Let's look

Let’s Look – Easter at Your House

Posted on April 8, 2020May 15, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

It’s time for another Let’s Look link up with Shay and Erika; make sure you check out their posts too.

Well, needless to say, Easter will look a bit different this year. I’m actually thankful this post came around when it did to remind me of some of the traditions and activities that I still do have control over right now.

Here’s a look at what we typically do for Easter.

Well, of course, the kids have to wear cute Easter outfits every year. Shhh! Don’t tell them, but I’ll probably ask them to put on some nice clothes this year to at least get the cute Easter pic. Plus, I’d hate to miss out on the tradition of fussing at Hayden because he doesn’t want to wear nice pants! 😉

Here are some Easter outfit pics through the years.

2010 is just the sweetest. First Easter (and they shared their candy with me!)

2011, 2012, 2013 (Sunglasses were all the rage then), 2014 (Hayden should be smiling bigger because it must have been warm enough for him to wear shorts!)

2015, 2016, 2017 (Poor Hayden was sick—we took the pic before Hadley had Travis left for family Easter), 2018 – braces 🙂

When I was kid, we always dyed Easter eggs, and left them for the Easter Bunny to hide. Then, my brother and I would search for them throughout the house. We do the same now with Hayden and Hadley.

Here are some pics of the egg dyeing through the years.

Only within the past year and a half have we found our church home…so a new tradition for us is the pancake breakfast and egg hunt at church. Also, attending Easter service has become a new favorite and important part of our family tradition. It’s difficult that Easter does look so different this year, but we will make the most of it.

Pancake breakfast and egg hunt at church with cousins last year.

Before bed, we leave the eggs out for EB to hide as well as some carrots if we have some (and a cookie or two!)

In the morning, the kids see what the Easter Bunny has left them and search around the house for the eggs.

I try to make a special breakfast on Easter morning. Cinnamon rolls, a breakfast casserole, etc. One year I made these cinnamon sugar bunny rolls for Easter breakfast.

After church, we head to Elizabethtown for Trav’s side of the family get together. The kids are always excited to see their cousins. Travis has a very big family with plenty of cousins, himself!

So that’s a look at Easter at our house…

Next month’s topic is Let’s Look At…Your Weekend. Why do I have the feeling my post will be about how my weekdays and weekends look quite similar these days?! I’m hoping we are somewhat back to normal very very soon.

Thanks for reading!

Let’s Look

Posted on October 9, 2019May 19, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

It’s time for this month’s Let’s Look with Shay and Erika. This month’s focus is yummy fall recipes. One of my favorites is…Pumpkin Sausage Penne Pasta…and guess where I got the recipe? YEARS ago from a Kroger coupon pack they sent me in the mail. I make this a few times a year but only in the fall…

Ingredients:

8 oz whole wheat penne (I usually use the whole box)
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1 Tblsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. low sodium chicken broth
12 oz pumpkin puree
1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
pinch of ground cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook pasta to al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a medium skillet, brown sausage and set aside.
In a skillet, over medium heat, add oil and saute shallots and garlic for 3 minutes.
Stir in chicken broth, pumpkin, cream, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat and simmer 8-10 minutes to thicken.
Stir in cooked penne, sausage, and cheese.
Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese.

The four of us typically get two nights out of this meal!

I bet I’ve had this recipe card for 10 years!

Other fall recipes I love are pretty simple: pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, chili and soups!

Since I shared a recipe, it got me thinking about grocery shopping and then this memory popped up on Facebook. Feels like a lifetime ago that I often had both of the kids with me at the grocery store pushing that dang car cart while other customers looked at me and said, “Well, bless your heart!” 😂

Funny story about this picture. I would often give the kids an apple to keep them entertained while I shopped. I’m 99% sure this is the time that when Hadley went to hand me the core of her apple, I asked Hayden where his apple was…and he said, “I ate it. I ate ALL of the apple!” Core. And. ALL 😬 Those diapers were fun to change for a few days. Ugh.

I wish Kroger Click List (grocery pick up) would have been around when the kids were little. It’s a life saver now, but it would have been so nice to just pick up groceries rather than be in the store for an hour with two little ones. I’ve done grocery pick up for almost five years, and I can’t imagine going back to the old way I shopped.

