as much prep work ahead of time.  Trust me when I tell you that this will pay off BIG time!  But for other trips, especially road trips, I try to keep things open and flexible.  There is simply nothing worse then having to miss out on a fun, unexpected learning opportunity just so you can make reservations at a spot hours down the road.  But no matter what kind of trip we are taking, the suitcase is always the most important start.

I first begin by researching weather patterns for our destination.  I'll be honest and say that most of our trips nowadays are to Southern California but the weather there can be finicky at times.  Take a look back several years for the approximate days you'll be there and then average them.  Uh Oh- math?!?  For vacation?!?  Yep, just do it.

Now that you know the average temperatures of your trip you can fill in the blanks.

#1- What is your itinerary?

Here you need to think about how many days you'll be gone, what activities are you doing while on vacation and how you will be travelling.  Why is this last one important?  Well travelling by car is MUCH different then going by plane and requires a completely different outfit.

For example, when in the car I prefer to have flip flops and typically yoga pants and a sweatshirt or t-shirt.  Comfy.  But when going by plane, you should ALWAYS wear sturdy, closed toed shoes.  Did you know that?  Yep- think worst case scenario and you're stranded somewhere or something falls from the overhead compartment- flip flops will do NOTHING to protect your feet.

#2- Will you need anything special or out of the ordinary?

Perhaps you're going on a cruise and they require a suit jacket or fancy dress.  Or maybe you will be at a family reunion and your Mom wants to do a big photo shoot.  Ugh- Moms.  So just spend a few moments and think about things out of the ordinary daily itinerary.

#3- Write it down.

Should it come as any big surprise to people that I do this?  Since my ultimate goal when travelling is to take as little as possible, it's easy to mix and match pieces when you write it down.  It should look something like this-

Monday: Boot cut jeans, white t-shirt, grey cardigan and grey flats.  Bra & undies. Museum.

Tuesday: Zippered jeggings, pink top, black Chinese Laundry sandals.  Bra & undies. Family dinner.

Wednesday: Black bathing suit, pink cover up, swim bag.  Beach/pool.

Thursday: Black skirt, white t-shirt, black Chinese Laundry sandals. Bra & undies. Shopping w/girls.

So you get the idea here....you can easily see where items are repeated, what's on the itinerary for the day and then what needs to be in your suitcase.  Meaning- don't forget the bra and undies!

#4- Wash & Prep.

Now that I have my list of items, I typically wash and prep them two weeks out.  I also pull out our suitcases and any other travelling bags and get those ready.  As we wear something that's on our list, I then wash it and instead of putting it back in the drawer or closet- I simply fold it up and place it in the suitcase.

This means that I'm NOT doing a whole bunch of laundry right before our trip.  It also means that everything we want to take is clean and ready to go.  Perfection!

To prep your suitcase, pull off any old airline tags, make sure your name and address luggage tag is firmly attached and also take a moment to write your name and contact phone number on a piece of paper and slip it inside your suitcase.  Why?  Well what happens if your luggage tag is ripped off by the airlines?  Oh yeah...

Don't forget to also prep your bathroom bag!  Many items can be packed ahead of time and then you can add the last minute items right before you leave.  I have a family bathroom bag that stays packed with our essentials and tucked away in our linen closet.  It contains razors, deodorants, toothpaste and toothbrushes, mini bottles of lotions/hairsprays/shampoos, medications, tampons/pads, sunscreen, small sewing and first aid kits etc.  Then I simply add my makeup and hair curlers/blow highly recommend you take some time to build your own family travel bathroom bag- such a easy way to ensure you don't forget a thing!
dryer/straightener to the bag and away we go.  I

#5- Lay it out and take a photo.

Oh boy....yes, I really do this.  Once everything is clean and in the suitcase, I then lay it out on the bed, group the outfits/pieces and decide on what accessories to take.  This is also the time to make any final decisions about items you may have been on the fence about.

