You asked... {Part 3}

You asked: Are there any more little R's in the future?

I answered:

 I love this question because I feel like it is that question that we WANT to ask everyone but people get offended by! The answer, though is honestly, I don't know! If you had asked me a few months ago I would have said "absolutely not, no never ever ever" or something to that effect. But, now that Jack is getting older I will have to just go with "I don't know"! We truly believe that children are a gift from God and so we will welcome any more children God has for us. But, with that said we aren't actively pursuing more children either!

Nick and I also both have big hearts for adoption so that could be a possibility in the future too.


Thanks for the questions this week! It was super fun and just what I needed to get me out of my little blog rut! Happy Friday everyone!

Recipe: Apple Crisp

Since our little trip to Eckert’s we have a lot of apples on hand! Which is a major yay! I made homemade applesauce the other day… but it was gone before I had a chance to snap a picture. But, oh my goodness! The jarred stuff is NOTHING like the real thing! That will be a “make again” for sure.
Tonight in order to use up a few more apples I decided to make a homemade apple crisp! The hubs and I were having a late dinner sans kids (I made this again, oh yeah!).
I looked up a few recipes and kind of mashed together what I liked and came up with this one!
Apple Crisp
Ingredients:

• 5 or 6 apples (I used a mixture of what I had from apple picking)
  
• 1/2 C. butter, softened
  
• 1 C. sugar + a little for sprinkling
  
• 1 C. flour (I used whole wheat flour)
  
• 1 C. old fashioned oats
  
• a sprinkle of cinnamon

Directions:

1. Peal, core, and slice apples
   
2. Place apples in a pie plate
   
3. Combine butter, 1 C. sugar, flour, and oats in a food processor until crumbly
   
4. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over apples
   
5. Sprinkle crumb mixture over apples
   
6. Bake at 350 degrees or until done

Enjoy!

P.S. I have added a place at the top right corner where you can subscribe to Life With the Little R's via e-mail. I don't always add new posts to Facebook and so if you don't have something like Google Reader you might miss a post or two. So, feel free to subscribe and have new blog posts delivered straight to your inbox!

You asked… {part 2}

You asked: What books are you reading right now?
I answered:
That is a great question! I read lots of books at one time. I am a little bit of a skimmer and I don’t always finish books! Right now I am reading one fiction book, a few books on homeschooling, a parenting book for Friend2Friend, and of course the Bible!
Here are my current reads:

So, I have to ask… what are you reading right now? I would love some suggestions!
*Disclaimer… just because I am reading the book doesn’t mean I recommend it! But, you have to read it to know whether it is good or not, right?

Too much

Some days it all just feels like too much. Too much to do. Too much to worry about. Kids everywhere, messes everywhere, a "to do" list that I know will never get even close to completion. Some days I just want to sit and cry because I just can't handle it all! I am a mom to three kids ages four and under and none of them is an "easy going" kind of kid. They are all strong willed, hard headed, and a MESS! It just all feels like too much to even make it through the day sometimes. And then add in the responsibilities of being a wife, serving at church, having friends, trying to loose weight... I mean, how does one person even begin to do it all?

But other days, it really feels like too much. It is too much that God has given me three beautiful, healthy, wonderful children who are so full of life they are about to explode. It is too much that God has taken my marraige which started out pretty broken, because it started out with two very broken people, and turned my husband and I into giggly teenagers who are so in love we can barely get through the day sometimes. It is too much that God is changing us everyday and that we can visibly see His hand in everything. It is too much that we have this beautiful home that is so much more than we need and we have money to buy food and water and keep our children safe. Some days it just feels like way too much.

I am not saying my life is perfect. But, when I choose to focus on the struggles it is all I see. I can't get past it. And when I choose to focus on the blessings it is all I see.. and I can't get past it. And I wish I would choose to focus on the right "too much" a whole lot more.



You asked... {Part 1}

You asked: Katie- What are 5 random things we might not know about you?

I answered:

Gee... good question! I don't know! I tend to be kind of an open book. You guys probably already know more than you want to! But here we go... 5 random things...

