How to teach your kids about EASTER through an egg...

As I was up late tonight rocking my son to sleep I started to think about how I could merge the worlds of Easter bunnies and eggs into the reality of what Easter is all about.  Then it came to me, in Sunday school we compared the trilogy of God, Christ Jesus, and The Holy Spirit to an egg's shell, white, and yolk.  So here's the story of Easter's true meaning in an "egg" shell. :)


Here is a simple little egg
There are three parts to this egg
There is the shell
Then the white
And finally the yolk



The egg as a whole represents the God-head, all three in one.  There is God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.  Each are separate parts and yet all make up the same thing, just as the egg is three separate parts all making up one egg.

The egg's shell represents God.  It is hard and protects the inside parts like God is strong and protective of all the things He made and loves.  It is also gentle and with a simple tap can be broken up to reveal more just like God is gentle and loving and gave us the Bible to reveal more to us about Him.

The egg's white represents Christ Jesus.  The white reminds of that Jesus died so that his blood would wash us white as snow.  Our sins are covered and gone and we are made new and pure as white as the whites of an egg.

The yolk represents the Holy Spirit.  It is at the center of the egg just as when we accept Jesus the Holy Spirit enters into the very center and core of our hearts and lives.  Also when you crack open the egg and poke the yolk it spreads everywhere it can.  The Holy Spirit also will spread anywhere and everywhere there is a heart willing and ready to accept the gift God gave of his son Jesus.

 

So you see, the eggs at Easter really can mean more than just a colored prize to find in the grassy hiding spots they are placed by a bunny.  They can also show your child the wonders of Christ and tell the true story of why we are celebrating Easter.

I suggest dying hard boiled eggs RED to show Jesus Blood was shed to make us PURE on the inside (show the whites).  And you can do a runny egg yolk experiment as well to show the spreading of the Spirit.

The most amazing thing I as an adult am just coming to understand is how if God/Jesus/Holy Spirit are all the same thing then that means the when I asked the Holy Spirit to enter into my heart, He came in and brought God and Jesus along too.  So that means that I have God inside of me and I am far more powerful with Him than I can ever possibly imagine.  



Happy Easter to all my friends and loved ones and I hope you can use this to teach a short but simple message of Jesus to your little ones.

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe (Pinterest tweak)

So I borrowed this from a couple pinterest recipes and combined them with my own ideas to come up with this final product:

 

Chicken and Dumplings

5-6 pieces of thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tbsp butter or margarine

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can chicken broth

1 can mixed veggetables

1 can 8 ct. buscuits

Place chicken in the crockpot, add butter, cream of chicken and broth.  Cook on high 4-6 hours until chicken shreds easily.  Shred chicken and add can of mixed veggies.  Cut biscuits into small pieces (about 9 sections per biscuit) and add to the top of the chicken mix, make sure they dunk a little for flavor and cook another 30min-1 hr until they are no longer doughy.

THIS IS REALLY YUMMY!!

So today was the midwest snowpacalypse.  We were buried under 11" or more of snow and it's still snowing again tonight.  It's been a fun day inside baking and playing and watching movies with my baby boy.  Hope everyone stays safe on the roads tonight and tomorrow.  Hugs.

Top 10 Most "Dirty" Things You've Never Thought About

This list is NOT based on any kind of data or research, but if you think about what I'm suggesting I think you'll agree that these things are filthy and often overlooked.

10: You vehicle steering wheel (do you ever clean it? nope. me neither. think of all the germs you have had on your hands all day that get displaced on the wheel. yuck)

9: Your credit/debit cards think of how many times per day you hand that card to someone else to swipe and they hand it back.  does anyone ever clean theirs?  they are probably covered in germs from other's hands and your own. ewww

8: Your purse/wallet both items are gross.  Your wallet contains your dirty cards and money which is one of the filthiest things on earth, purses often get put on the floor of bathrooms or the sinks where who knows what germs lie.  Also purses go on the table and spread all the bacteria they picked up off the floor to your dinner  tables. yuck

7: Light switches How many times have you ever wiped down the light switch in your home?  You touch them all day everyday as well as people out in businesses touch them in public bathrooms and such.  Think about it.