Perhaps the biggest benefit to doing this is towards the end of your vacation when you're packing up to go home.  You don't want to forget a single thing laying about your hotel, so check your packed bags against the photo's you took at home.  Notice a shirt missing?  Or how about that pair of flip flops?

A few tips:

You will always need more socks and underwear then you think.  I always pack 3 extras of each for every person.

Always bring a pair of flip flops even if you aren't going to a warm weather/beachy location.  These come in handy for quick trips out to the car, walking about the hotel or early morning breakfasts.  Plus they take up hardly any room in your suitcase.  Alternately- you could choose to bring slippers instead but I think it's super tacky to walk about your hotel in slippers.


#6- Pack it, pull it, write it.

Once you've made your final decisions on your clothing, you'll need to pack up your suitcase.  When travelling with a family- do NOT have everyone have their own suitcase.  Besides the fact that you'll pay a buttload in checked baggage fees, if a particular persons bag gets lost, they are out everything!  Instead separate each person's clothing among all the bags you'll be taking.  This way if Moms suitcase got lost, she still has something to wear from another suitcase.  Genius!

If you are going on a road trip, pack one bag that is your "overnighter".  Meaning if you're just staying one night in a hotel on your road trip put together one bag that has everything your family will need for just that one night.  Bathroom bag, pj's, outfits for the next day etc.  This means you don't have to go digging through all your luggage to find just the essentials needed for one night.

Now that you've packed everything- it should be mentioned that you've pulled your "day of" travel outfit.  Place this directly on top of your suitcase so that it's ready to go.

Now take a good look at everything and write down what you will need to add last minute.  Typically this would include any phone/electronics chargers, a book you've been reading, your Kindle, hair straightener, food etc.  Place this list on top of your travel outfit so that you don't forget a thing.

If you've followed all these steps you have not only saved yourself a ton of work and running about but you've also ensured that you won't forget anything.

A few more tips on travelling with kids and family:

• Plan food.  Even if it's just snacks or a few treats, you'll want these.  If you're like us- you'll need to pack meals too.  When road tripping, I cook and freeze meals ahead of time and pack in our cooler.  For airline travel, I pack some items like breakfast foods and snacks in our checked baggage and then arrange a grocery delivery once we arrive.
• Pack each person a "fun bag".  For kids this can be video games with chargers, books, snacks and their "lovey" or comfort item.  The husband gets a new magazine or two and I make sure to have a book and charged Kindle.  We also bring a deck of cards or a card game like Uno to play.  You NEVER know when this will come in handy!
• Label stuff.  Items have a way of mysteriously becoming separated from you while on vacay so take a few moments and label things.  Kids comfort items should ALWAYS have your contact info on it.  An easy way that I've done this is by writing on it with a sharpie or getting a dog collar with engraved dog tag for stuffed animals.  Suitcases and any travel bags (your purse too ladies!) should have your name and contact information on it somewhere.  If your kids are young- you might think about labeling them too!  Ha!  But seriously, there's a WHOLE bunch of options for this, just consult the Google and you'll find all kinds of ID bracelets, necklaces, tags for their clothes, shoes etc.
  
• When in the packing/prepping stages, write down items that you'll need to purchase.  Then keep this list with you during the couple weeks leading up to your trip.  This way, when you're out running errands/shopping etc, you can easily consult your list and purchase items you need for your trip.  Then just add them to your suitcase.  You'll save yourself the "mad dash" the night before as you try to gather your various essentials.
• Grab cash and check your balances.  Don't take too much cash but make sure that you and your spouse have at least $100 in twenty dollar bills.  I would also recommend that you break down one of those twenty's for fives and ones.  You may need to tip folks or have some cash on hand for parking and such.  Don't forget to check your credit card balances and bank account too!  Move money from savings now if needed.
• Stop your mail if needed.  Depending on how long you're going to be gone, you might want to consider stopping your mail service temporarily.  This is easy enough to do for most of us.  You can log on to USPS.com and select the option to "hold mail" and enter in your dates.  If you're going to be away for several days- I highly recommend you do this!
• Put together a trip book.  If you've got a lot of stops, activities, hotels etc then I highly recommend you keep a little notebook for all your plans.  I always print out our hotel
  
