Little House on Lake is moving to the Land of Lakes!

As most of you know by now, Ryan accepted a position as lead pastor at Emily Wesleyan Church in Emily, Minnesota. This is going to be a huge change for our family but we are so thankful to get started on the plans God has for our family.

So… The first step is moving. We will be moving the beginning of August and while I’m excited to get settled in to our new hometown and begin our ministry. I’m dealing with packing up our house here in Grant…. Not quite as exciting.

To say its overwhelming to move out of state is an understatement. I don’t know where to begin or how soon to pack up certain things. So for right now I’m collecting boxes, going through the kids toys and books, and de-cluttering like its my job! As I’m going through the rooms, I’m doing a deep clean as well to avoid having to do a major clean right before we leave. Hopefully that will work out well and I can check a couple things off my list at once.

If any of you have moving tips, especially moving several states away- send them my way! I’ve heard using saran wrap to wrap your dresser in is a good idea, so we’ll try that. Aside from that, I don’t have any other good tips or ideas. (YIKES)  We are planning on using a large U-Haul truck and trailer so that will help, but ideas on actually packing the trailer would be great too!

My collection of boxes…. 🙂

-Lisa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Cleaning….

Its officially Spring now and despite the fact that the state of Michigan is having a hard time recognizing this new season; I’m embracing it. The first thing I’ve been wanting to do is to deep clean my house! Its been a long winter and I’m ready to open the windows and let the fresh air in. (insert birds singing and rabbits hopping about)

My desire to clean may have started when I was looking around my house the other day. I started noticing things, things that maybe the winter sky had occluded from my vision. Like the dust on our ceiling fan and the scuff marks and finger prints on the door. By sharing with you these discoveries, I hope you don’t find me “a failure” but really just a busy mom that over the course of the winter, forgot to dust the ceiling fan, and clean the door, etc. I think we’ve all been there in one way or another. So after viewing my surroundings I just knew that it was time to get serious…

As a small disclaimer: I’ll be honest – cleaning isn’t a fun hobby for me. I don’t get excited at the thought of washing windows and vacuuming. I’d much rather be outside digging in my flower beds or baking something – but its a necessary job that has to be done.

A few things that I have done so far to start the process is to:

1. Clean the ceiling fans
2. Go around the room and wipe down the ceilings with my Norwex mop to gather any dust or cobwebs that may have crept in.
3. Wash all the curtains in the house/and the windows indoors. (It was raining outside so I still need to clean them outside.)
4. Wash our reversible shower curtain and hang it on the “summer side”.
5. Wash the rugs in front of the doors.
6. This isn’t cleaning – but I re-organized all of Colin’s clothes and have a big pile ready to consign and/or bring to the Alpha Women’s Center.

Some things that I still have yet to accomplish:

1. Wash all the kitchen cabinets and reorganize them.
2. Thoroughly clean my fridge and freezers.
3. Clean the vents.
4. Wash the baseboards and walls.
5. Go through the kids toys and books and donate what we aren’t using.

I should clarify also that my normal cleaning routine is below:

1. Vacuum all rooms
2. Mop tile/wood flooring
3. Dust shelves, end tables and lamps
4. Clean the toilet/countertops and bathtub/shower
5. Wash the mirrors
6. And about once a week I use a bleach powder on my kitchen sinks

Spring break is next week and I have big plans to get my list accomplished. I’ll let you know how it goes! 😉 I’ll admit, I’m not worried about the cleaning part as much as the getting rid of part. I’m a work in progress.

xo

lisa

Meal Plans!

     Having a weekly meal plan is probably not a new or unique concept to a lot of people but its something that I’ve made a habit of trying to do each week. It all started almost 9 years ago when I was a young newlywed and for the first time was in charge of cooking 90% of the time. I don’t say “all the time” because my husband Ryan is a really great cook and likes to take the reigns every now and then.

When we were first married I worked full time 9:30am-6pm and a lot of nights I’d come home trying to decide what to have for dinner. I found myself wasting a lot of time and preparing meals that were not thought out, consisted of a lot of  “conveinance foods” and encouraged us to gain the “newlywed 15”. So – I started planning out our meals in advance in order to reverse all of the above and for these reasons below.

1. Stay within my budget
2. Quit buying cartloads of random grocery items

Having a meal plan was great for saving time and money and also because it helped me figure out what my husband liked to eat. Strangely enough, my idea of delicious and his varied quite a bit back then. What helped was a bridal shower gift I received called “Simple and Delicious” from Taste of Home. I love a good cooking magazine and it was very helpful to me in finding recipes we both liked.

You’ll find a link to their site Here

 Fast forward a few years and now I utilize Pinterest a lot for meal plans and recipes, as well as my trusty cookbooks and recipe’s from my mom, grandma and mother in-law. I’ve definitely had moments where I’ve been in a pinch with one recipe or another and I’m so thankful to have a mom and mother in law that I can call and ask a question or two at any time!

When my sister Renee got married this Winter, making dinner became a little more fun and slightly entertaining because I’d often get a call from her asking me what we were having for dinner. We both love baking and cooking so its been fun comparing notes and trying new recipes together.