6: Your pillow case Now some people may wash them frequently but not everyone does.  Your head, slobber, and skin flakes are all over that thing nightly.  Please wash them!

5: Remote control/computer keyboards/cell phone These objects are all touched daily by several people in the household and no one ever thinks to wipe them down with disinfectant.  Now maybe you will do that.

4: Refridgerator handle Who remembers to wipe down back behind there daily? Not me.  We touch it often though. Imagine the ones in breakrooms not just at home.  Who's nasty hands have grabbed that handle today?

3: Stair/escalator railings and elevator buttons if you think of all the thousands of people going up and down stairs, escalators, and elevators in one day that's a lot of germs to place on those objects that never get wiped down.

2: Money most people realize that currency is exchanged by many people's hands and is not cleaned at any point.

1: Your belts/pants buttons or snaps Now you wash your pants we hope, but if you're like me you sometimes wear them for a few days before you wash them.  Think of the first thing you touch after using the toilet?  Usually it's your button or snap on your pants and then your belt.  No one that I know of ever washes their belts down but think of how many germs from your restroom usage over the course of a belt's life get  placed on that buckle BEFORE you ever wash up from the toilet.  Bet you are running to clean that belt now :)



Well hope you enjoy my random blog today about all the things that creep me out in this dirty would.  It's part of my OCD to be a bit grossed out by lots of things and overthink how germy things may be.  But we should pay attention to the things we use and clean them more often. Thanks.

Discovery Bottles

So after yesterday I decided to be an active mommy and do something really fun for my son today.  This is what we came up with for some fun activity and discovery bottles to play with.

Ocean Discovery Bottle:

1/2 water

1/4 oil

blue food coloring

 When you shake it up it looks like waves and settles out like the salt water of an ocean.

St. Patty's Discovery Bottle

white rice

green sprinkles or glitter

Mt. dew bottle for the green tint

shamrock buttons (found them at Hobby Lobby or Michaels)

 

 This one he LOVES to shake up and see all the fun trinkets inside.  You could add some gold coins to make it fun too if you wanted.

Enjoy!! 

Will this Battle Ever End?

It's been nearly 14 months.  Some days I really wonder if my life will ever be normal again.  What is normal anyway?  There are days I feel so good, I get out and do something fun or get my house clean and feel good about myself.  Days when my hair looks great and my new makeup tricks are awesome, my clothes rock, my husband and I are laughing and happy, our son is adorable and fun.  So why is it that through all this good I keep going back down again.  Crying for no reason, feeling sorry for myself, lonely, missing people that are right beside me, feeling worthless and unloved?  I hate this roller coaster I'm on and can't get off it.  Meds only work for so long and then comes a monthly cycle and it knocks me back into this emotionless person.  I have lost the anger and outbursts, but I can't function now.  I'm always tired except after 10pm.  I sleep all day and am up all night with insomnia.  I hate that I can't seem to go to bed when my son does or even by 11pm and just sleep.  I hate that when he needs me to play and be awake I just pass out on the couch and I'm not even awake enough to watch or care for him sometimes.  I know he's probably hungry for a snack or a drink and he's playing by himself.  I know he's watching too much TV because it's sometime to keep him quiet so I can rest.  I feel horrible for all this.  I feel like crap when my house looks bad and my hubbie's clothing is never clean or folded.  I don't feel like cleaning house and it piles up until he's home to help me get it done.  This isn't his job though it's mine.  I feel like we never have enough romance.  Like he doesn't want me as much as I want him.  I feel like I'm a horrible wife and mother no matter how hard I try.  Sometimes I feel trapped in life and just want to be a carefree teenager again.  Other times I love it and don't ever want to leave my house.  Some days I want to be an awesome mom and take my son out to play or see new things.  Other times I'm too afraid to try to drive anywhere because it's a scary world out there.  I talk to my family and miss them so much.  Then other times I'm glad I'm so far away because they can also make me feel worse about my body and my life.  I just get so mixed up I don't know what to do.  I'm not organized enough, I don't know the answers or the solutions to fixing this.  I'm going to the doctor tomorrow and scared of changing medications because I know it's another long road of weeks of trying to get it right and feel better.  I need therapy but don't know where to really turn or what I'd say.  This battle sucks and I swear I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.  If anyone out there is reading this and has advice or wants to talk please feel free.  I need friends.  I wish I had one person that was there to really support me.  Make me get up and get going.  Help me get out and about and invite me along to things and bug me til I show up to them.  Help me get back on my feet and live life again.  I feel like all my friends abandon me and don't try to help.  If they were ever really friends at all.  I get out sometimes but once a month or every 6 months doesn't help.  And it's not always girl's nights that I want, I want kid time too.  Time to play with my son and others.  I'm great at coming up with every excuse possible not to show up.  I need pushed into it.  And that's scary because that's so NOT my personality.  What happened to the life of the party?  That girl that was so social and fun.  She's turned into a lazy pj wearing hermit.  I NEVER wore sweats in public before I had a baby.  I never ever stayed in all day when I could be out.  What happened to me?  PPD has destroyed Rachel and replaced her with someone I don't know or recognize.  When will it end?  How much longer do I have to live like I'm trapped in someone else's mind?  It hurts and it's not fun.  Spring needs to hurry up and get here so I can go outside and I need a friend or someone to help me.  Please someone just help....I'm feeling so alone and down.  Even with Jesus, it's just so hard.

