It has been a gloriously slow winter for our family — almost nothing extra on the calendar since the holidays wrapped up.
Things start picking up now in March, and really ramp up after Spring Break through the end of the school year.
Truly, they are all good and mostly fun things… but still all extra things! And when you’ve got 6 people putting “extra things” on the calendar for 3 months straight, it can start to feel like a lot.
We’re ready for it though… and we’ll be ready for summer break when that comes around too!
I love the cyclical rhythm of each season — slower winters, busier springs, slower summers, busier fall. Wash, rinse, and repeat. I suppose we’d get bored if it was all “slow” and we’d burn out if it was all “busy”. We have a nice balance (for now!)
Keep reading for many of my most recent favorite things!
Favorite Moment = Birthday Boy!
Simon turned 11 yesterday, and we celebrated him over the weekend with his requested taco buffet and cookie cake.
Simon is very into exercising right now, so one of his favorite gifts was this adjustable pull-up station I found (brand new) on Marketplace for $30.
For those who haven’t been around for all 11 of Simon’s years, he was the best-sleeping baby around, and an extremely cute toddler! We’ve always called him our “Sweet Simon” and he continues to live up to his name (although “Stubborn Simon” and “Silly Simon” are also appropriate at times.)
NOTE: my kiddos often request a cookie cake, and whenever I mention it online, I get dozens of questions about how to make a cookie cake.
It’s SO easy — just make your favorite cookie dough (this is our go-to recipe) and press it into a tart pan, pie plate, or even a pizza pan for a really big cookie cake (you probably won’t use all the dough if you use a smaller pan).
Bake at 350º for right around 20 minutes (depending on how big your pan is and how thick your dough is). If your cookie cake is quite thick, you’ll want to cover it with foil for the first 15 minutes and then bake it uncovered for another 10+ minutes, until the center is fairly set.
And, if you end up with a slightly under-baked cookie cake, just refrigerate it and it will taste like cookie dough fudge (no one will complain!)
Favorite Routine = Helping our kids save more.
We open savings accounts for each of our children when they turn four — putting $44 in each account.
Then, every month, on the “day” of their birthday, we have a direct deposit set up to transfer their age in dollars into their savings account.
For example, if your child’s birthday is on the 5th of the month and they are turning 10 this year, you’d set up your bank account to automatically transfer $10 on the 5th of every month. Then you’d change it to $11 on the 5th of every months once they turn 11.
In addition we’ve offered to match any money they put into their savings account throughout. So if they get birthday or Christmas money and don’t spend it all, they can put it into their savings account and we’ll put the same amount into their savings account. Or if they earn a little money working for grandparents or a neighbor, they can choose to either spend it or put it in their savings account — in which case, we’ll match whatever they put into their account.
So far, it has been fairly motivating for them and a very simple (almost no-thought needed) way to help them save more and think twice before spending on something they think they need.
RELATED READING: How to help children save more.
Past Favorite = Giant Griddle
The 7th grade class had a potluck breakfast last week — which meant the kids enjoyed a buffet of pancakes, breakfast meats, fruit, and juice at the start of the school day.
Of course, they needed parents to help flip pancakes and serve the kids… so I showed up with my giant XL griddle and got to work.
I could make 12 pancakes at a time, compared to only 6 or 8 from all the other griddles. I quickly lost track of the number of times I got asked about my griddle that morning.
The brand of the griddle I have is Presto Tilt ‘n Drain Big Griddle, and it’s a workhorse for me! I purchased it back in 2017, simply because the square size fit perfectly in the cabinet above our fridge (the longer rectangle size doesn’t fit great in my cabinets.)
Little did I know how much I would use it over the next several years!
I use it almost daily, and it’s still going strong. Definitely a solid purchase for our household (which is why it deserves another mention in my Favorite Things post!)
RELATED READING: How we organize everything in our kitchen.
Favorite Accessory = “Dumb Watch”
I’ve had a dumb watch (a.k.a. not a smart watch) for my entire life — minus one week in 2022 when I tried really hard to like the Apple watch.
After I returned the Apple watch, I happily went back to my simple dumb watch and have never looked back.
I know I’m in the minority on this one, but I just want to make it known that there are still people in this world who really enjoy wearing the old-fashioned analog watch and not getting notifications every time someone emails, texts, or calls them. 😉
Here’s the watch I’ve worn for the last several years (I regularly get compliments on it).