  reservations since these have confirmation numbers, will also put together hard copy maps just in case GPS doesn't work, local restaurant recommendations and other useful information.  I separate this by day in a 1 inch binder so I can just flip to each day and have maps, confirmation numbers, address' and any other needed info at the flip of a page.
• Don't forget medications!  For us, this has changed in the last few years as we are no longer taking any prescription medications but if you are- don't forget to pack these items in your carry on and NOT your checked baggage.  Our list of essential medications includes organic apple cider vinegar, elderberry, a few essential oils and coconut oil.  These are items we can NOT live without.  However because many of these do not meet the liquids requirement by TSA, when flying we have to put them in our checked baggage.  But the good news is that they are easy enough to replace if your bags become lost.
• Plan for your pets.  This should be done months ahead of time.  Literally, as soon as you've got your travel arrangements booked, you need to look into the options for your furry babies.  Set up a house sitter/pet sitter, look into boarding facilities- many of which require exams and shots before hand and consider the options of taking your pets with you.  Whatever you decide, you'll need some time before your trip to get everything settled.
• Leave room for souvenirs.  If you're like my family- you probably won't be buying much, however you'll probably come home with a few extras.  Make sure BEFORE you go that you've got room in your suitcase for those extras- you should never pack your suitcase completely full.
• Clean up your house before you leave.  I know you've probably got a million other things to do prior to leaving on a vacation but you really should add a quick clean to your list.  There's nothing worse then coming home from a trip to a messy house.  I also recommend that you clean out your fridge and make sure to throw away any items that will spoil while you're away.
• Prep a frozen meal.  One of the very last items on my list (because it simply isn't that BIG of a priority but still important enough to consider) is to make sure I have a frozen meal ready for us when we get home.  If you're keeping a well stocked freezer, this won't be a problem.  However you may want to take an hour or so and prep a dinner that can be re-heated and eaten on the day of your arrival back home.  Chances are you probably ate out several times on your vacation and coming home to a healthy, home cooked meal will be a welcome treat!

Well...as you can see, I clearly have a problem.  But I would much rather be prepared then scrambling at the last minute.  At this point, I've got all of this down to a science and going on vacation runs like a well oiled machine.  Hope this has been helpful for all of you especially as we head into one of the busiest travel times of the year- Christmas and Thanksgiving!

Easy Enchilada Casserole

This casserole dish tastes SO good and it's impossibly easy to make.  The very best part is that you can customize it to your family's tastes.  Since we aren't big meat eaters in my house, I use beans instead of ground beef.  We also aren't fans of a lot of spice so I keep it mild and add in lots of veggies.

Consider this a base recipe and then make it your own!

Easy Enchilada Casserole

1 15 oz can black beans (not drained)
1 15 oz can pinto beans (not drained)
1 15 oz can red enchilada sauce

1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow or orange bell pepper
1 medium onion
4-6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt & pepper to taste

approx 15 corn tortillas cut up into small squares
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


Step 1:  Saute your veggies in a little olive oil or coconut oil.  When they are translucent, add in your spices.

Step 2:  In a large bowl, combine cut up corn tortillas, beans, enchilada sauce and cooked veggie mixture.

Step 3:  Spray glass 9 X 13 pan and add in half of your enchilada mixture.  Sprinkle a layer of both cheeses (approx half the cheese) over the top and then add in the remaining enchilada mixture.  Now put remaining cheese over the top.

Step 4:  Cover with foil and bake at 325 for 45 minutes.