1.  In high school my best friend and I would pretend we were dating and married to Backstreet Boys. I of course was all about Brian Littrell. Yep... you can't make this stuff up.
2. I HATE the sound of someone scratching fabric... especially like jeans. I tell Nick that it makes my "teeth curl". He says that makes no sense but it is true. I can't handle it! Recently my sister was over and she had a bad itch on her leg and she was scratching her jeans and I told her if she continued to scratch she was going to have to leave my home.
3. Both my parents can curl their tongue and so can I. But, my sister can't. So, when she was little I liked to tell her that she was adopted because it would be genetically impossible for her to not curl her tongue too. I was sweet like that.
4. I love pedicures but I really don't like those foam toe seperater things they put between your toes when painting. The feel of the foam between my toes really creeps me out. But, I deal with it in the name of beauty!
5. Despite being a somewhat organized human being the inside of my purse is always a totally trashed mess. It is usually full to the brim with church bulletins, receipts, toy cars, and lots of other random things. I can never find my cell phone or keys once I stick them in my purse.

So, there you go! Now you know! And now you have no excuse to be scratching your jeans when we are together... and if you can't curl your tongue I might tell you you are adopted...

 

First trip to Eckerts in Illinois!

As you can tell from the pictures our first trip to Eckert's Farm in Illinois for apple picking was pretty wonderful! We went with my sister and her husband... and without Jack. We actually missed the little guy but it was so much fun to be able to focus on the big kids and just play! Now to find things to do with all of our apples....

Saturday Ramblings!

First off, thank you for a few great questions! I will have a few fun posts based on those next week! Keep them coming if you can think of anything else!

I am just hanging out at home this morning. We took the kids to the new Chick-fil-a in O'Fallon for breakfast this morning. Then we came home so Jack is taking his nap and Nick took the "big kids" to run some errands. I really should be doing some housework but I am enjoying the downtime.

The kiddos got their Halloween costumes yesterday. They were pretty excited. Max is going to be a dinosuar (again!), Sophie is going to be a flying horse, and Jack is going to be a cow. Max had big plans that they were going to go trick-or-treating by themselves. He told me that Sophie was going to carry the candy bag and say "trick-or-treat" and he was going to carry Jack. He was really bummed when I told him that an adult had to go with them. He decided that his grandma could go with him but that Daddy and I have to stay home. I won't be arguing that!

In our "quest" to save money I have been thinking a lot about needs versus wants. I like to think of myself as "above" being influenced by my culture but as I have been really considering what we spend our money on I realize that I am not! I totally have bought into believing that we "need" to have cable, cell phones, certain brands of things, etc. It is kind of crazy what we just start to accept as normal. I know I am always a little frustrated when people are showing off their smart phones and complaining about money in the same 5 minutes. But, even though I don't have a smart phone, I know I have my own "things" in my life that I have decided I "need" and then I complain about money! I am really excited about our message at church this weekend being about making good money choices. I know I need the reminder!

Tomorrow we are going to Eckerts in Illinois for a little apple picking fun! I am super excited to do such a "fallish" activity. I LOVE traditions and so I am excited to hopefully start a new fall tradition with my kiddos. Although, we are just taking the big kids with us. My parents offered to take Jack. I think they are secretly excited to have the one on one time with him. Whenever they babysit Max and Sophie really demand most of my parent's attention so it will be fun for them to get to just play with and enjoy Jack!

Anyway, I guess that is all I will ramble about for now! I hope everyone is enjoying this gorgeous fall Saturday as much as we are!

Update...

Update: The last episode of "All My Children" was really dumb! A major bummer of an ending... in case you were at the edge of your seat waiting to hear how it went! :)

P.S. I haven't been able to think of anything fun or exciting to post lately. So, I have a huge favor!! YOU pick the topic! You can ask me anything! Or suggest any topic and I will make it happen! You could request a recipe, ask for a tutorial, ask for a photo of something, ask me a deep dark secret... ANYTHING! Feel free to leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail (KatieLRamsey (at) gmail (dot) com) and I will make a post about it next week!

the end of an ERA!