So here it is, what we had for dinner the week of March 16-21. 🙂

Monday: Burrito’s with Chips & Salsa

Tuesday: Chicken Alfredo Bake with a fresh Salad & Broccoli

Wednesday: Brats with Chips & Baked Beans

Thursday: “Subway”

Friday: Spaghetti & Fresh Salad

Saturday: School Auction Dinner

I usually have some leftovers for lunches, and Monday when I made burrito’s I was able to make enough to freeze for a future meal. (Score!) I also like to try and bake a few things during the week for my kids lunches.

Because I got busy last week (shocking I know) I am going to include this weeks meal plan as well!

Meal Plan for the week:  March 23-28

Monday: BBQ’s with grapes & pringles

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken w/ corn & waffle fries (salad for me)

Wednesday: Cheeseburger Pie

Thursday: Garlic Bread Pizza’s

Friday: Taco’s w/ chips & salsa

Here is a link to some of my favorite “meal inspiration” blogs! Hope you enjoy them as well.

Meal Plan Monday’s at Life in the Lofthouse

123 Homeschool for Me  – She lists meal plans for the month including snacks.

I’m always looking for new recipes to try that are both tasty and kid approved – what are some of your favorite meals?

Have a great week!

Lisa

Subscription Boxes: Walmart Beauty Box

While randomly browsing Pinterest the other day I discovered subscription boxes. So a special thank you Pinterest for opening a can of worms that I didn’t know existed.    (side note: I’m not sure where that phrase comes from but it definitely fits.) Many of you probably know about these fun, kind of like Christmas every 3 months, big element of surprise – boxes. I however, did not. So of course I felt the need to investigate this further and I started by doing some “research on google” and I read up on some of the most popular box subscriptions. 

Well, let me tell you friends, there is a box out there for just about anyone. I found boxes for beauty products, snacks, organic snacks, chocolate, coffee, cookies, dog treats, clothing, shavers, feminine products, crafts, cooking and the list goes on. After a while when I came across the gamer and geek box I found it kind of comical. 

Without knowing anyone personally that has a box subscription I wanted to test one out for myself. My preference was finding one that was going to be cheap but also useful and fun. So I settled on the Walmart Beauty Box. I should inform you that Walmart is not reimbursing me for this box or post. This is my own little review for fun.

This is a box that they offer for $5 a season and there is no charge for shipping or tax. So every three months you get a new box. Not bad, right?  I signed up on February 27 and waited. Actually, I forgot that I signed up for the box until this week when it came in the mail which helped to add to the element of surprise.

 

This is what came in my “Winter” box?  Don’t mind my amateur photo’s – that’s a project for another day!

This is a picture of the box as soon as I opened it and the contents.

• Hard Candy All Glossed Up Lip-Stain in “Sand Castle”
• Dial 7 Day Moisturizing Lotion .5oz
• Dove Pure Care Dry Oil for Hair – African Macadamia Oil .4oz
• St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub 1oz
• TRESemmé Fresh Start Volumizing Dry Shampoo 1.15oz

I also received a one time sample of John Frieda’s “Touchably Full” for color treated hair shampoo and conditioner.

A sample from L’Oreal Paris Color Vibrancy Shampoo and Conditioner along with a sample of their Color Vibrancy Instant Shock treatment with Anti-Oxidant and Linseed Oil.

A one time sample from Nivea of their Smooth Sensation body lotion and a coupon for $1.00 off any one lotion or crème. And finally a coupon from Covergirl for $2.00 off one Covergirl + Olay Simply Ageless Foundation Product.

So overall I was very happy with my box. I’ve already used the dry shampoo and loved it and one added bonus is that it doesn’t smell weird. I’m also curious to try out the Dove Oil treatment. Just a side note – after looking up the cost of the lip stain, I found it to be $5 which paid for the box.

I want to know – do any of you have a subscription to a box service? If so, what type and do you like it? I thought about trying one geared more for children’s arts and crafts as a fun summertime activity for my kids. I’d love to hear any recommendations or reviews.

Thanks for reading!

xo

lisa

 

Hello world!

I’ve been tossing around the idea of starting a blog for a few years now. Mainly because I enjoy writing and Facebook didn’t seem like the right spot to spill my heart. You’ll have to bear with me as I navigate the unknown territory and make this site my own.

Some of the things you can expect to see or hear about would be:

My children – Brody, Macy, Liam & Colin. They fill up the majority of my time and I love seeing them learn and experience new things. They are a joy to me and I’m so blessed to be their mother.

My husband Ryan. We’ve been married for 8 years and he is truly my best friend. He is currently in the Biblical Studies program at Indiana Wesleyan University and is on track to graduate in one year. (Spring 2016) I’m so thankful for the Godly man that he is and his servants heart. His love for the Lord shines through in all he does and I couldn’t have asked for a better husband and father to lead our family.

Some of the things that I’m interested in include: baking and cooking new treats for my family. Family meal plans. Pinterest projects. DIY projects. shopping for bargains. drinking coffee. and a whole lot more that I’m forgetting at this moment.

That’s it for now

xo

lisa