To serve you can top with sour cream, green onions, olives, shredded lettuce, fresh tomatoes- seriously, the sky is the limit here!  You can also make this dish vegan by simply leaving out the cheese or perhaps adding vegan cheese but to be honest, I'm not a big fan of the vegan "cheese."  Other options to add in to your casserole can include ground beef, shredded pork, jalapeno, green bell peppers, olives, corn, canned diced tomatoes, sour cream, different types of cheese....so many options you guys!

Enjoy!

He's Good- Through & Through

I shared this story today over on the Facebook page and it's just SO good that I wanted to share it here with all of you.

There's some great lessons to be learned in this story- which of course I outline below.  However what I feel is most important is as it pertains to the husband.  So many people are quick to dismiss him simply based on how he looks.  If you haven't noticed- the husband can be just a bit intimidating mmkay...something about the sheer size of him, the beard and the concert tees can put a person off.  I get that and so does he.  But here's the thing that most people would miss- his heart.  The husband has the most amazing, loving, loyal and PURE heart.  It's simply beautiful.

This story is proof positive that you can NOT judge a book just by it's cover.  The husband is most certainly "rough around the edges" but if you must know, that's just part of his charm.  He is good, through and through.

The husband has befriended a man who is down on his luck & pulls metal scraps for re-sale from the dumpster behind his work warehouse. If we ever have anything of value at home, he takes it to his work dumpster & leaves it for "The Scrapper" as the kiddo calls him.

Recently, the husband was there helping "The Scrapper" put some items in his van to trade in & noticed that his shoes are beyond need of replacement.

Husband- Hey man, what size you wear?

Turns out, he's the same size as the husband.

Husband- I've got some nice Timberland work boots at home, steel toe, only worn a few times. They're yours if you want them.

He wants them & was VERY grateful.

And now I'm bagging up several pairs of shoes including the PRACTICALLY BRAND NEW TIMBERLANDS for this sweet man who could desperately use it. We won't even mention the fact that the husband would still be wearing them or that they cost a buttload because this man needs them more. He NEEDS them more.

The lessons here are profound.

#1- Helping others is easy. Even for folks like us- who don't have a whole lot extra, we still find ways to give back. It truly isn't hard to find so many ways to help our fellow man.

#2- Your children are watching. Set an example & show them what it is to be kind & generous. They will remember & one day, they will follow in your footsteps.

#3- Don't EVER judge a book by its cover. I can't tell you how many times people look at the husband & view him with disdain. He is the man who will LITERALLY GIVE YOU THE SHOES OFF HIS FEET if you need them.

#4- In turn, don't judge those in need. We all have times in our lives when we need a little helping hand. Remember what it feels like to be in need.

#5- You create the world you want to live in. Yes, there is a lot of bad out there but you can create the good too. Give without expectation simply because it's the right thing to do.

‪#‎NotAllLessonsComeFromATextbook‬
‪#‎HesGoodDeepDownInHisSoulHesGood‬

Your Kid Isn't At Grade Level

Well crap.

I guess I'm just a total failure as a homeschool Mom then eh?  Yeah, no.  Sorry but I simply don't subscribe to this whole "grade level" business and in truth, have never really felt the need to be too concerned about it.

Crazy right?

So here's the story- the kiddo takes a math class through Edmonds Heights K-12, our homeschool program.  It's one of several classes he takes and it is simply a supplemental class to help support the schoolwork and learning going on at home.  It meets for one hour once per week- so yeah, clearly nothing too strenuous here.

We are about a month into this class and already the instructor has emailed me 4 times.  Sigh....really?  While I certainly appreciate her enthusiasm, it is a tad irritating.  Her latest email stated what a great kid William was, how focused he is in class, how he participates and stays on task....and I'm thinking "GREAT!  This is all good stuff right?  So what's the problem here?"  Well it turns out that these darn weekly packets that she sends home, he's just not completing them fully.

Math is some tricky business mmkay....