Fun Recipe Sunday...

This was a little something I whipped up a few weeks back for the hubs and myself to enjoy after our son was asleep for the night.

Recipe for Chocolate Puddin' Pie Trifles

1 pkg instant chocolate pudding
1 pkg graham crackers
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter or margarine
1/2 tub cool whip
mini milk chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips


Crush the graham crackers in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin.  Mix crushed graham crackers with the brown sugar and butter and layer in the bottom of the wine glass or trifle bowl.  Layer chocolate pudding and graham cracker mix until you reach the top and then top with whipped cream and chocolate chips.

ENJOY!!

Learning the alphabet through foods

Kids LOVE to learn with food!  So I created a list of all the letters of the alphabet and some foods that are as kid/toddler friendly as possible and healthy as I can find for you.

A: Apples, applesauce, alfredo, almond, avocodo

B: Bread and butter, Bean dip, Bacon (turkey), Banana, broccoli

C: Cheese, celery, cottage cheese, cream cheese, Cantaloupe, crackers (whole wheat), carrot

D: Dijon, dip, dill pickle, diced tomato, dino chicken nuggets,dates

E: eggs, edamame, ear of corn, enchiladas,eggplant

F: fish, fresh fruit, fries, fig, French toast,falafel

G: grapes, gorgonzola cheese, green onions, green pepper,

H: ham, honey nut cheerios, honey, humus, honey mustard, hotcakes

I: ice cream, icy pop, Italian sausage pizza, Iceberg lettuce

J: Juice, jam, jelly, jambalaya,

K: kiwi, kielbasa, kale

L: lemon, lime, leek, lima bean, lasagna, lentils

M: maraschino cherry, monkey bread, mayo, maize *corn, mashed potato, mandarin oranges, muffins, mud pie

N: nutella, nuts, nectarine, Nilla wafers, nutter butters,

O: oranges, oatmeal, oreo, okra, orzo rice,

P: pineapple, pimento spread, peaches, pears, plums, pumpkin, punch, pancakes, potato

Q: quiche, quesadilla, queso,quince

R: Raisin, raspberries, rice, radish, ranch, ravioli, red pepper, rhubarb, ramen noodles, rigatoni, ricotta cheese, rolls, roast, ribs,

S: strawberries, salmon, salad, salami, salsa, sandwich, spinach, steak, soup, squash, spaghetti, sweet potato, swiss cheese

T: teddy grahams, turnip, t-bone, tomato, tuna, trix cereal, taco, tilapia, tater tot, tenderloins, toast, turkey, tofu,

U: upside down cake, udon noodles, ugli fruit

V: venison, veggies, velveeta cheese, Vienna sausages,

W: watermelon, waffles, water, wafers, walnuts, wedding cake flavored anything

X: Chex, crispix, trix, kix,

Y: yolk, yellow pepper, yams, yogurt,

Z: zucchini, ziti, zebra cakes, zuppe (Italian for soup) Zingers