A few years ago, I bumped into a friend in the store and she had a printed list of what she usually gets. I loved that idea, so I do that now and just add in what I need. I have a running list on the side of my fridge when we run out of things, but before I place my weekly Click List order, I get out my template and circle what we need for the week. I typed this out once a couple of years ago and add/delete as our needs change. To make it, I looked at a Click List order that I had placed and categorized what I bought, so making the template didn’t take me very long. Our regular items take up a couple of pages, but at least it’s all organized for when I sit down to place my order. I have extra lines in each section to write in other needs, and I cross our items we don’t need that week. Here’s one of the pages:

Grocery pickup has been a life saver. It still takes me time to plan meals and place the order, but at least I don’t have to spend as much time in the store, and if I forget something, I don’t mind running in the grocery on my way home to pick up a few things since it’s only a few minutes of my time.

Also, every other week or so, I stop in Trader Joe’s and meander around to pick up things and plan meals on the fly…and I enjoy doing that knowing I have my basics at home. Also, occasionally, I will go to Aldi’s and pick up a few items just to mix it up and get some good deals on items.

Next month’s Let’s Look is focused on entertaining ideas …odds are that I will share some of my kids’ birthday parties. I can’t believe they are almost 10!

I hope you enjoy this meal! Don’t forget to check out Shay and Erika.

mix and match mama

a little bit of everything

What’s your favorite fall recipe?

Have a great day!

Jen

Instagram: @showmeandsweettea

Facebook page: Show Me and Sweet Tea

Let's look

Let’s Look: September

Posted on September 11, 2019May 19, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

Let’s look at…your calendar

It’s the middle Wednesday of the month, so that means Shay and Erika are linking up again for Let’s Look. This month’s focus is: Let’s Look at your calendar.

Mix and Match MAMA

A little bit of everything

My type A personality is both a blessing and a curse. There’s a sort of thrill for me (I’m lame, I know) about being super organized. I love on Sunday to sit down and plan the week, but then again, sometimes I’m completely overwhelmed by all of our daily activities. Let’s get one thing straight–if I didn’t write it down or put in on my phone calendar, I would completely forget to show up to a certain meeting, take my kids to a doctor’s appointment, or miss a soccer practice.

As far as calendars go, well, I have lots of them.

Phone Calendar

Definitely my #1 calendar is my calendar on my phone. That’s where I keep all the dates and even set reminders for myself. Travis and I don’t have a shared calendar; I know people who do that, but for some reason we just never have. I guess he knows I will tell him what’s on the agenda, and he can also look on the fridge calendar. There have been times where I have sent him a calendar invite for “Get s$%! done Saturday” when we are up to our eyeballs in chores to do…and he knows better than to decline that invite request 😉

Fridge Weekly Calendar

My weekly fridge calendar is where all my people look to see our activities and what’s for dinner. I love sitting down on Sunday and planning out the week. I always write my workout days, what we have going on and our dinners. I cross each day off as we go because that makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something 😉 I’ve been using these paper calendars for many years as my mom put one in my stocking at least six or seven years ago…and then I’ve found them at Michaels and now on Amazon #becauseAmazonhasallthethings

magnetic Calendar on amazon

Note on my phone

I have many notes on my phone, but the one that I visit daily is my weekly note. Every Sunday, I update with with our schedule, my workouts, and any chores or errands I need to accomplish. Just like crossing off the days fridge calendar, I love deleting tasks too!

School organization :

At school, I couldn’t live without my desk calendar, but more importantly my lesson planner. The desk calendar has most of my after school and weekend appointments or activities but also school meetings. I used to buy the cheaper calendars from Walmart or Office Depot (or, at times, there are free ones at school), but this is the second year I’ve purchased this Bloom calendar and I love the bright colors and floral pattern.

I love my lesson planner. I used to buy one at the Parent Teacher store at the end of every summer, but then a couple years ago, I found this one by Blue Sky on Amazon. Like the ones I bought in previous years, I liked the layout (which I am picky about). The vertical layout with room for lessons, a to do list, and activities is exactly what I need.

While this isn’t an #ad for Amazon, I should be sponsored 😉 …at least for calendars as all my calendars have been purchased from there 🙂 Links below to the desk calendar and lesson planner.

Bloom academic desk calendar

Blue Sky academic teacher calendar

That’s it for September’s Let’s Look.

Next month’s focus is on yummy fall recipes. I have a favorite pumpkin pasta to share. The recipe came, from all places, the Kroger coupon packet they send in the mail! It’s one of my family’s favorites. I hope you are having a great week.

Take care,

Jen

Instagram: @showmeandsweettea

Facebook Page: Show Me and Sweet Tea