Favorite Book = Warsaw Sisters
I shared Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt in my email newsletter last week, but wanted to share it here too so it’s officially documented as one of my “Favorite Things”.
It’s another WWII book set in Poland, following two sisters’ involvement in the underground. I’m currently reading a similar book by the same author — Within These Walls of Sorrow — and it’s also turning out to be extremely captivating.
READ THE BOOK: Warsaw Sisters
Favorite Game = Otrio
We first played Otrio at a friend’s house last year, and even as someone who doesn’t love games, I really enjoyed this one.
It’s essentially Tic-Tac-Toe on steroids as you can get 3 in a row a bunch of different ways (with different-sized circles).
It was simple enough that Clara can play it, but it also provides plenty of challenge for older kids and adults… and each game goes very quickly (just a few minutes).
Plus, I love a good wooden board game!
GET THE GAME: Otrio
Favorite Convenience Food = Hard Boiled Eggs
Our kids love hard boiled eggs (so do I) and it’s a little time-consuming to make them since they need to cool and then be peeled.
And with the price of eggs right now, hard boiled eggs haven’t been on our regular snack rotation.
However, I recently realized I can get packages of 10 already cooked and peeled eggs for significantly less than a dozen eggs fresh eggs (they were literally half the price at our local grocery store)!
So we’ve been enjoying hard boiled eggs again — especially since we don’t actually have to boil or peel them!
RELATED READING: Fool-proof hard-boiled eggs in the oven.
Favorite Question = What’s working now?
We’re a couple of months into the year… which means you’ve had 2 full months to make progress or fail miserably on any number of your New Year’s goals or resolutions.😂
If things aren’t going as well as you’d hoped, don’t immediately berate yourself or focus on all the times you’ve ‘dropped the ball’ this year.
Instead, try putting a more positive spin on things by asking, “What IS working for me right now?” (These could be really small things).
- What routines are working for you? Morning, evening, meal planning, exercise, Bible reading?
- What spaces in your home are working for you?
- What part of your schedule is working for you?
Then pause and consider why those things are working so well.
This won’t necessarily fix other issues in your routines, spaces, and schedule, but it might help shed a bit of insight on why certain areas of your life are running more smoothly, and then you might be able to apply those concepts to other areas of your life as well.
Plus, you’ll feel great after intentionally reminding yourself about what IS working instead of feeling bad about what’s not working.
RELATED READING: How to get started on any goal/project.
Favorite Recipe = Stromboli
Stromboli is one of my go-to meals for busy weeknights, quick lunches, and even when we have dinner guests (yes, it’s totally “fancy enough” for your company!)
You can use homemade or store-bought dough, whatever pizza toppings you have on hand, and go as fancy or as simple as you’d like for the “braided” crust on top.
As long as your dough is ready to go, it only takes about 10 minutes to prepare the stromboli and then another 20 minutes to bake it… meaning you can get this meal on your table in roughly 30 minutes!
TRY THE RECIPE: Stromboli
Favorite Quote
“I don’t say “no” because I’m already too busy, but because I don’t want to be too busy.”
Last week, I shared a fun post with 99 ways to say “no”. I explained that while I am always in favor of helping, volunteering, and participating whenever it works, I also don’t think saying “no” to a request for your time, talents, energy, money, etc. should cause guilt, anxiety, or stress.
In that post, I gave permission to say “no” BEFORE you get too busy, not just once you’re already drowning. Be proactive, not reactive (probably good information for most aspects of life)!
Well, apparently, I’m not the only one with these thoughts… a couple of readers sent me a recent quote image from A Daily Something on Instagram, and it perfectly sums up my thoughts on saying “no”.
Food for thought as we enter the very busy spring season.
Favorite Archived Post
They say the average adult makes 35,000 decisions every day (moms probably make more!)
If you feel weighed down by decision fatigue, this archived posts is a must-read.
Read the full posts: How I Reduce Decision Fatigue by Deciding Once.
That’s all for this month. 😆
If you’re interested, you may scroll through all my Favorite Things posts HERE!
Jennifer says
What are the savings accounts you set up for your kids for? Are they for larger purchases when they get older or can they withdraw money at any point? I love this idea and want to implement it with my boys.
Andrea says
The accounts don’t have a specific purpose — more just teaching them to save money in the bank instead of just hoarding it in their room or spending it on dumb stuff they don’t need. Hopefully, they’ll be able to use it towards a car or college some day — but currently, they have no need to pull money out of their account since they still have spending money at home, and they don’t have many expenses right now.