Since he's not showing his work and answering completely in the manner she wants- she's deemed him to be behind grade level and wants to have an "intervention" to discuss my homeschooling philosophy.  I should also mention that she previously told the kids in her class NOT to have a parent help them with these packets and it appears that she doesn't give very clear instructions on exactly what she wants done.  Either that or the kiddo is simply tuning her out....neither of which are good.

So next week I will be meeting with her to discuss the kiddo's struggle because we all know the struggle is real y'all and to talk about how we homeschool.

Ugh.  I'm just a bit over it all at this point.  I don't have to explain myself or how my family does things to anyone if I don't want to and seriously- I'm not even one little bit concerned that my child may or may not be behind grade level.  Who cares?  He'll get where he needs to be when he's ready.  He's paying attention in her class, he's focused, he's completing these same math problems correctly at home and understanding the concepts so really- what's the big friggin' deal?!?

Next week should be interesting y'all....

And for those of you asking the big fat question- "Why even have him in a math class to begin with?" well here's your answer-  I suck at math.  The husband is equally suck-tastic at math.  And because we both suck, we want to make sure the kiddo doesn't suck as well.  Yep.  That about covers it.  Our thinking here is that these math classes give him a little extra help and push in an area that his parents do not excel at and because he's expressed interest in being an engineer when he grows up, he's going to need all the help in math that he can get.  But I'll be honest and say that at this point, I'm seriously reconsidering these math classes.

So for those of you currently knee deep in the "grade level" struggle please know this- your kid will learn at the pace that is right for them.  They will excel in some areas and at other times, fall behind in other subjects. This is 100% normal.  Your kid is fine and you are doing a good job- you are not a failure.

I repeat, YOU.  ARE.  NOT.  A.  FAILURE.

It'll all be OK, I promise you.  Just hang in there, keep at it, relax a bit and just enjoy the process.  This is the true beauty of homeschooling.  You got this.

PS- I'll post a follow up story next week about my "intervention".  Should be good y'all....should be good...

Grief Is a Strange Place to Be

You may have noticed that I've been missing from the blog this last month.  It would appear that my light has dimmed just a bit since the passing of our beloved Lucky Dog on September 3rd.  He was my first baby and I am very clearly still grieving.  Six weeks later and the grief is still pretty raw and new- I am not my normal self and the sadness is eating its way inside.

I'm not sleeping.  At times not eating anything and then at other times, I can't seem to eat enough.  I'm laughing but it's not the same.  Most noticeably, I'm not writing.  Writing is my therapy and I have yet to be able to formulate my thoughts on Lucky Dog's death.  I just can't.  Not yet.

I put forth some effort- mainly to try to get back to "normal" here.  But let's face it- a measly four posts in September and nothing yet for October.  Yeah, this is hard.  So much more then I thought it would be and sadly, I'm not sure when or if it will ever get easier.  I've heard it will but I don't believe it.

Grief is a strange and weird place to be caught in.  Trying to hold on and be "yourself" again for your family and yet- so very much, a changed person.  So I have this to say to all of you currently in the midst of it-

Take your time.

There's no rush.

It's OK to laugh and smile.

You can cry too.

There's no "right" way to grieve.

You might have to give yourself a little push.

Work on you.

Don't stop being a Mom/Wife but it's OK to take a little timeout.

You can fake it until you make it.

One day, you'll make it.  For real.

The sadness will linger.

Sometimes you'll cry for no real "reason" but we all know the why.

Let it be.


Please know, that I think you all are so very brave.  I am no stranger to grief, having suffered many losses throughout my 30 plus years.  But this one, yeah- this one was different.

I also want to acknowledge that the death of a beloved family pet is obviously very different from that of a spouse or a parent.  I'm not here to "compare" levels of grief but to simply state that grief is grief.  Loss is loss.  And we will all deal as best we can.

In closing, I am going to try to be a bit more present and active here on the blog.  Perhaps some day I will write a full post dedicated to the loss of Lucky Dog but for now, I just can't.  This grief, it's a strange place to be.