It is a sad day in the Ramsey household... Actually, it is only sad for the mom. The hubs and kiddos probably couldn't care less. But, today is the very last episode of my soap, All My Children.

I know! It is just a show. But, I have watched "All My", as my sister and I call it, since I was like 4 years old! My mom watched it so my sister and I did too! She would even tape it and would watch it when she got home from work so we would all watch it. In college I would schedule my classes around being home to watch.

So, I am a little sad that a show I have basically watched for the last 24 years is coming to an end! But, then I guess all good things must come to an end! So, if you were thinking about it, don't call me today between noon and one because I will not be picking up the phone... I will be watching my very last episode of All My Children. And possibly crying about it....

Organized

I really attempt to be an organized person. I am not naturally neat and organized. However, I get very stressed out when things aren't neat and organized. How unfair is that? So, I am constantly working to streamline and organize my life, especially with three little ones! And I am sure a lot of you stay at home moms can agree that even though there is more than enough to do to keep us busy, without careful planning it is easy to let the day go by and not get ANYTHING accomplished!

I recently got this handy dandy planner and it has helped me a lot. I am able to put everything in one place and I have even color coded! I put our schedule, my things to do and clean, our meals for the week, everything! I love it!

I am all about increasing my efficiency in my home!

Do any of you have any tips or tricks you would like to share when it comes to home management? 

Recipe: Pepperocini Roast

I am not a big fan of traditional roast. I don't know, the meat always seems kind of dry and like it is missing something! And don't even get me started on the cooked carrots and potatos people usually serve with it! I know, it is like un-American or something! But, I am a big fan of anything easy that I can throw into my crockpot! Well, it doesn't get much easier than a 3 ingredient recipe! So, to make this you will need a 3-4 pound roast, a jar of pepperocinis, and 4-5 cloves of garlic.

(I really wish I had a picture but we just ate it too fast! Ha!) 

Thinly slice your garlic cloves. Then take the point of your knife and pierce the roast all over, inserting a piece of garlic into each slit. Put roast in crock pot and pour entire jar of pepperocinis  on top. Cook on low for 8 hours. Shred or chop up beef when finished and return to liquid.

Last night we had this on tacos but it is also delcious on a crusty bun with cheese or just eat it with a fork!

What's new...

Well... we have been keeping ourselves pretty busy lately! Jack of course is walking and climbling and is pretty much into everything so he keeps me pretty busy!

 I am also trying to get back on the weight loss wagon! After loosing and gaining the same 8 pounds over and over again I am ready to just get it off! So, I am down about 4 pounds and hoping to continue!

 Aside from getting back on the weight loss wagon I have also gotten back on the Dave Ramsey wagon! Nick and I worked hard and got out of debt a few years ago but we have still not quite gotten our big emergency fund in order yet. We also need to save to replace my van here in a few years since we will be buying our replacement vehicle with cash. So, we have really tightened the belt around here and it is going well. I have worked to cut down our grocery bill significantly (while buying healthier foods, woo hoo!) and we are living on less! We are planning to cancel our satellite dish next month when our contract is up and we have been working on making some cuts in other areas. It feels good to be going in the right direction there.

 In Friend2Friend this semester I am reading "Effective Parenting in a Defective World" by Chip Ingram. It is AWESOME so far! And my group of women is just great! I am so blessed by this semester already.

 We are really praying about what we will do for school for Max next year. I really believe that God will make His will perfectly clear but it is hard to wait! Especially when there are so many pros and cons with each possibility.

 Max is going to be playing basketball this winter at the YMCA. It is super cute how excited he already is! I will be suprised if he ends up really liking it but I think it is cute he is excited! I wanted to sign him up for soccer but I missed the cut off so I went ahead and signed him up for basketball. I think we will definitely try soccer in the spring though.

 And Sophie Lou has started her ballet class. Her second class is tonight. She did SO well the first week! She cried when it was time to leave! She is going to Daughters of Grace Dance Academy which I think is perfect for her starting out. It seems low stress and it is a Christian dance studio so I like that. They even pray at the end of class which with all of those little girls is totally precious!

