The Pastor's Wife: April 2012

Friday, April 27, 2012

Feeding Your Family on the Run

Spring is absolute craziness in the Seiler household. Sports take over our calendar, and it seems we're gone more evenings than we're home.

Trying to feed everyone dinner while we're out of the house so much is quite a task. We could run through a drive-thru every night. With the cost of feeding a family of seven in a drive-thru, coupled with the lack of any nutritional value, we really hate doing that.

I decided I had to get organized and plan ahead if I wanted to survive the spring. So I developed a Game Day Cooler checklist. I did this because, although picnic packing is the obvious choice, not having a guide for what to pack when we've got to be somewhere in 30 minutes and I'm in a hurry is a formula for the "forget it" attitude. But if I have a checklist, which takes away the "thinking on the fly" aspect of packing, I set myself up for success.

So now, about an hour before we have to be somewhere, I start packing my Rachael Ray Cooler Tote with the items in my Game Day Cooler checklist. Many of the non-perishables just stay in the cooler all the time. The other night, I even added steamed asparagus (which we ate with our hands) and watermelon slices with our hot dogs for the baseball game. How "All-American" is that?

I've used my cooler checklist for other outings as well - it's not just for game nights. Whenever we're going to be gone for several hours and I know my children will ask for something to eat, I take this cooler in our van with us.

Now, I feel confident my family is eating healthy and cheap during this busy sports season. That makes this mom very happy!

Friday, April 20, 2012

What's Been Happening Lately?

BASEBALL, BASEBALL, BASEBALL...
That's much of what has been happening in the Seiler home.
Joshua, our oldest boy, is doing fantastic on his team as a pitcher & catcher.
Noah is playing his first year of T-ball, and he could probably take it or leave it.

TAEKWONDO
Our second oldest son, Luke, started Taekwondo a few months back, and he's doing very well. It's requiring a lot of self-control and concentration, two things he doesn't excel in by nature, so that has been very good for him.

TEEN YEARS
Well, she's not quite a teen yet, but she's very close, and it already feels like it. Our homeschool group had a Jr. High/Sr. High Banquet for all the teens last week. It was really awesome! They all got dressed up, had a fancy dinner, took pictures, signed autograph books, and had a blast.

In addition, Hannah competed in our denomination's District Fine Arts Festival - she sang a solo. She earned a Superior with Invitation to Nationals. We were so very proud of her! She's now saving up all the money she can and working hard to pay to go to Louisville, Kentucky in August for the national competition. She's very excited!

MOM'S TIRED...
It's true. I've been running around like a crazy woman - taking this kid to this practice and that kid to that game and doing this one's hair for her special occasion and planning birthday parties - all that on top of running the administration for our church, running a household, and trying to finish out this year of homeschool. We all have spring fever and are ready for some fun! Daddy has some time off work this next few weeks, and we need to play together as a family. I can't wait!

SOME FAVORITE THINGS...
When life is so hectic and you're running ragged, tools like these can be a lifesaver.

What's For Lunch?
Just steal someone else's ideas - check out these kid-friendly healthy lunches: School Lunch Roundup

Keeping The Children Busy with Productive Activities
I love some of these scavenger hunt ideas, especially the nature one, because the children are learning while having fun: Simple Homeschool Scavenger Hunts

Building Up Each Other in the Family
Sometimes, too much free time breeds quarrels amongst the kids. They all start to get on each others' nerves. I love this idea to help build family unity and focus on the good in each other: The Letter to Self

Helping Kids Save Money
As the summer calendar begins to fill up with summertime activities for the children, my children begin to work and save money to help pay for those activities. I've sat with each of them and we've outlined what they want to do, how much each activity costs, and a total that they need to raise. This article has some great ideas for helping kids save money: Teaching Your Kids to Save Money

Friday, April 13, 2012

I'm Still Learning

Last week, I told you about turning 36 years old, and how I'm still learning so many things in life. I shared with you several of my favorite blogs from which I glean much wisdom and ideas. If you missed that post, visit My Favorite's.

This week, I'm on another learning quest. My long-time friend, Shevonne Daley, is coming over this afternoon to teach me how to utilize all my blog features and make my blog better, because I really have no idea what I'm doing. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, you'll see a much-improved The Pastor's Wife blog!

See ya next Friday!