I guess that is all that is up with us! Just wanted to give a little update! I hope everyone else is having a great Tuesday!

First Word!

So, this handsome little guy said his first word about a week ago and hasn't stopped using it since! It was "ball". How cute is that? He pretty much always has a ball that he is chasing around these days. It goes to show that kids really do have their own personatlies and interests. I think it is pretty cute since Max's first word was "duck" and he is still OBSESSED with animals! It will be funny to see if Jack is a little sports guy!

Recipe Link! Try it! Seriously!

I am not usually a big fan of vegan/vegetarian soups. I know... but it is true. But a friend on Facebook posted this recipe and even though it sounded odd I was intrigued... So, I went to the store that day to make it for dinner! And I do not regret it to this day! So, now I am telling you to do the same! Go make this delicious Sweet Potato Chili. It is kind of sweet and spicy and oh so filling! Seriously make it! Or I will send this guy after you...

and it won't end pretty!

Direction

For the last several months our family has been attending a wonderful church. If you are in the St. Louis/St. Charles area and are looking for a church we would love to have you!

Just the other day I told my husband, "you know what the annoying thing about Element Church is?" He looked a little shocked but asked "what?". And I replied, "That after a service I can never just go home and keep doing what I was doing. Every week I am presented with something that I have to change or implement in my life or a realization about something that changes the way I think about everything!" I have never been so encougaged to be a "doer of the Word" and it has been awesome.

Several months ago I shared that I felt a call to blog but I wasn't exactly sure of the details. Well, pretty much as soon as I said that my mind was a BLANK! I had no idea what I was supposed to write about! And my very exciting news is... I still don't! But, our pastor said something that really made me think about my approach. He was not talking about blogging obviously but what he basically said was, it is easier to direct a moving car than one that is sitting parked.

So, I realized that I need to just keep blogging and hopefully then, while obeying and moving forward I will get the direction I have been waiting for! So, there might be a new blog down the road or maybe this one will take a different direction... we will see!

So, Lord willing, you will start to see me post on here a lot more often like I used to! Thanks for sticking around!

Meal Planning

On my list of personal strengths I would not list being naturally organized as one of them. So, in this house, although I have a VERY strong desire to meal plan, it always falls by the wayside eventually. I have done a little better since I started using this cute little printable but I still struggle.

So, I have seen a few people that use kind of a day of the week system for meal planning, so I think I might give it a try. The idea is that you think of seven "categories" and think of as many meals as you can for each one. Like: Italian, Mexican, Chicken, Breakfast for dinner, etc. Then you pick a day of the week for each category and you fill in your menu plan from that.

In my attempt to be cutsie I came up with this for our family...
Mexican Mondays
Tuesday Mornings (Breakfast for dinner)
Wild Wednesdays (New recipe or something "fancy")
Traditional Thursday (Cassroles, meatloaf, etc.)
Friday Fun (pizza night, appetizers, or something else fun)
Soup 'n Salad Saturdays
Spaghetti Sundays (anything Italian/pasta really)

I know! How dorky am I, right? :-) So, if you have any great recipes that fit these categories let me know and I would love to add them to my list! I thought it was at least worth a try! I will let you all know if I stick to it for more than a day!

a new post!

Our Little R's are keeping us pretty busy these days! And Jack has started walking which has added another demention of CRAZY! But, it is super precious!

See for yourself...

Don't you don't want to SQUEEZE him until he is all squishy? No? Just me. Okay. Moving on...

In other news, I have been re-reading one of my favorite books of all time, "Boys Should be Boys". And I am telling you now if any of you have boys or know boys or anything you HAVE to read this book! Whenever I tell people about this book they say, oh, that is nice, I read "Bringing Up Boys" by Dr. Dobson. Now, I LOVE "Bringing Up Boys" but they are totally different books! So, just humor me and read this one. I really don't think you will regret it. And if you have a daughter, while you are at it, read her book about girls, "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters" which is also amazing!

Okay, so to recap this post...

Life is busy.

Jack is walking and squishable.

Read "Boys Should Be Boys".